The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1905-12-01
The Story Of a
Story
By CONSTANCE CAMERON
CoDlfri0bt 1qoz h. nh
Copyright, 1905, By RUBY Doug,as

N-AA7 40 AONtl DOSl-UOI
uhsuccessfully-to discover unsuspect-
ell UNITS in her gold brown hair but, of
course, he said nothing and shifted the
garden chair within the shadow of n
big acacia.
The girl toyed for few moments
with the two long pins in her lingerie
nat Then she leaned slightly forward
ana pressed the ends of her fingers to-
gether, pretty little way she had when
she was seriously Interested.
What were you writing awhile ago.
Tom, when interrupted and asked YOU
TO play tennis? I'm afraid you weren't
giving your story Il happy ending. you
looked so tremendously blue and sad.
DO you know. | was thinking of that
look of yours all through the game,
and
You made some mighty good back
handed strokes across the court Hell
en- said he, 4 bit irrelevantly, picking
up her discarded hat and tanning her
with it.
Come, now" the girl said softly.
touching him never so lightly on the
coat sleeve, tell me about it, won't
you?"
well, you see" he answered with
genial smile, Il was a bit perplexed
just then when you found me. I've
presented my characters a problem
and they can't solve it."
"Ethical| questioned Helen, pointing
Il copper colored tennis shoe and gaz-
ing at it demurely.
IF ethics is the philosophy of con-
duct, yes, decidedly it's ethical" re-
turned he promptly But don't let's
talk shop, please I'm sure it will bore
you"
"What are they like, your characters?
And what is it you've given them to
solver" she said cheerily. rs it so
very difficulty"
"The man in the story" he began hes
itatingly, fixing his eyes straight on
the top of tall pine tree, lis a pretty
decent sort of chap. He has a good
name-the descendant of Il long line
running back a number of generations
without getting out of alignment, you
know. He has fair ability, energy, am
bition and all that, with a position that
secures him just about enough money
to live on. And the girl in the story
Melville cleared his throat.
''And the girl?" demanded Helen.
"Well, when they were children the
girl and he had played together with
mud pies and seesaws in their back
gardens. Their mothers had been col
lege chums, you see, but the father of
the child in kits died and left his son
nothing but his unblemished name,
while the father Of the little girl kept
on growing daily more and more like
CrOesus"
"When they grew up did they still
care for each other your boy and your
girl?" asked Helen in a low voice She
was giving his recital her keenest at
tention.
1.-THE man loved the girl" he an
swered in a voice that seemed inap-
proprlately grave. HE loved her so
much-but it's enough for our purpose
to say that he loved her"
Helen shot a furtive glance of in
quiry at him from under her thick
lashes, and her eyes looked like pur-
pie black cloud that has in its heart the
forked lightning, but he was gazing
down the vista of trees, so she said
merely:
"And the girl loved the manT He
started.
"He-he wasn't sure" said Melville.
otherwise she wouldn't have spared
him so much of her time and been so
sweet to him in lots of ways, but
"But he didn't know whether she
loved him. cried Helen. 'If he was
made of big, manly stuff, as some
how fancied from your description he
was, couldn't he have found out easily
enough?"
"You see" began Melville, "here was
the girls money People would think"-
But Helen interrupted him with fine
scorn:
$50 your worthy hero was afraid of
what people would think And so he
kept the door of his heart locked tight,
and all the time the girl might have
been there starving just outside. She
might have been, oh, so hungry for him
to open to her and bid her to come in.
But what people would think for
sooth, had more weight with him than
the girls possible hunger. Pshaw,
Tom, A beautiful hero you've NADER
The little wave of color that surged
over the delicate, proud purity of Hell
EMS face cut Melville like a knife. So
lovely. so near, so far She had her
velvety purple eyes on the distant hills.
She seemed fathoms away from him,
and he wanted her so keenly!
He looked at her for fully half
minute, finding her good to look at;
then n thrush burst out into an exqui-
site trill just over their heads and hop
ped from one branch to another. AS it
hoped it moved the acacia leaves,
opening chasm in the dome of green.
"Oh. look, Tom! Too late noww she
cried. with animation. "You did not
look up in time, but it was there Sec
ond ago, the sunbeam straight like a
finger You see, having to give you
back your copy of Swinburne, learned
a few of the verses liked best first"
But Melville was in no mood for talk
ing Swinburne. nor any other poet,
however great. He picked up his hero's
thread where she had dropped It,
give got past that point in my story,
Helen-the point where the man hest