The Washington herald., 1907-12-11
CHAPTER XXXVI-(Continued.) }

Vida mounted slowly. II was not that
she needed an excuse for going. That
did not In the least trouble her. When
Mr.. Emerson met the fresh Rhodora in
the woods" and decided. quite correctly
that If eyes were made for seeing. then
beauty was its own excuse for being" he
settled Vida's case also. She had certainly
and indisputably the identical same ex-
cUse for seeing and being seen.
Still. al intervals she blushed. as doubt
less did the Rhodora-a plant OF whose
beauty We can only judge over here by
pictures and the faded desiccations OF
museUms-just because some one had seen
her where she was The watcher was
not formidable He was not even look
ing her way-an old man apparently.
bending over stick and letting himself
slowly down the mountain side But
Vida waited al he had passed away be
hind a clump Of trees toward the Kirk
town road. She breathed freely again.
pulled primrose to stick in her dress.
surveyed il with her head on one side.
decided that it was too short In the
shank, besides which the color did not
go with her corlple Sion. Then she pulled
a strand or two of the broom blossom
with stalks that were long enough TO be
set in her belt, and retained a branch
in her hand against the flies. IL was
too early IN the year really. for flies. but
IT looked nice, and one never knows when
one may need a weapon of some sort
She was going to see Phil. since Phil
had grown so coid-yes. and difficult.
Well. perhaps. il had been her fault.
II IS not a bad thing to neglect your
Phil a little on purpose. II he goes of
and plays with something or somebody
else. then, If you care about him, il is
time TO take steps. And you will care
about him rs never before,
Perhaps that was why Vidas patience
had been so long Phil had only played
with his mine.
Indeed. he was looking at his balance
sheet when a certain shadow appeared
among the trees by the window. I. was
a source of some considerable pride 10
him-this balance sheet. For the first
time Phil had had enough 10 pay the
men. without calling upon the check book
OF Mr. Jacob Romer.
The old man had just been there. Ne
had said some kind words-gOing his
way however. with sigh because he
was drawing to close. He would soon
If all went well. be reaping where he had
scwn and gathering where he had straw
ed-operations with which he was sufi-
ciently familiar for them to have lost ali
novelty His kind friends of Incubus &
Co. We're quite wrong about him on this
occasion.
But the figure, mounting higher on the
sprinkled sunshine upon the long folio
of paper which had earned the applause
OF Mr. RomeT startled Phil AZ his ac-
counts At last Vida was coming down
the tack of the sunbeams toward him.
out of the pine alleys-the same into
which he had. ten minutes before. seen
her father vanish.
She seemed a reward Of merit Joyous.
gay. the light Of afternoon misty and
luminous about her. Vida was transfie-
ured to the eyes Of the young man. She
smiled at him through the panes OF glass
like the embodiment of happier world.
She seemed made for other destinies-to
have her card filed first at ball PbiI
loathed balls, 10 garner as In sheaf
the applause OF crowded theaters (Phn
4bhorred theaters). Yet Tor al that she