The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-12-31
ing me too ohtusa."


ing me too obtuse."
"Bravo!" she cried. "You are
improving"
II could provide splendid
substitute for the friendship you
speak Of" he said coolly.
"Poof! What is that to me? /
could have a hundred lovers
but, ach, friends are the scarcest
things in the world. prefer
friendship. 1t lasts. There! j
see disapproval in your face! You
Americans are SO literal" She
gazed into the fireplace for a mo-
ment, her lips parted in a whim-
steal smile. He waited for her
to go on; the words were on her
tongues end, he could tell. "a
divorce at twenty-five. 1 believe
that is the accepted age, isn't it?
If one gets beyond that, She
but, enough of this!" She sprang
to her feet and stood before him,
the flash dying in her eyes even
as it was born that he might see
so briefly. I'VE divurge! You
must go soon. 1t is best not to
be seen leaving here at a very
late hour - especially as my
father is known to be away. j
am afraid of Peter Brutus. He is
here to watch-everybOdy."
Che
great carved mantel post, a tall,
slender, lissome creature, exqui-
sitely gowned in rarest Irish lace,
her bare neck and shoulders
cleaning white against the dull
timbers beyond, the faint glow
from the embers creeping up to
her face with the insistence of a
maiden's flush. He gazed in rapt
admiration, his heart humping
like fury in his great breast. She
was little more than a girl, this
wife of old Marlanx, and yet how
wise, how clever, how brilliant
she was!
A face of unusual pallor and
extremely patrician in it's model
ing, surmounted by a coiffure so
black that 1t could be compared
only to ebony-black and almost
cleaning win the life that was in
it. 1t came low on her forehead,
shading the wondrous dark eyes
eyes that were deep yellowish
green in their division between
gray and black, eyes that were
soft and luminous and unwaver-
ingly steadfast, impelling in
their power to fascinate, yet even
more dangerously compassionate
when put to the test that tries
woman's vanity.
There were diamonds on her
long, tapering fingers, and a rope
of pearls in her hair. A single
wide gold band encircled her arm
above the elbow, an arm-band as
old as the principality itself, for
it had been worn by twenty fair
ancestors before her. The noble
women of Graustark never wore
bracelets on their wrists; always
| the wide chased gold band on the
upper arm. There was a day, not
so far back in history, when they
wore bands on their ankles.
She was we'll named Ingomede
the Beautiful.
A soft, almost imperceptiblt
perfume, languorous in it's appea
to the senses. exuded from thi.
perfect creation; added to this
the subtle, unfailing scent Of
young womanhood; the warm
alive feel of her presence in the
atmosphere; a suggestion Of
something sensuous, clean, pure
delicious. The understandable.
Does Baron Dangloss know
this man Brutus?" asked Tullis
arising to stand beside her. A
sub-conscious, triumphant thrill
shot through him as an instanta-
neous flash of his own physical
superiority over this girls hus-
band came over him. He was
young and strong and vital. He
could feel the sensation of being
strong; he tingled with the glory
of it. He was thirty-five, Mar
lanx seventy. He wondered if
Marlanx had ever been as strong
as he.
81 don't know" she said
Ithoughtfully. 81 have not spoken
to him concerning Brutus. Per-
haps he knows. The baron is
very wise. Let me tell you how
happen to know that Peter Bru-
tus is still serving Count Mar
lanx and why l think his presence
signifies a crisis of some sort.
Tullis stood facing the great fire.
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