Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-08-13

at length, in his easy, 1eisurely, fash
ion
This is the age of compromise. and
she abhors compromise. Black is
black and white is white 10 her. ANY
thing complex distresses her. She
mates problems, don't you, my dear?''
I have not the patience or the
brains to solve them"
Her brains are all right He adj
dressed himself to Charters. convey.
ing the idea that this intimate person
al talk was perfectly natural and the
seal, as 1t were, of a friendship just
begun. But she is half Mottisfont.' .
That is the half hate"
on, no, you don't YOU hate the
defects of the Monnisfontain qualities,
not the qualities themselves. which
are admirable Again he turned to
Hugo, speaking as If Joy were not
present: She makes a good many
people in HershaW happy, and in par
tlcular one lazy old man, because she
is happy herself content with the sim
pie pleasures of the passing hour,
satisfied with small things because
they belong to her. That Is the true
wisdom. She sings little songs to a
guitar, but she will tell you that she
mas no ambition to sing big songs, to
big public, to the accompaniment Of
grand piano"
! "Not l." said Joy.
I am different. | mean was diff.
ferent. I wanted to sing the big song
But now,' he laughed pleasantly, as
IL sensible of the vanity of human
ambitions, II am like er, she has
taught me the great lesson; once I
burned to discover a new continent.
| found instead the Boletus Ven
nabilis"
AT ten o'clock this first never-to-be-
forgotten evening drew to a close, but
the parson, most hospitable of men, in
sisted upon refreshment being offered
to his guest. Hugo followed Joy
downstairs and into the dining-room.
| Upon the table were sandwiches and
whiskey Apollinaris
| Il made the sandwiches" said Joy.
II shall be insulted if you don't eat
some"
Then, very seriously she thanked
him for cooling.
You have done father so much
good. Really, you seemed sort of
Aladdin. And on your magical car
pet we have visited all the delightful
places we shall never see"
"Never?'
Father will never see them, at any
rate" Her voice faltered, almost
broke, but she continued vehemently:
"You have no idea what he really is.
| I dare say you have misjudged him.
Everybody does. He has had great
disappointments And, Of course, he
| ought never to have come here"
Whatever he lost by coming, he
gained-you'
The slight pause before the pronoun
made her glance at him with appre.
hension. If Joy had revealed herself
as other than the Grand Vizer Of her
father, SO also Hugo, in his seductive
atmosphere of home, quite as uncon
sciously, let slip his mask of indif
ference and aloofness.
Yes; he has me-" then she laughed
nervously; "but I'm not so conceited
as to flater myself that I make up to
him for what he lost"
"You do.'
''No, no."
ASK Esme Burgess"
The sudden introduction of the
young fellows name had an effect. At
once the talk ceased to be intimate.
Burgess played gooseberry. They
couldn't escape from him, or from,
what he had done, and was doing, and
would be likely to do. He accompanied
them to the hall door. But at the
very last he vanished.
''You are coming tomorrow"
Yes said Hugo.
For an instant, as her hand lay in
his, as he felt the soft pressure of her
fingers. so eloquent of the gratitude
and liking that she could not translate
into speech, he was tempted to fling
prudence to the winds and say: 81 am
leper, but you have touched me, and
l am clean"
Instead, he said, with curious chill
in his voice: Goodnight, Miss Ven
nable."
Other evenings followed. The in
timacy deepened and widened. Joy al
ways greeted Hugo with smile and
he never paused to reflect what it's alb
sence would have meant to him. Also,
being confirmed in his belief that JOY
would marry Burgess, he interpreted
that smile as inspired by gratitude. He
accepted 1t as backsheesh.
She proposed that they should play
golf together The epidemic had worn
itself out: ten days had passed with