The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-03-03

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the figure in front OF her That's tho
new made princess. to the right. Tho
tall one with the no-colorcd hair. I
SUPPOSE that's the Prince d'Antri .eside
her.
He's too handsome to be a very
real prince. What face for a sculp-
tor Orr"
"or q barber. a beard like that
A gorgeously apparellcd couple lust
In front OF tho Greers, In the line,
moved forward within tho zone OF
Conover's greeting. Caleb nodded
patronizingly to the man, and more
ciyilly to the woman. as8
Mr.. Conover," the latter: was MUIR
muring In on anguish OF respectful ten-
me and the man. askin' US here to-
night with oil your stylish friends,
an"
"oh, there's more than your hus-
band and me, here. who'd get hungry
by habit II they heard noon whistle
blow" laughed Conover, as with q jerk
OF his red head and word of pleas
ant welcome. he passed them on down
the reception line. Then the Railroad
er's light, deep-set eyes fell on Greer.
and no stepped forward. both hands
outstretchcd.
Good evening, Greer!' he cried, and
there was subcurrent OF latent power
in his hearty voice. Good evening!
Pleased to see you in my house. Mrs.
Greer, presume? Most kind OF you
to come. ma'am. Proud to make your
acquaintance. Lctty!' summoning
with Jerk OF the head an over
dressed, Misunderstanding little wo-
man from the line behind hIm-"Ietty,
this is my very good friend, Mr. Tai
bot Firth Grecr-Mrs. Conover-AIr.'
and Mrs. Greer. Mr.. Greer is the next
Congressman from the Eleventh Dis
trict. Chats a little prophecy, Mr..
Greer. You can gamble on. its coming
true.) My daughter Princess d'Antri-
Mr.. and Mrs Greer. Prince Amadeo
dAntri. My secretary, MISS Anice La
nier-AIr. and Mrs.-'
A new batch Of guests swarmed down
the hall toward the host, and the orr
deal was over The Greers, swept on
in the rush, did not hear Conover'a
next greeting. This was rather pity.
since 1t differed materially from that
layished upon themselves.
Its recipient was q big young man,
with shock of light hair and quiet,
dark eyes. -Hc wore his clothes well,
and looked out OF place in his vulgar,
garish surroundings. Caleb Conover,
Railroader, eyed the newcomer al over
with cold, expressionless glance A
glance that no seer on earth could
have read; the glance that had gained
him more than ono victory when wits
and concealment OF purpose were rife.
Then he held out a grudging hand.
We'll, Mr.. Give staneish." he OBJ
served, ''it seems the lion and the lamb
lie down together, after ala con-
millennium. And the lamb inside, at
that. To think OF clubman and
cotillon leader, and a frst-families scion
and Civic Lacquer and all that sort
OF thing condescending to honor my
poor shanty--
MY aunt. Mrs. Conover, wrote, ask
ing me especially to come, as favor
to her" replied the younger man sti1-
~. II thought
'And you were o. K. In thinking 1t.
I know Lefty wrote, because dc
tated the letter. I wanted to count
you in with the rest tonight, and I
had n kind of bashful fear that your
love for me, personally, might not be
strong enough to fetch you. You've
got too much sense to think the In
wife will score either way in our feel
ings to each other, or that I'm going
back on what said to you four years
ago. Now that you're here, chase in
and enjoy yourself. This place is like
heaven. to-night, in one way. You'll
see a whole lot of people here you
never expected to, and you'll miss
more II q rev you thought Wouiu sure
belong Good-by. Don't let me block
your job of heavenly recognition."8
The wilful coarseness and brutality
of the man came as no surprise to
Standish. He had expected something
of the Sort and had braced himself
for it. To please his aunt, whom no
sincerely pitied, he had entered ,le
Conover house tonight for the first
time since the Homeric quarrel. incl
dent on his refusal to avail himself
of Calcb's prestige in his law work,
and, incidentally to enroll himself as
one of the Railroads nu,nberless po-
litical vassals. That the roughness TO
which Conover had just subjected him
was no more part of the formers
real nature than had been the ner-
vous effusiveness Of his greeting of
the Greers, Give well knew. It had
been intended to cover any embarrass-
ing memories Of q former and some-
what less. strained acquaintanceship;
and as such it-like most. of Conovers
moves-had served its turn
4 So,tresistng his first Impulse to de-
part as he had come, Standis1l moved
on. The formal receiving phalanx was
a., a. ,,, IJo Yoanaa1