The San Francisco call., 1905-04-23
AT THE COURT
OF REX.
By FANNIE II. LEH.

air.
She stood back against the
window of a big department store on
Canal street and scanned the surglns
crowd before her. 1t was Mardi Gras
day in New Orleans and the. Pretty
Maiden had been in town only three
! hours, two of which had been spent
/ in hotel.
Il have lost my mother" she said
again, as If to impress the fact upon
herself-"and my father"-then she
added as an afterthought. and my
purse
In the street the people crowded
each-other for more room, and there
was a constant stream of maskers. gay
i dominoed fellows with tinkling bells
and swapping whips, and the Pretty
Maiden watched them from the en-
trance. to the department store. and
her ideas quite lost their balance and
toppled over into the mad whirl Of
carnival
I'm glad I'm lost" she said to her.
self; they'll know 1 was separated
from them by the crowd. and they'll
be fearfully worried, but after while
they'll find me and meantime feel as
! If something were going to happen
wild adventure, perhaps. Oh. 1 love
Carnival! I'm glad l came"
drum throbbed subtly in the dis
tance; the crowd surged to the edge
| of the banquette, then surged back
again with easy laughter, for no par
j ade appeared.
All said some one at the Pretty
Maiden's elbow; Il beg your pardon,
but thought L was never going to find
you The crowd is so thick"
man. clean shaved and eminently pre-
sentable, was regarding her, hat in
hand.
I'm afraid you don't remember
me" he suggested, a triffe crestfaIlen.
isn't this Miss Preston?"
The Pretty Maiden's eyes widened.
To herself she cried, The adventure!"
fbut aloud she said quite .coolly:
m afraid the advantage is yours
I'm sorry" he answered, stiffiy.
/, But please don't think me an imper-
tinent stranger. My cousin wrote me
| to meet you here, you and your sister.
| She asked me to show you around for
the parade. my name is Robert
/ Randolph he finished awkwardly.
/ The Pretty Maiden hesitated a bare
moment but the carnival spirit was
strong within her. and the trick that
in her natural environment would
have been impossible unfolded itself
/ like magic in this atmosphere.
| The moment was bare one; then
I oh she said, with the friendliest
smile imaginable, You are Bobby
Randolph
of course he agreed. cheerfully.
I Its been great while since we saw
each other, but still"
$50 it has" said the Pretty Maiden,
cunningly. Let me see just how long
exactly?''
Ten years, three months seven days,
two hours and. 1 think, twenty-seven
minutes"
Dear me-" she murmured breath
! lessIy.
And, by the way where's your
sister; didn't she come? -
My sister," said the Pretty Maiden,
quite astonished. My sister? Oh-er
yes. of course, she came; but-she
had fearful headache, and she decid-
ed to stay at the hotel; and I hate TO
miss the parade. you see.'t
"Of course. Too bad she won't see
it, said Mr.. Randolph regretfully.
The trip was so long and tiresome,
said the Pretty Maiden incautiously.
Two hours long, like that. Why
it's only forty-eight miles between
here and Pass Christian"
Distance. said the Pretty Maiden
sententiously. lis not a matter of miles
with me, at least, she ADDED pru-
IDENTIFY.
We'll. we can have jolly time by
ourselves. anyhow" Mr.. Randolph as
sured her.
The Pretty Maiden hesitated-that
is, she would have hesitated. but Mr..
Randolphs cheerful confidence left
her no room to do so.
They walked on rather slowly. for
the crowd was dense, and Mr.. Ran
shoulders
more than once.
We'll have time to go and get
some hot chocolate before Rex gets
here" he calculated. cheerfully. Look
out there will you?" This last to
line of college boys who were going
through the crowd like an animated
wedge.
The Pretty Maiden laughed de-
liciously.
You looked so angry she explain
ed, between gasps; then stopped sud
denly because a small red devil with
battered mask aimed shower OF con-
fetti at her laughing face.
There was a blare of trumpets down
the street, and the long roll Of
drum wave of excitement sub
merged the people Randolph used
shoulders and elbows with skill that
bespoke long experience on the football
field and the PRETTY Maiden found
herself in the front of the crowd.
Mounted policemen paced slowly past
her, a band shrilling forth If Ever I