The citizen., 1910-03-04
THE PASSING OF
MADAM BARLOW
sasszs BY OLLIE HuRo BRAcroN.a.,
The "Eyrie" was we'll named.

by way OF the picturesque little foot
path that crept up to it from the
group of summer houses clustered on
the brow of the beach around its feet
few hundred yards below.
The path was as lazy in its mean.
derings UP the slope as the cottagers
misunderstanding aside to touch
every blossoming sweet briar bush
and showing long frequent loiterings
at each rock seat along the way.
Midsummer was at hand and the
Eyrie the centre of attraction to every
summer young man at Spurwink
Cliffs. 1t had been so since the barge
running semi-daily from the station
three miles away had deposited an
even half-dozen delectable summer
girls at the foot of "Eyrie Path" late
one afternoon three weeks prior to
the opening of the story.
Several impetuous youths - more
eager than wise-scrambled up the
narrow footway the morning after
the arrival, with the expectation of
catching glim..-e of the newcomers,
and incidentally precipitating an in
PRODUCTION, but not only were the
young ladies invisible, they found,
much to their surprise, corpulent,
middle-aged, dignified female sitting
in the window that held the path and
iRtently reading.
When or by what means a portly
chaperon could have been smuggled
iato 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 avoirdupois
and this hill in the proposition, too,
you mark my words" and Billy Mat
thews ordered his squad to right
about face" and retreat
The story of the safely guarded
Eyrie soon spread through the little
community, and various tactics were
devised by the boys to lure the new
girls into the holiday life of this par
ticular half-dozen summer young
men. The scheme all proved more or
less successful, for it transpired as
Billy Matthews had predicted; the
duenna, or "our chaperon, Madam
Barlow" as she soon came to be face
tiously called, never did attempt the
difficult path, even in the discharge of
An obvious duty. Nevertheless, all
hints to the girls for an invitation to
call at the Eyrie were ignored by
them, and every attempt made by the
ardent "half-dozen" to steal up unin-
Vited resulted in confronting the obse-
! quious Madam Barlow with the inev-
liable book in hand in the "watch
called, and past which no welcoming
nod ever encouraged them.
IN The girls proved every bit as entic-
ring as the first sight of them had
promised, and if, one by one they
eventually eluded the ferret eyes of
the madam and stole an hour singly
or in groups on the rocks, or for a
stroll in the moonlight, or dip in the
surf with these equally charming
young men, it is certain no one trou-
bled about it, and all the cottagers
encouraged it from pure love of mis-
chief, 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 ladies
by the friendly disposed cottagers at
the foot of her path. All day long, and
day succeeding day, she sat there,
reading-reading- never con-
descending one glance even along the
path up whose inhospitable way
neighborly eyes were looking at her
1mpassive face in the window. The
cottagers alternately pitied and
blamed her, but it showed very con-
clusively where the most of their SYM
pathy was bestowed by their aiding
the young people in all their plans for
"a lark with the Eyrie girls"
AS the days sped on 1t became evi.
dent that affairs were likely to take
a serious turn among these "two
half-dozens" of young people. Billy
Matthews was hopelessly in love with
Ethel Moses - everybody could see
fhat-and Ralph Ingraham was de-
&Eeloping symptoms easily diagnosed
by his chums, and which he ingenu.
ously admitted. Fred Lander and
Beatrice Munroe read Omar Khayyan
loo assiduously for it to "go down
with any one who had previously
known Fred and knew how cordially
be detested poetry of all sorts, while
lhe other individuals of the now ia
nous double sextet" were manifestly
ollowing closely the lead of these
hree couples.
AS a matter of fact, Madam Barlow
Fas not greatly to be complimentet
p her shrewdness or her trustworth
ess as a professional chaperon
he girls metaphorically "pulled tht
#ool over her eyes" at will, and botf
pys and girls went their own swee
ay-the way of all lovers-durint
delightful weeks; then came thu
enouemeht.
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