The Washington times., 1905-09-24


II he did not do what was befittins, his
butler was quite capable Of picking him
up and deferentialiy carrying him to the
scene OF festivity. and deposiring him
on the doorstep.
What could Temple want to see mo
about most particular - Farnharn ask
ed himself. After all. 1 may as weu
Pass the evening there as anywhere"
Mr. Temple was one OF the LEADING
citizens Of Buffiand. He was the vice
president OF the great rolling mill COM
pany. whose smoke darkened the air
by day and lighted up the skies at night
as with the flames OF the neither oit.
He was very tall and very slender. with
-eddish-brown hair. eyes and rnustache.
Though a man of middle age, his trim
figure. his fashionable dress. and hi.
clean-shaven cheek and chin gave him
an appearance OF youth. He was uresi-
dent OF the LEGAL Jockey club. and the
JOY or his lie was to take his place
IN the judges stand. and sway the des-
1inies Of the lean, keen-faced trainers
VINO drove the trotting horses He had
the eye OF a lynx for the detection OF
any crookedness in driving. and his
voice would ring out over the track
ike the trump OF doom. conveying fines
ana penalties to the luckIess trickster
VINO was trying to get some unfair ad-
vantage In the start His voice, deep
oasso. rarely was heard, in fact, any
"here else Though excessively social,
ne was also extremely silent. He gave
delightful dinner parties and prea4
many or Them but rarely spoke. except
10 recommend an especially desirable
VINE 10 a favored guest When he did
speak, however, his profanity was phe-
homenal- Every second word was an
oath- 10 those who were not shocked
by II there was nothing more drou and
lncongruous than to hear this quiet, re-
served. well-dressed. gentlenan-like per-
son pouring out. on the rare occasions
when ne talked freely. in deer. meas
ureo, monotonous tone, a food of i'm
precautions which would have made
pirate hang his head. He had been. as
boy, clerk on a Mississippi river
steamboat, and a vacancy occurring in
the office OF mate, he had been nronoted
TO that place. His youthful face ana
quiet speech did not sufficiently impose
upon the rough deck hands OF that early
day They had been accustomed To
harsher modes of address. and he saw
ms authority defed and in danger So
he set himself seriously 10 work 10 learn
to swear; and though at first II mada
his heart shiver little with horror and
his cheek burn with shame. he perse-
Tered, as a matter Of business. until his
execrauons amazed the roustabouts.
When he had made a fortune, owned a
line Of steamboats,, and finally retired
from the river. the habit had been fas-
tened upon him, and oaths became To
him the only form, of emphatic speech.
The hardest we-k he ever did In his
lie was, while counting his wife, a Miss
Flora Ballston, of Cincinnati, TO keen
from mingling his ordinary forms OF
emphasis IN his asseverations OF afrec-
ton But after he was married. and
thrown more and more into the COM
pany OF women. that additional sense.
so remarkable IN men OF his mold,
came 10 him, and he never lapsed, in
tnes- presence, into his natural way Of
speech. Perhaps this was the easier. "a
he rarely spoke at all when they wer.
oy-not that ne was IL the least shy OF
timid. but because they, as a rule knew
nothing about stocks, or pig-iron, or
wine, or trotting horses-the only sub
Jects. in his opinion. which could inter.
est any reasonable creature
x ~
When Farnham arrived at his house
IL was already pretty well filed with
guests. Mr.. and Mrs. Temple Were az
the door. shaking hands with their
friends as they arrived, she with a
pleasant smile and word from her black
eyes and laughing mouth, and he in
Good evening. Mr.. Farnherni" said
the good-natured lay. so glad TO see
you 1 began to be alarmed So did the
had not returned. Show yourself In the
drawing room and dispei their fears.
oh, Mr. Harrison, I am so glad you re-
Farnham gave way to the next conner.
and said to Mr. Temple, who had PRESS
ed his hand in silence:
Did you want TO see me for anything
special today?''
Mrs. Temple looked up at the word,
and her husband said:
No: l merely wanted you to take q
drive with me-
Another arrival claimed Mrs. Temples
attention, and as Farnham moved away
Temple half whispered in his ear, Don't
go away till I get a chance to speak
TO you. There is merry and particular
bloom of h to pay"
x X
The phrase. while vivid, was not de-
scriptive, and Farnham could not guess
what 1t meant Perhaps something had
gone wrong in the jockey club; per
haps Goldsmith Maid was on her feed.
perhaps pig IRON had gone up or down
d dollar a ton These were all subjects
of profound interest to Temple and
patiently the hour of revelation. and
looked about the drawing-room TO see
VINO was there
1t was the usual drawiag-room or
provincial cities. The sofas and chairs
were mostly occupied by married wonn-
en-, who drew a scanty entertainment
from gossip with each other. from
watching the proceedings of the spins
ters, and chiefly. perhaps, from u con-
sciousnesS of good clothes The mar .
Tied men stood grouped in corners and
talked of their everyday affairs The
young people clustered together in lit
tie knots. governed more or less By
natural selection-orily the veterans Of
several seasons pairing of into the dis
Greet retirement of stairs and hall an
giles. AT the further end of the long
drawing room, Farnham's eyes at last
lighted upon the object of his quest.
Alice sat in the midst OF a group OF
young girls who had intrenched them
sslves in a corner OF the room. and de-
fed all the efforts of skirmishing
youths, intent upon Irritation, to dis
lodge them. They seemed to be anus
ing themselves very well together and
tie correct young men in white cravats
and pointed shoes came. chatted. and
drifted away They were the brightest
and gayest young girls of the place; and
IL would have been hard TO detect any
local color in them. Young as they
were. they had all had seasons in Paris
and in Washington: some of them knew
the life of that most foreign OF all cap
York They NJ arIx- al1