Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1907-05-18
THE NEW OWNER.

NAN nave " veal sin gov HN Iuttt soH
washed, turned, mended and made over.
Guess what | just heard
What did you Just hear p I asked.
Why" proceeded Marion. deHghtedly.
Il was standing over by those ferns 4
minute ago and just round the corner
heard Mrs. Lewis say to Claudia Brooks:
/ don't see how the Harcourt girls man
age to dress so Well and Claudia spite
full old thing-said: / think they ought
to be ashamed; everybody knows they
can't afford it But Just then that grand
looking Mr.. Maxwell came over To them
and it wasn't two minutes before l heard
him ask who that striking glri with the
red roses in her hair was. That was you,
Eleanor. Now aren't you tlattcred!"
"Dreadfully," / answered. Anything
more?'
Yes indeed whispered Marion. "rhe
best Of it all was that he asked right
away if you were one of the Harcourts
VINO had owned the old place up town,
and he asked her--Oh. look"
Marion's volubility was checked at
this point by the appearance of the al
ready mentioned Mr.. Maxwell with our
hostess on his arm. He was a grave.
handsome man. about 80 thought and
after Mrs Lewis had presented him he
sat down beside me. He had talked
about a good many things and had al
most wearied Of my momosyllabic re
plies fancy. when he finally brought
up Harcourt. and | proceeded TO aston
i7h him by forgetting that wc%Nere
strangers. and telling him the most ridic-
uous things with characteristic reckless
ness. | told him how we, Marion and /,
went a round about way to avoid passing
the dear old place. and how, when there
WAS no way out of it. We went by with
our heads turned away, because We loved
il 50. | told him we had been born
there and that every big room and every
dingy panel brought up a memory that
We loved. And it was not until Marion
came for me to % home that | realized
that he had istened to me silently for
about an hour, and that Mrs. Lewis was
angry with me for monopolizing the lion
of the evening | went home terribly
ashamed, and convinced that, notwith-
standing that he looked very sympathet'
ic. he was probably shocked.
But some days later, after Mr.. Max
well called with Mrs. Lewis and was 81
nice. | guess he didn't mind after all
And in the weeks following he came fire.
quentlv and we met at several places
Somehow | told at man everything
| couldn't seem to help it. He always
knew gust when to smile, and l never
said a silly thing to cover up a deeper
| feeling in all those weeks that | did not
see sympathy and understanding in his
face. Well it was a pleasant time as
remember it. and l got to thinking a
good deal about him and to liking him
very much. There was only one thing
to dampen our pleasure: one day the
news came to US that Mr.. Griffin. who
| held a mortgage upon HarcoWt, had sold
it to strangers. and Marion and | told
ourselves that from that time cur claim
upon it would be only that of any other
outsiders. who might look at its dear old
walls ana pass it by As I say, this
| darkened our lives little. but there were
~til Nr. MaXwell's visits to look for.
ward to. so it was worth while existing
/ Rut one evening, when he called. he
said Miss Eleanor, ! am going away
/ tomorrow and / want You to do some
thing for me- VIII you?"
Il don't know" | answered in a low
voice Somehow | couldn't for the life
OF me manage anything else But he
didn't seem TO notice that | said nothing
about regretting his going away. He
simply asked rue if ! would 90 down to
Harcomt with him, ! was too miserable
/ to resist, and we went
| Nv heart beat heavily as we walked
lp The dear old oak avenue. and when
4 IN baI ,p,l1t.f cd he broad II ppS and