The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-15
The Spanish Necklace
BY BERTHA M CROKER tCopyriEht 1908. by NJ. All Rights ReservedJ umUwwEUWUHUWWTUFWE WE UgMHHEuMuHu uH III MI uKu

 , full effect on the body. and Hester real. ly looked different, and almost ani.nat- ee as she stole into her place beside Mrs. Britten, who exclaimed with wide open eyes
 why, what have you been doing 10 yourself7 declare. you are quite smart" Then her glance fell on the camellia. Who gave It to you" Hester olushed to the color o. the flower as she answered in - faint voice.
 T bought itr'
 "So I supposed" reJoined the other, as. with a little mocking laugh. she turned to her more congenial support- CT, Mrs. Cox.
 Hester. thanks to her deaf neigh. Dor was almost as isolated as if she were dining alone. Her vis-a-vis felt no interest in the silent possibly stuck up. and certainly dull young wo. man--and she was left entirely to her self.
 However. If her tongue was idle. her eyes were well employed. She watched various pretty girls trooping in, all more or less charmingly dressed: smart married women. tall English- nien--in fact. all sorts and conditions of folk: bright faces. bright toiiettes, and the strains of string band consti- tuted her lively surroundings. Az a
 
 different people might be. She made up for her own amusement stories of | their itves:, but tonight her thoughts no longer circled around her fellow guests; they were flying away in pur- suit of the dark-eyed Spanish cabai. lero.
 Mss Forde. unknown to herself, had suddenly stepped out of one world into l another. and had entered the land of romance and daydreaIns. of hopes and fears of aching miseries and bitter | sweet joys. and never again would she be the same Hester Forde, never til the coffin lid had closed down upon her. What Nancy Byng had said of | her friends was true. Her feelings, ali her life. had been severely repreesed: vet an immense store of sentiment yes. and passion---lay dormant within her. Now. at a sudden call, this had | sprung to life: a glance from pair Of expessive eyes. winning smile. an | easy grace. had summoned Hester's in- | ner self. and her heart. which had been slumbering. was awake at lasti Love at first sight may appear Ariaz- | ing. incredible. impossibly foolish. and yet such an experience is not uneofn- | mon. Hester no longer pondered as to whether the tall. bald.heAded man was the pretty wonian's husband or no7 if l the couple at the table under the win- | dow were brother and sister? or if the little lady in sky-biue was really the mother of those great bis girls' Now. she had somSthinE else on which to speoulate---who was he? when should she see him againf would he recognize her and powf
 Alasl my dear. simple Hester Gas you sit aloof in the backsround of the drawing room. dreaming of an adven- ture. whilst others play eards). what . pity 1t is. you cannot kow that al- ready your hero has forgOtten it-~and you!
 He Is not the man to cast a second thought to the small act of courtesy paid to dowdy. awkward "Anglalse.' Paul de Sazarin. the eldest son of Spanish grandee. is thoroughly alive to his importance. You are by no means the only woman in whose eyes he has found favor; indeed. through all his thirty years he has been spoiled and adored by your sexl Paul enjoys ev- cry moment of his life, his spirite are avagant--notwithstan anding hts mel ancholy eyes--and in spite of his con- quests. men remain his friends; for da Sarazin. though q celebrated cotillion leader and a guitar-player of unusual ability. is a man who can both ride Ills mother, La DuquesA de San Tel mo. occupies for her health's sake a village in Biarritz. and lrives about in a magnificent carriage. looking duchess indeed. She Is extremely pious, and invariably attends the o'clock Mass of a morning; but when she receives her friends three even ings a week. they frequently gamble until dawnl
 Paul dc Earasin, who was educated In England, has many acquaintances. He belongs to the club. he hunts, he plays goif--he also plays tho fool. As Hester Forde reclines in an armchair, gazing through
 ". Charmed magic easements open ing on the foam
 Of perilous seas. in falrylahd for. lorn,"
 he is down below in the Casino. seated at the baecarat table beside a noto- rlously fast Spanish woman. seeking his reflection in her iustrous eyes. du- ring the intervals of play. (Continued Tomorrew.)