The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-07-12

Red Spell, I THE Thir
gel, The Dream Of Peace
es, Etc.
lprcttY girl sNinto the bargain land It
would be n pleasure to do something
70 please liet." f3ut lie also desired
!, the pleasure OF seeing her look pleased
, ~ Ne pleasure, that Is to say,sof be-
Ing Frequently in her company; and
that wan q desire That grew upon him.
II was no wonder, for the compli-
merits which he had paid her. though
rerha pss Improper to 5nay, were certain
" well deserved. i Florence Aspinall
wear spectnclcs. nor was she one of
tho literary ladies' WHO are so occupied
with great thoughts that they have
no time to wash their hair. Her hair
wns golden, and glittcred Ike corn
when the SUN shines on It; her eyes
were blue; her countenance was fresh:
and her figure was plump and grace
fnl. And Mr.. Quidnunc. as has been
said. was 5aywidower. and, though elder-
~ w 1lOs5itGAiS Oltl W NC ~
sensible to such charms. And he was
not gentleman. not even one OF ma
.ture's gentlemen, as. OF course. a man
brought up among sa,lsnges may per-
!fectly we'll be. And so--.-
Well. as the time passed. the situa-
ton became more and more awkward
for the lovers who loved under his
patronage. He did not fix" things
with his customary expedition; he pre-
ferred to discuss them at great length
in ell their details. Moreover he OK
.hiblted a tendency to leave Osmond
Dillingham; out of the consultations, and
to expound his plans to Florence As
pinall alone. He took her out to lunch;
he took her out to dinner: he even
limited at a desire to take her to the
theatre and to supper at Princes. and
seemed annoyed when she insisted that.
for the last named excursion. she must
have chaperon. Osmond began to
get angry.
II don't like It." he said.
'No more do l." said Florence. But
what's to be done? I'm sure I've
dropped hints enough"
Hints? What's the use OF dropping
hints to a man brought UP among
Not much, I'm afraid. But what's
to be done? If I snubbed him too
openly he might revenge himself on
you. and do want him to publish "The
Rloodstained Founding" SO please
trust me. Osmond I'll be as stiff with
him as dare I always am, and i
do manage to keep him at distance,
really
And no doubt she did so. and though
she could continue to do SO. But that
task Is always hard when woman
is young and fascinating, and allows
herself. for whatever reason. to be
taken to lunch and to dinner by
man too old to be easily abashed. hard
headed. hard-skinned. and impervious
to hints And Osmond knew that, or
at least suspected it.
"Of course TRUST YOU my pet" he
said. but I've not so much conf
dence in him. and l think we'd
better try another kind Of diplomacy.
Suppose you had nervous breakdown
and went away for a change OF air.
Then might be able to get the ar
for the new paper put
while you were in the coun-
try"
1t seemed the best course open to
them. and they adopted 1t.
i've got to go to Hastings" Florence
said; "I'll so and stay with her.
Soon"
"I'll wire and ask II may go to-
morrow"
ence went. But she forgot-or did not
stop to reflect-that Hastings was
within motor run from London. ana
that Mr.. Quidnunc was motorist. And
that was the accident that brought
to climax.
She was absent for exactly week.
At the end OF the week Osmond re.
ceived a telegram from her. to say tina
she was returning. and wanted him
TO meet her on the platform at charing
Cross. He was Just able to finish die
tating his letters in time to keep the
appointment. with horrid suspicious
dawning in his mind
$50 soon? Has anything happened?"
he asked eagerly. as he helped her out
of the train. and they walked up and
down together in the open space un-
der the clock
What! You don't mean to say that
he followed you to Hastings"
Yes. he came down yesterday on
his motor. He called this morning. My
aunt was In bad with one Of her. bad
headaches. / had to see him alone.
s'And he made love to you? You
don't mean to say that he made made. love.
But that was indeed what t, he e had Z. q
as she admitted 1t. IA
1T wasn't my fault really, osmond.
I couldn't help It, ] did everything to
stop him. But he wouldn't be stop
ped. He asked me-oh! how can.
tell you?-he asked me to throw you you
over and marry him instead -.
And you?" he asked, with. that mo-
mentary twinge of jealousy which is
inevitable In such a case. 81. 4
81 stamped his face, osmond,
and" 5ss77stf3
There was consolation in that: and
then Osmond asked: Ibid he take 1t
quietly, like a gentleman 2"
But he had not done 50. He had
taken 1t like a man brought up among
sansages, He had vowed + revenge; he
had boosted OF his power and threat
ened to use II; he had told Florence
that she had done a bad mornings
work for Osmond All that was4vul-
gar and underbred In his nature had
"out he goes, miss-out into the
street. That's where 7 took him from,
and that's where I'll put him back.
oEyfr trJo rS,yo n