The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1906-01-12

anu lacy butterfly festoons of whtre
oies touched with yellow. He had
wanted to use dahlias in their many
rlch shades. from pale yellow to
orange and deep red, but Monty held
ou' LOT orchids. 1t was the artist, too,
VINO mad found in a rare and happy
moment the massive gold candelabra-
ancient things Of q more luxurious
age-and their opalescent shades.
against his advice the service, too, was
or gold-"rank vulgarity," he called it,
"ltn its rich meaningless ornamenta-
ton. But here Monty was obdurate.
lie insisted that he liked the color and
mat porcelain had no character. Mrs.
Dan only prevented a quarrel by sug-
costing that several courses should be
served upon Sevres.
fettlhgllIs scheme for lighting the
room was particularly happy. For the
benefit Of his walls and the four love-
~ Monets which Monty had purchased
at his instigation he had designed a
celllng screen Of heavy rich glass in
n of white that grew into yellow
ana u green. 1t served to conceal
the lights in the daytime, and at night
lle glare or electricity was immensely
softened and made harmonious by
passing through it. 1t gave a note of
Qulet to the picture which caused
even these me- and women, who had
been here and there and seen MANY
things. to draw in their breath sharply.
Altogether the effect manifestly made
an impression.
Such an environment had it's in1u-
ence upon the company. 1t went far
toward making the dinner a success.
From far in the distance came the
softened strains of Hungarian music.
and never had the little band played
the "Nalse Amoureuse" and the "Valse
bleue' with the spirit it put into them
that night. Yet the soft clamor in the
dining room mistakenly ignored the
emotion of the music. Monty, bored
as he was between the two most i'm
portant dowagers at the feast, wonder
ed dimly what invisible part it played
IN making things go. He had a vagrant
fancy that without it there would have
Deen no zest for talk, no noisy competi-
ton to overcome, no hurdles to leap.
AS 1t was, the talk certainly went we'll,
II Mrs. Dan inspected the result Of
her work from time to time with smil-
ing satisfaction. From across the ia
BILE she heard Colonel Drew's voice:
brewster evidently objects to a long
siege. lie is planning to carry us by
assault"
Mrs. Dan turned to Subway Smith,
who was at her right-the latest adj
dition to her menagerie. What is
this friend Of yours?" she asked. II
have never seen such complex sim
plicity. This new plaything has no real
charm for him. lie is breaking it to
find out what it is made of, and ONE
thing will happen when he discovers
the sawdust.'
ooh, don't worry about him." said
Subway easily. "Monty's at least a
good sportsman. He won't complain,
whatever happens. He'll accept the
reckoning and pay the piper"
1t was only toward the end Of the
evening that Monty found his reward
in a moment with Barbara Drew. He
stood before her, squaring his Shout
ders belligcrcntly to keep away in
truders, and she smiled up at him in
that b~ewilGcring fashion of hers. But
it was only for an instant, and then
came Il terrifying din from the dining
. room, followed by the clamor Of crash
ing glass. The guests tried for a mo-
ment to be cautiously oblivious, but
the noise was so startling that such
politeness became farcical. The host,
with a little laugh, went down the
hall. 1t was the beautiful screen near
. the ceiling that had fallen. A thou
sand piece; Ct shattered glass covered
!, the place. The table was a sickening
heap of crushed orchids and sputter-
ing candles. Frightened servants rush
: ed into the room from one side just as
> Brewster entered from the other. Stu
pefaction halted them. After the first
: pulseless moment Of horror eXclama-
! lions of dismay went up on all sides.
For Monty Brewster the first sensa-
!, ton of regret was followed by a dia-
! bolical sense Of JOY.
t '"Thank the Lord!" he said softly IN
!, the hush.
, The look of surprise he encountered
). in the faces of his guests brought him
I up with a jerk.
> "That it didn't happen while we were
! dining he added, with serene thank
fulness. And his nonchalance scored
for him in the idle game he was playing.
ITO be continued.)
# Dangers of a Cold and How to
Amid ThAm