Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1908-10-15
CHAPTER vi.


When we met at breakfast the next
morning there were no signs of the
breach between Vincent and myself
except his unusual pallor, which sug-
gested to me that he, too, had spent
sleepless night.
The girls were inclined to joke our
solemn faces, but so long as the meal
passed off without disclosing that
something was amiss between us I did
not care. All day we saw nothing of
each other, but this was not unusual,
as we always pursued different
courses. | spent most of my time
with Agatha Fourth, the only honor
able, whom / found to be a really de-
lightful girl and certainly the posses
sor of remarkable musical talent.
In the evening the others went out
to row on the lake and left Agatha
Fourth alone with me. She sat at the
piano and played everything she
could think of, while l lay on a broad
divan where / could watch her and
listen to the soft music.
I suppose that my bad night had
something to do with the fact that
I was boor enough to fall asleep while
the beautiful Agatha Fourth was play
ing for me. Certainly | know that
was guilty of that appalling rudeness,
for / was suddenly brought to state
of consciousness by the sound of a
clock striking. l counted the strokes
mechanically--there were IL. / must
have slept for hours, and, sure enough,
the room was dark except for the fire.
light, and my sighted hostess was
gone from the piano stool. AS I was
about to rise l heard voices, and, turn
ing, l saw on the other side of the
plano man and girl. The man was
Vincent, of course, and I thought, as
I looked at him sitting full in the
bright freight. that he had never
looked so handsome. His evening dress
showed off his superb athletic form
to the best advantage, and his face
was fresh and strong, with the bronze
of his tan extending to the roots of his
hair. which was cut close to conceal
a wave in the gold of it. 1t occurred
to me at once that his face had lost
much of its boyishness and he looked
every inch man. But it took me
some time to realize that the girl who
sat with him was none other than the
secretary.
At first 1 could not tell what it was
that had so changed her, whether it
was her shimmering white evening
gown, or the cleaning bracelets, until
at last 1t came to me in a flash that it
was nothing more nor less than the
glory of her hair that had wrought the
transformation. l had never seen the
secretary with her hair done any way
but plainly and unbecomingly, but
now 1t was dressed as knew it should
have been dressed long ago. She wore
1t low on her long, slender neck, rolled
at the sides and ripping loosely back
from her forehead, in shining waves
and little willful rings held in place
with big shell combs.
And when at last 1t dawned upon
me that 1t was really the secretary
who was Vincent's companion, so
GREATNESS was / with amaze that at
FIRST I hardly realized that could
hear perfectly what they were saying.
And when / did realize 1t, I wanted to
rise and let them know that l was
there. but on second thought I saw
that must have been there for so long
that they would never believe that
had not heard the whole of their con-
versation. Furthermore. 1t occurred
to me that 1t might be well IL stayed
to hear what Miss Marsh had to say
for herself.
"And so I calmly took the dress and
put It on. just to amuse myself"
heard the secretary saying, land did
my hair the way the others do theirs,
you know. And it.was SO late thought
no one would find me here"
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