The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1908-04-08

"You do care to dance, do you
Would you mind If we sat out this
dancer"
"If you'd rather" he said. so visit
fully that she hesitated; then with @
little shrug laid one hand on his arm
and they swung out across the floor
together into the scented whirl.
Plank, like many heavy men, dane
ed beautifully. and Sylvia. who still
loved dancing with all the ardor of a
schoolgirl, permitted a moment or two
of keen delight to sweep her dreamily
from her purpose. But that purpose
must have been a strong one, for she
returned to 1t I'm a few minutes and.
looking up at Plank, said very gently
that she cared to dance no more.
Her hand resting lightly on his arm,
1t did not seem possible that any pres
sure Of hers was directing them to the
conservatory, yet he did not know
where he was going, and she was IA
miliar with the house, and they soon
entered the conservatory, where, In the
shadow of various palms, various
youths looked up impatiently as they
passed and various maidens sat up
very straight in their chairs.
Threading their dim way into the
farther recesses, they found seats
among thickets Of forced lilacs over
hung by early wistaria. A spring
like odor hung i'm the air. Somewhere
tiny fountain grew musical in the
semidarkness.
marion told me you had been ask
ed" she said. I'VE have been so
friendly. You've always asked me to
dance whenever we have met, so
thought I'd save you one. Are you
flattered, Mr.. Plank
He said he was, very pleasantly, per
fectly undeceived and convinced Of her
purpose-a purpose never even tacitly
admitted between them, and the old
loneliness came over him again-not
resentment, for he was willing that she
should use him. Why not? Others
used him, everybody used him, and if
they found no use for him they let
him alone. Mortimer, Fleetwood, Bel
wether-all all had something to ex-
act from him. 1t was for that he was
tolerated. He knew It. He had slow
ly and unwillingly learned it. His in
trusiOn among these people, of whom
he was not one, would be endured on
ly while ne might be turned to some
account The hospital used him, the
clergy found plenty for him to do for
them, the museum had room for other
pictures Of his. Who among them all
had ever sought him without a mo
tive? Who among them all had ever
found unselfsh pleasure I'm him? Not
one.
He wished she would come to her
point, but he dared not lead her to it
too brusquely, because her purpose and
her point were supposed to be abso-
lutely hidden from his thick and cred
ulous understanding. 1t had taken
him some time to make this clear to
himself. Passing from suspicion
through chagrin and overwounded feel,
ing to dull certainty that she. too, was
using him. harmlessly enough from
her standpoint, but how bitterly from
his, he alone could know.
The hutter of her fan meant impa-
thence to learn from him what she had
fed, to leave him alone again amid
the peopled solitude of clustered lights.
He wished she would speak. He
was tired of the sadness Of it all.
Whenever in his isolation, in his utter
destitutiOn of friendship, he turned
guilelessly to meet new advance, al
ways, sooner or later, the friendly
mask was lifted enough for him to
divine the cool, fixed gaze of self in
terest inspecting him through the
damask Sits.
Sylvia was speaking now, and the
plumy fan was under savant control.
waving graceful accompaniment to her
soft voice, punctuating her sentences
at times, at times making an emphasis
or outlining a gesture.
1t was the familiar sequence-topics
that led to themes which adroitly skirt
ed the salient point; returned capri
ciously, just avoiding tia subtly
charming pattern of words which re-
quired so little in reply that his smile
and nod were almost enough to keep
her aria and his accompaniment ahoat.
1t began to fascinate him to watch
the delicacy Of her strategy, the co
quoting with her purpose; her naive
advance to the very edges of it, the
airy retreat, the innocent detour, the
elaborate and circuitous return. And
at last she drifted into it so naturally
that it seemed impossible that fatuous
man could have the most primitive sus-
picion Of her generalization.
And Plank, now recognizing his cue,
answered her. mo, 1 have not heard
that he is in town. l stopped to Sc.
him the other day, but nobody there
knew how soon he intended to return
from the country"
81 didn't know he had gone to the
country" she said without apparent in.
terest.
And Plank was either too kind to