The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-11
-:- OUR DAILY SHORT STORY j.

it the most delicious bit of manoeuver- I ing love had ever managed. | The rest of the family had gone to Ehrope. Helene had nesitated. Be- tween an automobile tour of Brittany and the Baltic coast and a quiet sum- Hner with her harrisd cousin at Larch- mont, she had chosen Larchmont As qlith was member of the yacht i club at LarehnIont. Every morning
 from the broad veranda st Bayview IsCottase she ceuad see him out on ths jrooks, sketching before sunrise. | They were splendid rocks, huge gaunt, and gray, they rose raggedly From the. water at low tide, like the bodies of some submerged sea n.on- sters. One could walk to them. easily, stepping over little pools left by the tide, and stray strands of seaweedl And one morning Helene walked to them, slim and sweet. and fresh as the dawn in her white dress and white low shoes. Asquith turned at her call for help, he found her stan ding 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 grey rocks in rose tinted sea, with a bit of salt marsh in the foreground. She smiled at it happily They had SdI up IuBGEHGE nGFniHSt and she had taken off her shoes and stockings. the precious, ruined shoes and stockings. and that had been. all.
 And Asquith had said it was fate.
 She laughed again He was such boy, after all She stopped to pick ua her gloves, and stopped short to lock at something lying on the floor at her feet. It was merely a hairpin. She picked it up and looked at it curi-
 
 tortoise shell ones to match her hair. This one was gold, small, insidious gold wire affair, very cheap and very dainty.
 The laugh was gone from her lips In its place was a look of wonderment, of almost fear. There had been a wn- man in Hugh's sudio. A woman with blonde hair. who wore gold wire hair pins, who dropped gold wire hairpins arc und 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 except herself and a few close friends. He had no patrons, no buyers of pie tures because as yet he had never sold any All of his relatives were in Flu rope, too. If tbe hairpin did not be- long to a model, whom did it belong to?
 Wllh d SuuNEn ItTte lIHDulS6 sue threw the hoirpin away from her. It fell with a tiny clank against the wall Almost instantly she had re- pented. After all. it was purely per sonal affaiT with Hugh. in which she had no part. He had not expected her to visit his studio She had no right t1 resent another element of femi- ninity which she had found there. Even if he did have models it was -t-J. A aeff= F1 had ff study from life sooner or later. But was it necessary that they should have hair that matched gold hairpins?
 GF rose and crossed the room to where the hatrpin had fallen. For moment she held it in her hand ir- resolute Then slowly she laid it on his table. and beside it she left the new solitaire ring. It would be enough She knew that he would un- her eyes filled with sudden rush of hlinding tears, and as she felt for the latch, 1t lifted, aud the door opened.
 It was not Asquith On the landing outside stood a girl, plump. rosy cheekked and red hairea, holding up her skirts in one hand and pail of scrub water in the other
 Och thought Mir. Asquith was at home" she said apologeticallv. 'f just cleaned up his place, ma'am, and guess I lest one Of my hairpins-
 ''I laid it on the tabie,' said Hslene, it's a little wire one, but I need IT to keep nay pug up tight"
 gently. The girl set the pail down on the stairs, and secured the hairpin, fastening up her tumbling red eurls with it deftlv
 Thank you. ma'am," she called as she went downstairs, and Helene went hark t0 tha table. and slipped the ring in it's old place just as Asquth came up the stairs.
 (Copyright, 1906, by Ruby Dcuglas.)