Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1909-12-11
By
HAROLD
MAC GRATH
Copyright. 1908. BY the Bobbs-
Merrill Co.


70 pursue. common sense notwith
standing. The vein Of romance IN him
was strong and all the commercial
blood OF his father could not subiu-
gate It. He rang for paper and a
messenger aud wrote. Nine. Anrot
There is a letter for YOU IN the
mail department OF this Office" This
time his Initials were not necessary
Once the message was on its way ne
sought Merrihew. whom he found
knocking the balls about IN a spiritless
manner
"A hundred TO seventy-dve. Dan
For whatT
For the mere FUN OF the game. Of
course"
Make It cigars. just TO add inter
est"
Cigars. then"
But they both played a very indif-
ferent game. At 1890 Merrihew's
eyes began 70 haunt the clock. and Hn-
lard grew merciful for various rea-
sons
What time does the performance
end ?" be asked.
AT 1850 but Il takes about twenty
minutes 20 scrape or the makeup"
Merrihew pat his cue in the rack.
he made OF Tor the coat room.
Hiilard laughed and went up 10 she
writing room 60 fulfill n part OF his
destiny. lie took the letter out and
read IL again. lie replaced the letter
In its blue covering. and then for the
first time his eye met the superscrip-
tion. Like n man entranced he sat
there staring The steward bad
brought the letter 10 him. and In his
FIRST excitement this had made no i'm
preston upon his mind. He had seen
nothing peculiar nor strange. And
here It was. not his initials. but his
name In fun.
She knew who he vast
In fashionable quarter OF the CITY
there stood n brownstone house. with
grotesQue turrets. winding steps and
Rlaring polished red tiles. There
was touch OF the gothic. or the
renaissance. Of the old English man
or, Just touch. however. kind
or blind mans bun OF a house. A
very rich man lived here. but FOR ten
months IN the year be and his family
uuttered about the social centers OF the
world. And. with a house Ike this on
bis hands. one could scarce blame him.
Twice week during this absence n
caretaker came IN. Gourished n feather
buster and went away again. Society
reporters always referred 10 this house
as THE palstial residence"
alcove window and looked down into
the glistening street. The venetian
red II her hair trapped the reflected
sunlight from the opposite windows.
and two little points o. silver danced
In her blue eyes. An. but her eyes
were blue-blue as spring water in the
morning. blue as the summer sky seen
through a cleft In the mountains blue
as lapis lazuli. with the same dbers OF
gold. And every feature and contour
or the face harmonized with the mar
velous hair and the wonderful eyes: a
beautiful face, warm. dreamy. engag-
Ing. mobile IL was nCs the face OF n
worldly woman: neither was IL the
face OF girl. II was too emotional
Tor the second. and there was not
enough control for the first.
But the prophecy OF laughter did not
rome TO pass The little wrinkles faded.
The mouth grew sad. and the silver
points no longer danced IN her eyes
The pain In her heart was always
'hadowing. She had seen her faIrest
iream beaten and crumpled upon the
-eef OF disillusion.
Yet again the smile renewed itself
She was creature OF varying moods.
She twisted and UNFINISHED the news
PAPER Should she? Ought she? Had
he not always regretted these singu-
ar impulses? And yet what harm 10
'ead this letter and return Il 10 the
sender? She was so lonely here. II
vas like being among a strange people. |
10 long ago was II that her foot had |
ouched this soil. Was II possible that |
he was twenty-five? Was there not |
Iome miscOunt and was Il not ffteen |
nstead2 Would not this war of wis |
lom aud folly be decided ere long?
She opened the paper and smoothed |
ut the folds. Nine. Angot-There
s letter for you In the mall depart |
nent Of this office" IL was so drou. /
I was unlike anything she had ever
leard ola personal inquiry column.
where Cupids and Psyches billed and /
coed The merest chance had thrown /
he original inquiry under her notice. /
Ter answer was an impulse TO which J
he had given no second thought till :
90 late. She ought to have ignored 1
L But she was lonely; the people she,
new were out or town. and the Jest
night amuse her
This man was In all probability a
since he was a member of
gentiemeD's club But second thought
onvinced her that this proved nothing.
len are often rallied gentlemen out OF
compliment 10 their ancestors. stu.
this man only saw tbe affair from
Ter angle OF vision. the grotesque hu-
nor OF &c and not the common vulgar
intrigue She hpSifafed a. we'll che |