Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-10-20

IL Monrfs which Monty had purchased
ut his inStisation lac had designed II
ceiling screen of heavy rich glass in
tones Of white that grew into yellow
AMI dull green. 1t served to conceal
The lights III III" daytime. and at night
the glare of electricity was immensely
softrlI,,l and made harmonious 10y
passing through il. 1t gave Il note Of
quiet t. the picture which caused
even these licn and women. who had
been here and there and seen many
things. t. draw in their breath sharply.
Altogether the effect manifeStly made
an impression.
Such an environment had its intu-
ence upon the company. 1t went far
toward making the dinner Il success.
From far in the distance came the
softencd strains Of Hungarian music.
and never had the little band played
the "Valse Amoureuse" and the 'NulSe
Blcue" with the spirit it put into them
that night Yet the soft clamor In the
dining room insistently ignored the
emotion Of the music Monty. bored
portant dowagers ut the feast, wonder
ed dimly what invisible part it played
in making things GO He had vagrant
fancy that without 1t there would have
been no zest for talk. no noisy competi-
ton to overcome, no hurdles to leap.
AS 1t was, the talk certainly went we'll.
and Mrs. Dan inspected the result Of
her work from time to time with smil-
ing satisfaction. From across the ia
Bile she heard Colonel Drew's voice:
brewster evidently objects to long
siege lie is planning to carry us by
assault"
Mrs. Dan turned to Subway Smith,
who was at her rlght-the latest ad-
ditiOn to her menagerie. What Is
this friend Of yours?" she asked. II
have never seen such complex sim
plicity. This new plaything has no real
charm for him. He Is breaking 1t to
find out what 1t Is made of, and some
thing Will happen when he discovers
the sawGGst."
"Oh, don't worry about him." said
Subway easily. "Monty's at least
good sportsman. He won't complain,
whatever happens. He'll accept the
reckoning and pay the piper"
1t was only toward the end OF the
evening that Monty found his reward
In moment with Barbara Drew. He
stood before her, sQuaring his shout
ders belligerently to keep away III
truders, and she smiled up at him In
that bewildering fashion Of hers. But
it was only for an instant, and then
came a terrifying din from the dining
room, followed by the clamor Of crash
ing glass. The guests tried for mo-
ment to be courteously oblivious, but
the noise was 50 startling that such
politeness became farcical. The host.
with a little laugh. went down the
hall. 1t was the beautiful screen near
the ceiling that had fallen. A thou
sand pieces Of shattered glass covered
the place. The table was q sickening
heap Of crushed orchids and sputter-
ing candles. Frightened servants rush.
ed into the room from one side just as
Brewster entered from the other. Stu
pefaction halted them. After the first
pulseless moment Of horror exclama-
tons Of dismay went up on all sides.
vor Monty Brewster the first sensa-
ton Of regret was followed by a dia-
bolical sense Of Joy.
THANK the Lord" he said softly in
the hush.
The look Of surprise he encountered
In the faces Of his guests brought him
up with jerk
THAT it didn't happen while we were
dining" he added, with serene thank
fulness. And his nonchalance scored
for him In the idle game he was playing.