Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1906-06-28
Prisoners and Captives
BY H. S. MERRIMAN
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By H. s. MERRIMAN

The occasion was a vast assembly or
the fashionable, diplomatic, artistic and
| literary worlds for the collection Of
money and ideas toward the solution of II
socia! problem. The tickets were a guinea
each: there were choice refreshments at
a stated and runous price; soft carpets,
an exhibition of pictures, and the same
Of dresses. l believe also that several
gentlemen read papers on the subject un-
der discussion, but that was in the small
room al the end where no one ever went.
Cladd Tyars was there. of course,
| During the last month or two he mad
been going out so much that one almost
expected 20 meet him, just as one ex-
pccts TO meet certain well-known face,
at every assembly. Miss Winter saw
him Immediately after noticing Matthew
Mark Eas.On. and before long he began
to make his way across the room towarl
her. Wherever they had met during the
last few weeks, Tyars had invariably
succeeded in exchanging few words
With Miss Winter, seeking her out with
equal persistence, whether Helen Grace
were with her or not. If, as the lady
opined, he was determined to be-
come one of their intimate friends,
he displayed no indecent haste. no
undue eagerness; and in so doing
he was perhaps following the surest
method He had not hitherto showed the
slightest desire to cross the line which
separates acquantances from friendship.
There was a mutual attraction existing
between these two capable, practical POO
pie, who met tonight as they usually did
| +I,o4 l., ,.l, ,I.,, oh
almost amounts to Indifference. There
was vacant seat. for a wonder, beside
Miss Winter, which Tyars promptly ap-
propriated.
'Who,' she asked, after a few conven-
tiona!itles had been exchanged, sis thar
gentleman talking to the American min
lister, and apparently making him laugh,
which IS should say, no easy matter?'
lie is generally making some one
laugh" replied Tyars. His name is
Easton-Matthew Mark Easton. The
sort of name that sticks in the wheel
work OF ones memory. A name one does
not forget"
AND" added Miss Winter, lightly, "a
face that one does not forget. He inter
ests ne-a little"
Tvars laughed at the qualification i'm
piled by the addition of the last two
words,
That is always something" he said.
a small mercy. He is one of my great
es. f-ends-may l introduce him?'
"Certainly," murmured the lady, with
little bow of the head, and then she
changed the subject at once.
'Ilelen," she said, ''is not here to-
night"
Tyars looked befttingly disappointed.
'She does not always care to leave the
admiral and he objects to dissipation on
large scale. Is that not so?" he sug-
geSted.
Yes. That is the case tonight"
She wondered little at his intimate
knowledge of Helen's thoughts but said
nothing. 1t was probable that he heard
this from Oswin, and his singular mem
DRY had retained it.
Miss Grace" said Tyars, presently,
''has a strong sense of duty, and is un-
conscious of it, An unconscious sense Of
duty is one of the best of human mo-
tvps. At least it seems so to me-"
Although Agnes Winter was bowling
and smiling to an old lady near at hand,
she had followed him perfectly.
"Well," she answered, "a sense of duty
of any description is not a bad thing
in these time Indeed" she added. turn
ing suddenly toward him, "a motive is
in itself rather rare. Not many of us
have motives"
Her manner implied as plainly as if
she had spoken it: I'VE are not, all of US,
like you"
There was something in the expression
of his eyes that recalled suddenly their
first meeting at the precise moment when
he, entering the drawing room, overheard
a remark of hers respecting himself. 1t
was not an unpleasant expression, but it
led one to feel nstinctively that this man
might under some circumstances be what
is tersely called in France difficult. 1t
was merely a suggestion, cloaked beneath
his hgh-class repose of manner, but she
had known many men of his class, some
OF whom had made a name in their sew
cral callings, and this same suggestion
Of stubbornness had come beneath her
Quick feeting notice before. He looked
gravely around the room, as If seeking to
penetrate the smiles and vapid affecta-
| ton.
"Oh," he said placidly, II am not so
sure. There are good many people who
pride themselves upon steering a clea-
course. The prevailing motive tonight
is perhaps desire to prove a superiority
over ones neighbors, but 1t is still mo-
tive"
Miss Winter looked at him critically.
Remember" she said, warningly, that
this is my element. The motives Of all
these people are my motives-their pleas
uree my pleasures-their life, my life"
apparently So" he replied, ambigu-
ously.
80 that" she pursued, 81 am indicted
Of the crime of endeavoring to prove my
superiority over my neighbors."
He laughed in an abrupt way.
"No more than myself"
THAT is a mere prevarication," she
persisted, gayIy. Tell me, please, in
what particular this coveted superiority
lies"
I'm a desire to appear more aimless
than you are" he retorted, gravely.
81 deny that. | plead not guilty" she
sa id. II am a person of many motives,
but the many receive their life from one
source. That one source is an earnest
eDdeavor to please myself in all things.
to crowd as much pleasure and as much
excitement into lifetime as 1t will hold"