Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-02

come. You really must meet her, Sir
Henry. She's quite worth while"
Sir Henry was deciding that pink candle
light really made the Winstons' maid alb
| surdly pretty, but he murmured polite re-
greet.
Your young women are charming
charming" he said; but l feel no sense
| of loss tonight"
He bent CALAMITY toward his hostess.
| but sent swift glance toward the slender
girl behind her chair The gray eyes met
| his for fraction of an instant. Then the
| soft lashes fell, and only the dmples were
conscious.
Winston took up the tale.
| Yes, you really should know Nancy"
| he said with deep conviction. She's a
! liberal education to any man, imported or
domestic. She's delightful. you know, but
plays the very deuce with hearts. I
| understand her boudoir has a fricze of
| scalps, and she keeps her open fire going,
| all winter, with no fuel but written propo-
| sails. Flirt, Nancy would hirt with a snow
man. What's more, he'd thaw, even if the
temperature were thirty degrees below
| zero"
Sir Henry noticed that the maid. who
was hlihs the glasses had flushed furi-
OuSIy. While he watched her she raised her
eyes and shot one vndictive look at the
serenity.
jealous" thought the baronet Surely
when the thing is open as this his wife
must see it Well-bred little woman to
4
Il don't think | would care for your
irresistible young woman he said with a
touch of hostility in his tone. I'm not
fond of that sort of girl. OF course / I'M
derstand that, being your friend, she is
undoubtedly delightful, but personally I've
deep-rooted objection to the emancipated
modern girl. We have the type in England.
You seem to have more specimens of it
here, though I'll admit your girls are more
attractive than ours. I've an old-fash-
Toned taste for a simple, unworldly type of
girl, who doesn't firt with every man she
meets and commoniZe herself in doing it,
Winston choked painfully on fish-bone,
and his wife unfeelingly laughed at him
Try a bread-crust," advised Sir Henry
with polite concern.
The dinner went smoothly. The waitress
was as deft as she was pretty and the guest
had to take himself mentally by the throat
in order to keep himself from following her
every movement with his eyes. He was dis
trait, and his share of the conversation
trailed off into inanities whenever the maid
was within his range of vision.
Once or twice he pulled himself up with
a round turn, conscious that some one had
asked him a question, but absolutely in the
dark as to what the question was. He
stumbled out of the predcament as best he
could, and inwardly cursed himself for a
fool; but there was one little shining lock
that fell over her left temple and fiuttered
there as she moved about. He wanted to
brush it back, and yet knew he would miss
it If it were suppressed Then those dim
pies. one OF tflem was out d mint OF Il
dimple 1t was constantly lowering the
verge of self-revealing, yet it never deep
ened and showed what it could do. If the
demure lips would only smile that dimple
would surely develop maddeningy. If he
only dared make her smile. Then he Won
dered what he could say that would make
| her smile Nothing, under the circum-
| stances. OF course a maid could not show
| that she listened to the conversation. But
| If he were alone with her. II she weren't a
| maid, if Oh by Jove what a bally ass
| he was making of himself!
| Just as he reached this unfattering con-
| clusion she lifted her long lashes and gave
| him one direct notwithstanding half
| serious, wholly disconcerting. He felt him
| self flush to the roots of his hair. He had
| an awful conviction that he was looking
like fatuous fool He set his wine-glass
down hastily.
The maid came to his side to fill it. He
noticed how white and beautiful her hands
| were, and how exquisitely her wrists were
nodded She used violet perfume-a very
delicate subtle violet.
| Don't you think so, Sir Henry?" asked
! Mrs. Winston's voice from some far-away
| world.
YES indeed" declared the baronet, earn
| estly.
"Stin it's odd for an Englishman to feel
that way about it,
''Oh, ! don't know" stammered the
baronet. He doesn't yet know to what