Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1909-04-21
Madam Barlow
Rx GEORGE ADAMS

by way OF the picturesque little loot
path that crept up toit from the group
of summer houses clustered on the
brow on the beach around its feeI a
1 few hundred yards below
Midsummer was at hand and the
Eyrie the center of attraction to
every summer young man at Spur.
wink Cliffs. 1t had been so since the
barge running semi-daily rom the sta
ton three miles away had deposited
an even halfdozen delectable summer
girls at the foot of Eyrie Path late one
/ afternoon three weeks p.ior to the
opening of the story.
Several impetuous youths-more
4 eager than wise-scramb' ed up the
narrow footway, the morning after the
arrival, with the expectation of catch
ing a glimpse of the newcomers, and
incidentally precipitating an introduce
ton; but not only were the young
ladies' invisible; they found, much to
their surprise, a corpulent, middle
aged dignified female sitting in the
window that held the path, and in
tently reading.
When or by what means a portlt
chaperon could have been Struggled
into town right under the eyes of the
summer colony puzzled the young
men as much as her presence cha
grined them, for they had already en-
tertained visions of unlimited good
times with a bevy of unchaperoned
summer girls.
mo fun up here, boys, let's watch
out for the girls around the rocks and
the beach; that old lady won't get far
from camp with all her ayoirdupois
and this hill In the proposition, too,
you may mark my words" and Billy
Matthews ordered his squad to right
about face" and retreat
The story of the safely-guarded Ey-
RTE soon spread through the little COM
munity and various tactics were de-
vised by the boys to lure the new
girls into the holiday life of this par
tlcular halfdozen summer young men.
The scheme all proved more or less
successful, for 1t transpired as Billy
Matthews had predicted; the duenna,
or "our chaperon, Madam Barlow" as
she soon came to be oe4'1usly called,
never did attempt the G.lhcult path.
Nevertheless, all hints to the girls
FER az invitation to call at the Eyrie
were ignored by them and every at
tempt made by the ardent "halfdozen"
to steal up unlimited resulted in con
fronting the obsequious MadaU Par
low with the inevitable book Ia hand
In the watch tower, as the window
came to be called, and past whic. no
welcoming nod ever encouraged n an
The girls proved every bit as ehtic'
Ing as the first sight of them lad
promised and if one by one they even
tually eIud9d the ferret eyes of the
madam and stole an hour singly or in
groups or the rocks, or for stroll in
the mco light, O. 4 din in the surf
with these equally charming young
men, It is certain no one troubled
about it, and all the cottagers encour-
aged 1t from rure love of mischief,
seemingly for the exclusive madam"
had, by medium OF her young flock,
absolutely declined all overtures of
hospitality extended either to herself
or the young Iadiasby the friendly dis
posed cottagers at the foot of her
path.
All Gay long. and day succeeding
=. na1i " din
reading never condescending one
glance even along the path.
Billy Matthews was hopelessFy in
love with Ethel Moses-eYerybody
could see that-a.11 Ralph Ingraham
was developing symptoms easily dag
nosed by his chu- and which he in
genuously admitted Fred Lander and
Beatrice Munroe read Omar Khayyam
too assiduously fer It to go down"
with any ore who had previously
known Fred.
The Wavelet. n weekly folio sheet
gotten out for the amusement of the
summer colony, announced the en-
gagement Of four Ont Of the six cou-
pies whose RE conferred about che
Eyrie, and made convincing prophe
sizes respecting the others Only two
hours later the colony was startled
by the news Of the. tragedy at the
Eyrie. Madam Barlow was SAID TO
have committed suicide.
Help was summoned to the Eyre
and the pathway WIS quickly waver-
ing line Of hurryiug, struggling, puf-
ing perspiring, Wild eyed humanity
The Eyre deer stood opon and with +
cut ceremony men. women and chill ,
dron with hrshed voices filed into the
cottage.
In The living rocn they were met by
he six ycurg women dressed in pure
white and with serious faces.
This way, If you please" SAID Bea-
trice Munroe, acting as spokeswoman.
led tie way into the dining-rcom
where the bewildered, ircredulous
eyes of the people met an array of
daintily spread luncheon tables
ranged around the four sides Of the
room. while frozi the ceiling overhead
depended a Manila rope, and from the
end Of this rope which passed around
her ample wSst line. swayed the por-
thy figure Of Madam Barlow--a DUN