The Washington herald., 1909-06-20

been used to a busy life since he left col
sege. and he had no introspection. That's
the way Agatha Fielding put it. She said
In her pretty dictatoriai way that he be-
longed by rights half dozen centuries
back-at least she said. her haIf-sister,
Miss Dean. said so And when Conyers
said. with a sneer under his mustache.
that she might have said then. as he be-
lieved the period lost its solvency then,
she caught it up and said: "Oh. we'll
perhaps its fiowered more perfectly
them And though we didn't catch on
ourselves exactly where the point lay.
We laughed as if he had the worst of it.
There wasn't a bit Of doubt but that
Agatha Fielding generally had the best
Of everything. So pretty a girl couldn't
have anything but good time She was
the only girl in the house except her half
sister. Miss Dean. and she wasn't in it
with Agatha. Not at all,
The fielding twins, Dick and Augustus.
kept open house every October, and some
times managed TO get most OF the class
OF 'sS for a week or two.
There were eight OF the old set. count
ing the twins. and they did the best they
jolly well knew to make US have a good
time, but the best bit Of the whole bust
ness was the sister.
We were all mad with the other fellow
Z she was nicer to him than to The rest
OF US. And she mostly was-to one Of
US When my time came around felt
little too top-lOftical for the earth.
And then Greer came down. and OF
course we stood by to see him go into the
trap He had been living on ranch
out West, and I suppose the contract was
pretty strong. He looked at Agatha-I
suppose If I can't call her by her name I
can write 1.-THE thought she was too Won
derful TO be true. And she was-to all OF
us-Conyers included. He's a bit ahead
or the rest Of US in brains-wrOte q book
once about his travels in Persia. or Mon
sofia, or some place. 1 didn't fear any
or the fellows as much as I did Conyers.
That black pointed beard Of his makes
HIM look Ike the very Gevil,-along with
MS big black eyes. Hes done most
things and he doesn't talk much.
Conyers had been there before. when
Agatha was in short frocks. so he had
some sort Of acquaintance rights over the
rest OF US, though she told him the night
he came that she had been too busy
learning French verbs when he was there
before TO remember him
Miss Dean was passing Just as Conyers
told Agatha IL was his good fortune TO re-
member. even if she had forgotten, and
there was a sort Of smile on her face as
she glanced at them She's tail for a
woman, and looks as II she had never
opened her eyes. EverybOdy's always aw-
fully polite 10 her. for since her mother,
Mrs. Fielding, died she's hostess.
Miss Dean somehow seems very re-
served, and a good deal older than the
most Of US. I suppose it's her manner.
Agatha wasn't a side issue. She was
goal and stakes and everything generally
combined,
Anybody could see that Greer admired
Agatha-he'd had been blind II he hadn't
but that she should ike him. that's
what shook US up a bit She asked him
70 play golf that day-the day he was
hurt. and Of course he was pleased as
Punch. the beggari She's never asked
one Of US,
Wen. they went ahead to the links. and
the rest OF Us loafed. Miss Dean had
gone 10 walk toward the head Of the
lake, and COnyers followed: ne said he
wanted 10 ask her something or other
but. somehow. they came back different
ways don't suppose they quarreled for
they didn't even seem intimate enough for
that Anyway. she came back by the
lower path by the lake. and she heard q
child scream. and ran down to the edge
and there. right in front OF her, ons OF
the James children a little fellow In
kits, was going under for the second
time. Conyers was coming around the
lake toward them. and he saw the whole
thing. though he was too far of 70 be anv
good Miss Dean. without a single word
jumped into the water and caught the
boy as he came UP. She could swim. all
right. but with her heavy skirts and the
bank right there as straight as a tree.
she couldn't get along And that's where
Greer came in
He'd heard the child scream. too. ran
down from the links and jumped IN right
after Miss Dean He towed them to a
place where they could get ashore-ft
was all rocky and steep along that side
and Conyers and Agatha got there about
that time Conyers caught Miss Dean
and pulled her in, and Greer put his hand
on one Of the shelving rocks 10 hold on
until COnyers could take the boy from
him I suppose the rock had been loosen
ed. or broken. or something. for lust as
Conyers caught the boys arm and drew
him up. q part OF It divided and smashed
down on Greer's shoulder. breaking the
collar bone. bruising his arm, and gen
orally laying him out.
done anything beside Miss Dean. but
- nobody ever agreed with him. II Greer
hadn't come up at the Identical moment
lie did she and the boy would have both
drowned beyond a doubt Conyers said
IL made him sick. He looked Ike his
grandmother's funeral when he got there
but / guess il was partly because ne
couldn't do anything himself A man
when he sees such a thing as that wants
awfully 20 take a hand. at least 1 Judge
from the way he felt
Greer didn't want to stay and play the
invalid, bur the twins and Miss Dean and
Agatha simply turned the house over for
hin1-as much as he'd let them for after
the doctor had patched him up, and he'd
spent a few days IN his room they put
him on a couch in the hall where we al
ways sat so he wouldn't be lonely. He
had sort Of levee every day. And
Agatha waited on him hand and foot
Miss Dean was the proper person. we
thought to do that. as she was the one
Greer had saved; but she didn't seem 10
think it her duty. She was all there. you
know. sympathetic and so on, but there
wasn't any Of the ministering angel about
her We jolly well thought she could
have left Agatha free II she tried, bat
Agatha-it took Us a long time TO get to it
she didn't want 10 be free. She liked il,
She was as important over it as IL she
was a nurse with a Red Cross badge. and
she kept Greer so busy, as we could see
adn4iring her, that he didn't have time to
feel any pain
Miss Dean always had a bright word
for Greer. but she was always passing by,
you might say Once I saw Greer's eyes
follow her-we were ell IN the hall-in a
way that gave me a new idea Conyers
saw il. too but he didn't see that no
ticed him. Somehow I began TO make out
that Greer fancied Miss Dean more than