The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-03-03


on his scholastic brow. As she entered
his library she found him pacing up and
down the Bokhara rug.
THAT person who's rented your room
back there he began.
- young girl. sir ventured Mrs Mar
tin.
must part with that Internal ca
nary" he went on. ignoring the informa
ton. "or either she or l will have TO
leave. For three days now I've listened
to its noise till I'm in such a state Of
mind that 1 can't evolve single clear
thought. or reason sylIogistically. It's
absurd"
Mrs Martin hadn't, perhaps the faint
est idea what the evolution Of clear
thought meant, nor what 'syllogistic
/ reasoning" implied. but she had a most
excellent idea of what Mr.. George Char
| lemagne Towers occupation Of the best
part of her apartment meant, and what
his threat implied. For five years now
he had been her model star lOdger a
bachelor and "A heart-whole man. She
had come TO look upon him as comfort
able fixture, and so had her husband.
who was something OF an idier, having
found no position in life exactly suited TO
his gifted Responsibilities
Miss Clemmens-thats the young girl,
sir. won't part with her canary, I know.
observed the landIady, neryously picking
up a paper weight. She's uncommonly
fond OF the bird. But I'll tell her I'd like
/ the room when her weeks up Mrs. Mar
tin laid down the paper weight with the
air Of a martyr.
VERY well" grunted Mr. Tower, pull
/ ing up the shade of his hbrary's back
window with jerk. so that the morning
sunlight struck ike gold upon the big
rubber plant Then he opened the win
dow; it was very warm in the room.
/ Suppose III have TO stand the nuisance
a few days longer That's all. Good
morning" lie sat down at his mahog-
any desk with an air of dismissal and
/ drew some papers toward him.
As he bent over his manuscripts. goose
quill in hand, suddenly there sounded the
whir Of tiny wings in the stiffness Of the
/ ROOM and there. on the very sunniest leaf
/ Of his rubber plant, perched a little yell
/ low canary.
After an alert coquettish inspection Of
/ the room and its occupant, the bird lifted
/ its slender neck and emitted several pene-
! trating chlrpS; then> it filled its lungs
with air. its soft chest expanded, and it
burst into a gust of song.
Come in. come in" called Mr.. Tower.
brusquely. in response 10 a knock upon
/ his haIf-closed door. He looked up over
/ his glasses. There, straight and slender.
and very. very young. stood a girl. the
\ splendid morning light bathing her and
turning the bronze Of her soft hair to
l fire
You see-ny canary she ex-
planned. Il was giving him a bath-and
I he spied your plant in the sunlight. and
will you close your window. please. and
+ let me coax him back? I'm your new
/ neighbor. Gracioca Clemmens. in Mrs.
Martins back room there" She nodded
I pTetuiy over her shoulder, down the side
/ OF the long apartment
/ "Gracioca"' calculated Mr.. George
! Charlemagne Tower, half TO himself. as
he closed the window There had never
! been but one of that name outside the
/ covers of the old green fairy-bOok. That
one was a girl he had known in Yale.-in
his freshman year. At that tender age
she had been sufficiently older than ne
10 lay siege upon his susceptibnities.
Lordy, lordy. how far away that seemed
nov. "She vas a Miss Barr" he said.
refectively. lingering his watch chain. rs
he looked at the girl coaxing the canary,
''and she went Vest
"Uh-hUh. acquiesced the girl. rightly,
that's where she met father" The
bird flew to her shoulder. and with one
hand she covered it daintily and bent
down her coral lips to caress its tiny,
fluffy head. But how ever did you come
10 know mother? Think 1 look like her?'
VERY much, indeed" said the man.
gravely. answering the last question.
/ only prettier," he added, mentally. look
ing down confusediy ON the fine white
parting that separated the FURNISHED gold
en- waves Of hair.
She's disturbed my train Of thought"
he said. helplessly. after she had disap-
( peared. so her mother died when she
was baby. and she's all alone in the
world, poor child"
For the next hour Mr.. George Charlie
magne Tower scrubbed away idly over his
desk. Idiy for visions of a goddess with
FURNISHED hair got mixed ID with every
thing he wrote. Finally, he. pressed the
electric button. When Mrs. Martin ap-
/ peared he explained TO her that he'd
changed his mind about the canary
rather fancied he liked its singing, after
also she need not disturb herself about
complaining to its owner. She had not
already done so. he hoped.
Mrs. Martins kindly, motherly face
beamed. No, she had not She was de-
ferring that unpleasant mission till even
I ing Miss Clemmens went out to work
every morning-that was she who closed
the hall door a half hour ago-and she
was afraid it might upset the poor girl
for the days duties, telling her just as
she left.
When Mrs. Martin had gone, the bache-
Tor Strengthened up and laughed. and
with the laugh he was transformed. He
pushed his pen and ink away: put the
paper weight over his unfinished manu-
script, strobe into the hall and rang for
the lift with the swagger of youth His
slightly bent, scholarly walk was dis
carded. What man could be old with a
face like Gracioca's in his heart?
a day or two later when he found that
this embodiment of youth was mother
ly Mamie" of THE Young Girls EN-
broidery Bazaar" and that her duties
were to lead the young mind into the
mysteries of purling. drop-stitch, and SEN
timent, he acknowledged that there was
some humOr in life, after all.
Life was not only humorous, It was
gradually becoming luminous, as we'll