The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1905-12-12
The Story of a
Story
By CONSTANCE CAMERON

course, he said nothing, and shifted the
garden chair within the shadow of a
big acacia.
with the two long pins in her lingerie
hat. Then she leaned slightly forward
and pressed the ends of her fingers to-
gether, pretty little way she had when
she was seriously interested.
What We're you writing awhile ago,
Tom, when l interrupted and asked you
to play tennis? I'm afraid you weren't
giving your story happy ending, you
looked so tremendously blue and sad.
Do you know, l 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, a 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 1t, won't
your
'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
copper colored tennis shoe and gaz-
ing at it demureIy.
''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. us it so
very difficult?"
1.-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 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 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
tentfon
1.-THE man loved the girl he an
swered In a voice that seemed inap-
propriately grave HE loved her so
much-but it's enough for our purpose
to say that he loved her.
Helen shot furtive glance of in
quiry at him from under her thick
lashes, and her eyes looked like a 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 MANI" He
started.
'He -he wasn't sure" said Melville
HE was sure she liked him; otherwise
otherwise she wouldn't have spared
him so much of her time and been so
sweet to him in lots of ways, butt
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 a half
minute, finding her good to look at;
then 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, Toni Too late now!" she
cried, with animation you did not
look up in time, but it was there Sec
Ond ago, the sunbeam straight like
finger You see. having to give you
back your copy of Swinburne, l learned
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 1t.
Eve got past that point in my story,
Helen-the point where the man hest
tated because he was afraid of the
money. was about to say that he bad
made up his mind to risk the unfavor-
able construction people might put on
his apparent boldness, but another and
far greater difficulty awaited him.
That was the ethical problem which
was perplexing me and making me
hesitate when you found me-"
and, please, what was this new diff
fculty?' she said muslngly.
Il didn't say it was new-only, the
other matter finally having been met
squarely, the other reasons why the
man hesitated to tell the girl of his love
assumed more formidable proportions
than ever. You see" Melville went on
deliberately, here was girl who,
naturally enough, lived the life that
was lived by the people Of her particu-
lar little world. She spent much of
her time in ways that were, to the man,
hopelessly pointless, vapid and mental
ly weakening. 1t hadn't spoiled her,
but for himself he knew he couldn't
live that life, not even for her dear
sake, and how could he ask her to give
1t up?'
Maybe the glrl"- Helen began, but
Melville hurried on as though fearful
that If he were stopped he might not
say it.
You see, too, he wasn't sure of his
ability to hold her Suppose, even
though she were brave and sweet
enough to give up the things he
couldn't share, that a longing for the