The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-11-19

fe6tetI on tie easel eo elq1l ssl1
I itaIi Il ols ianee ind LAUGHED Joyoqs
y. iEaeEn Eoa She had never 6elt he's
self so near TO him as now. What q
boy he WAS. after all. and how funny
! be must look in that old blouse She
sat down "a the rush bottomed chair
and leaned hc- head back against the
sleeve OF the blouse
The walls were bare except for half
finished charcoal and pen and ink stud
/ les, with here aud there a water color
The black and white studies were
strange to her. but the Landscapes all
bore the same struggling signature.
Hugh Asquith.
That Tvns all. Not q single Venus, not
cast OF anything in sight Asquith
was strictly landscape artist and did
not paint the Squire Vaguely she hnd
been pleased Tint he did not. or course
u one were devoted to art and must
paint the figure, then one must have
models. and models must necessarily
Be beautiful, and
Right there Helene's logic ended, but
It was suHcIent She was glad that
AsquIth was a landscape artist and did
not require any model save old Mother
Nature.
She drew on her long mousquetaire
gloves with a sigh OF content. On the
third finger of her left hand sparkled
Z diamond. 1t had been there over a
month now. With q sudden impulse as
the gloves slipped to the door she press
ed the ring against her lips. It $1,000
Tor SO much-more than a mere engage
ment. They had known each other
lung time, two seasons, and she had
met him every winter ut dinners and
BWeH dances. But this summer It hao
been different Asquith said 1t was
fate. Helene thought It the most deli
clous bit OF maneuvering love had ever
managed.
The rest Of the family had gone to
Europe. Helene had hesitated. Be
tween an automobile tour OF Brittany
and the Baltic coast and quiet sum-
mer with her married cousin ut Larch-
mont she had chosen Larchmont. AS
Qulth was n member of the yacht club
at Larchmont. Every morning from
the broad veranda at Bayyiew cottage
she could see him out on the rocks
sketchfng before sunrise.
They were splendid rocks, huge
Gaunt and gray; they rose rasEedly
from the water Mt low tide, like the
bodies of some submerged sea mon
sters. One could walk to them easily.
stepping over little pools left by the
tide and stray strands of seaweed, and
one morning Helene walked to them,
slim and sweet and fresh as the dawn
In her white dress and white low
shoes 1t was the shoes that did 1t.
When Asqufth turned at her call for
help he found her standing in one of
the pools, and the white shoes were
ruined.
Helene glanced up at the wall a
little water color hung near her some
gray rocks in n rose tinted sea, with
bit Of salt marsh in the foreground.
She smiled at 1t happily. They had
sat M there together that morning, and
she had taken OF her shoes and stock
ings-the precious ruined shoes and
stockInEs-and that had been all.
And Asquith had said it was fate.
Size laughed again. He was such
boy, after all. She stopped to pick UP
her gloves and stopped short to look
at something lying on the floor at her
feet. 1t was merely hairpin. she
picked 1t up and looked at 1t curiously.
Her own hairpIns were brown tortoise
shell ones to match her hair. This one
was gold, small, lnsidIous gold wire
AFFAIR, very cheap and very dainty.
The laugh was gone from her lips
In Its place was look OF wonderment
of almost fear. There had been wo
man in Hugh's studio, n woman with |
blond hair, who wore gold wire hair
pins, who dropped gold wire hairpins |
around promiscuously- And Hugh had !
told her he never painted the figure |
More than that, he had told her that
no one knew of his den in the attic ex-
cept herself and few close friends. |
He had no patrons, no buyers OF pic
lures, because as yet he had never sold |
any. All of his relatives were In Eu-
rope too. II the halrpin did not belong |
to a model, whom did it belong to?
With a sudden fierce impulse, she
threw the hairpin away from her 1t
fell with u tiny clink against the wall
Almost instantly she had repented-
After MI. it was purely personal |
affair with Hugh, In which she had
no part. He had not expected her to
visit his studio She had no right to
resent another clement of feminInity
which she had found there. Even II
he did have models 1t was probably
necessary. All artists had to study
from life sooner or later. But was 1t
necessary that they should have hair
that matched gold halrpins?
She arose and crossed the room to
where the hairpin had fallen. For a
moment she held 1t in her hand irreso-
lutte. Then slowly she laid 1t on his
table, and beside 1t she left the new
solitaire ring. 1t would be enough. She
knew that he would understand. As
she turned to the door her eyes filed
with sudden rush OF binding tears.
and as she felt for the latch 1t lifted
and the door opened
1t was not Asquith. On the landing
outside stood girl, plump, rosy cheek