Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-04-07
THE GRAFTERs
Copyright. 1904. BY The Bobb.-M.rriiI Company,
CHAPTER w.
F RAN CTS LYN D e
THE FLEsH-PoTs OF EGYPT.

THE FLEsH-PoTS OF EGYPT.
The westward journey began at the
appointed hour in the evening with the
resourceful Ormsby in command; and
when the outsetting, in which she had
to sustain only the part Of an obedient
automaton, was a fact accomplished.
Elinor settled back into the pillowed
corner Of her sleeping car section to
enjoy the unwonted sensation OF being
the one cared for instead of the care
taker.
Two sections away the inevitable
newly married pair posed unconscious
ly to point the moral for Miss Brent
wood. She marked the eagerly antici-
pative solicitude Of the boyish groom,
contrasting 1t now and then with
ormsby's less obtrusive attentions. 1t
was all very absurd and sentimental,
she thought; and yet she was not with
out a curious heart-stirrlng OF envy
provoked by the self-satisfied compla-
cency of the bride.
What had that chit Of girl done to
earn her immunity from self-defend-
ings and the petty anxieties? Nothing,
Elinor decided; at least, nothing more
purposeful than the swimmer does
when he lets himself drift with the
current. None the less, the immunity
was hers, undeniably, palpably. For
the first time in her life Miss Brent
wood found herself looking, with q
little shudder Of withdrawal and dis
may, down the possible vista-possible
to every unmarried woman Of "a
milestoned by the unbroken years Of
spinsterhood and self-helpings.
Was she strong enough to walk this
hedged-up path alone?-single hearted
enough to go on holding out against
her mothers urgings, against Orms-
by's masterful wooing, against her
own unconquerable longing for a sure
anchorage; all this that she might
continue to preserve her independence
and live the life which, despite its
drawbacks, was yet her own?
She took up the magazine Ormsby
had left on the seat beside her and
sought to put away the disquieting
thoughts. But they refused to be dis
missed: and now among them rose
up another, dating back to that ideal
izing summer at the foot OF Old
Croydon, and having its genesis in
hard saying Of her mothers.
She closed her eyes, recalling the
words and the occasion of them.
"You are wasting time and sentiment
on this young upstart Of country
lawyer, Ellnor. So long as you were
content to make 1t a summer days
amusement, had nothing to say; you
are old enough and sensible enough to
choose your own recreations. But in
justice to yourself, no less than to him,
you must let it end with our going
home. You haven't money for two"
Her eyes grew hot under the closed
lids when she remembered. At the
time the hard saying was evoked there
was money enough for two, II David
Kent would have shared it. But he had
held his peace and gone away, and now
there was not enough for two.
Elinor faced her major weakness un-
fiinchingly. She was not slave to
the luxuries-the luxuries Of the very
rich. On the contrary, she had tried
to make herself believe that hardness
was a part of her creed. But latterly,
Lol IN q
was a formidable array of things
which she had been calling comforts;
little luxuries which Brookes Ormsby's
wife might reckon among the simplest
necessities of the daily life, but which
David Kent's wife might have to fore
so; nay, things which Elinor Brent
wood might presently have to forego.
For she compelled herself to front the
fact of the diminished patrimony
squarely. So long as the modest
Western Pacific dividends were forth
coming, they could live comfortably
and without pinching. But fail these
mo, I'm not great enough" she
confessed, with little shiver. II
should be utterly miserable. II
could afford to indulge in ideals 1t
would be different; but l can't-not
when one word of mine will build a
barrier so high that all the soul-kill-
ing little skimpings can never climb
over it. And besides, owe something
to mother and Nell"
It was the final straw. When any
weakness Of the human heart can find
o seeming virtue to go hand in hand
with it, the battle is as good as lost;
and at that moment Brookes Ormsby,
placidly refilling his pipe in the smok-
ing room of the Pullman, was by no
means in the hopeless case he was
sometimes tempted to fancy himself.
AS may be surmised, diligent suit
or, old enough to plan thoughtfully,
and yet young enough to simulate the
youthful ardor of a lover whose hair
has not begun to thin at the temples,
would lose no ground in three days
journey and the opportunities it af-
forded.
In Penelope's phrase, Elinor "suf-
fered him." enjoying her freedom
from care like a sleepy kitten; shut
ting the door on the past and keep
ing 1t shut until the night when their
through sleeper was coupled to the
Western Pacific Flyer at A. & T. juno
ton. But late that evening, when she
was rummaging in her handbag for
handkerchief, she came upon David
Kent's letter and read it again.
"Loring tells me you are coming
west" he wrote. 81 assume there is
at least one chance in three that you
will pass through CASTOR. II you do,
and IL the hour it not altogether i'm
possible, should like to meet your