Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-26

purposes b really me specimen Oh PEER
There are moments" said Mrs Craven
sharply, when I'm very sorry you're
grown up"
Kate went across and sat on the arm of
smack me and put me to bed?''
I've done it many time when you're
been in this mood
"Can you see the black dog on my shoul-
Larger than ever. Kate, you should try
and control yourself"
'Oh, be just, aunt. I didn't lie down on
the floor. and kick or do anything like that"
mo, thanks to me, you can keep your
temper under more decent control now.
Now, don't you kiss me, and think I'm
silly old woman and try to get round me
that way-I know exactly how you're feel
ing. Oh, you'd lead any man dance who
married YOU"
I'm certain should said Kate cheer
fully. unless he was the right one. But,
auntie DEAR don't you think it would be
safer not to press me to marry any one at
all? 1 give you my word for 1t that there's
no one marriageable l want to marry.
And if you leave me alone with my other
amusement that keeps me out of worse
mischief"
At the princes park house in the old
days there had been a room known as the
masters study. 1t had no books in 1t
whatever, because the excellent Godfrey
disiked books 1t had writing desk GER
tainly, but never even an ink pot on 1t to
indicate There were just card table
y
uncompromising ugliness. In short, it was
not the masters study at all, but 1t en-
phatcaly was his card room.
1t remained in its original state till Hates
return from the coast, and then she begged
it from her aunt, who gave it gladly
Il want a place where can type let
ter" Kate had said, land have copying
press without going down to Water street
They begin to stare at me down there and
I hate 1t. No one objects to a girl being
In business If she is merely clerk, but
if she gets hold of big successes. well. the
men aren't nice about it. If l find 1t an
swers I may lay on secretary.
So she emptied the room and furnished 1t
afresh, and Mrs. Cravens heart warmed
as she saw the girls natural craving Tor
home express itself in chairs and pictures,
in pretty wall hangings and dainty car
pets, in graceful flower bowls, and all those
little touches of domeSticity which are
the mysterious outcome of sex. Ihere was
it turned out. small box room alongside
which was never used and which could be
linked up by a door knocked through the
wall. This could be the secretary's room
press, and the typewriter, and all the other
crude machinery of commerce.; and so
Miss Hates room," as it came to be called.
fulfilled in appearance little enough OF It's
original intention of Office.
One can hardly associate walls panelef
In rose-pink brocade with the much-abused
art of company promotion. But Kate sat
in that pretty room and thought out there
brought her such brilliant success. She
felt She had retired from the firing line;
she schemed and planned in secure cover
outside the battle; and when any idea
eiuded her for too long she went out and
drove her motor car, or played golf, till
the idea arrived In the season she some
times went away on butterfly huntlng
trips. At the same time she had great
ideas of buying an estate where she could
have a private golf course OF her own
She had grown SO strangely sensitive to
stares these days. and, people said: un $50
ciable. Her engagement to Mr.: Austin had
been broken off long ago, and to tell the
truth Austin was well enough pleased to be
rid of her. Africa, he felt, had eliminated
h from d her all 5e nS hen
again she was so enormously r1ch; one
could not he told himself, marry a woman
with such an unwieldly amount OF riches
that the future Mrs. Austin, If ever there
was one, should have more practice IN nigh
finance than was necessary to manage nef
own accounts and the household weekly
bills.
In fact it was over this question that he
fiattered himself had come their split, She
had given him, to be sure, pretty broad
hint that day ON the landing stage, but the
actual rupture of their engagement had not
come till q week later, and Kate was clever
enough to make Mr.. Austin think that the
idea was his and his alone. stu they mad
parted on excellent terms, and any service,
professional or otherwise that Austin could
render her in the future was one that he
should look forward to, as he promised,
most keenly.
Though you cannot see your way to be
my husband" she had said to him lightly,
you will still upon occasion act as my
solcitor?
Lets call it FRIEND Kate he had an
swered and they parted on that.
But that day, after Aunt Jane had showed
her the Carter leader in the paper, Kate
went to her room and somehow her
honl m
tried to analyze why she had ever got en-
gagged to him. AS far as she could define
it, a sort of empty space, partial vac
uum, had come into her life, and Austin
appeared and in a tentative way seemed to
fill it. Now that he was gone. the vacuum
returned. 1t did not exactly ache, but II
caused a vague discomfort that annoyed
her and when she demanded cure, some
thing within her kept repeating: Garter,
Carter Carter!'
She resented this clamor. She told her
self that she was strong woman She re-
fused to have her hand forced. She de-
clined to allow an eX-employe of her own
to be forced into her life as its only COM
plement And still that inner something.
with irritating persistency' Kept repeating:
familiar, and began to murmur: George,
She stood it for an hour, stood for that
time persistent, inward voices urging her,
with never falter, to one narrow course,
and then she got up from her great cush-
Toned chair and went to an old Sheraton
bureau Only one narrow drawer in 1t was
locked, and she carried the key of that
among the charms her watch bangle.
She opened the drawer and took from 1t
photograph.
1t was only steamer group, crudely
taken by an amateur on a kodak film, a
very imperfect thing at it's best. and mot
tied now by the persistent West African
mildew A piece of brown paper with q
hole in it was in the same drawer, mask
so cut that it blocked out all of the group
except one individual. She fitted this into
place and gazed her fill on this very crude
presentment of George Carter.
Well, at any rate he was not handsome
man Tut there was something about even
this Indifferent photograph that gave her a
great thrill. 1t touched some inward chord
that no power on earth could set into Vi
bration, and she was disconnected thereby.
The gong went for dinner. She Ignored
it. A servant came presently-she had
added to the number of servants at the
Princes Park house and Mrs. Craven ac-
cepted the alteration passively-and the
servant most respectfully stated that din
ner would be served in ten minutes, and
was not Miss Kate going up to dress? But
MISS Kate was busy and would have cup
Of tea and a sandwich
Mrs Craven below got the news, smiled
grimly, and ate an extremely good dinner
She felt a fine satisfaction in having set to
work exactly the right influences which