The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1910-03-05

Meg Bertram had refused her Cous-
in Roland many times. but she had
meant to please her family and herself
by marrying him. until the Hon. Clay
Cecil came to Lowville.
The Hon. Clay was tall and blonde
and languid. with dropping mustache.
and an intermittent drawl-he ex-
planned the trace of western burr mar
ring it by tales of life on his Cousin
Glenham's ranch. Glenham had quit
the ranch to fill an earldom: at least,
that was logical inference. The Hon,
Clay was always admirably vague in
his statements. Lowville ladies said
he was so unpretentious" Men there.
contrariwise. thought him inclined to
play his hand for it's full worth.
Still they had to admit there was no
offensive display of what the Hon.
Clay called side" His card read
simply. CLAY Cecil" with "Autocars''
in the lower left hand corner He
dressed well. had money in reasonable
amount. and though he was lucky at
bridge played scrupulously fair
game. Nobody ever had known him
try to turn an acquaintance to profit.
Notwithstanding this. Roland did
rot trust him. The distrust was quite
apart from Meg-at least. Roland told
himself he would have hated the fell
low if there had been no woman in
the world
The Hon. Clay ignored Roland's
hospitality in a way that was truly
mastery 1t stood him in hand to do
so. Roland and Meg would inherit
pretty well half of Lowville, and much
beside, when Grandmother Bertram.
who led as well as owned, the town.
should be gathered to her fathers
1t was a startling triumph for the
Hon. Clay to sell grandmother the first
auto car ever owned in town He him.
self had hardly dared hope for it. Pos
slbly it was this initial triumph which
inspired him to try for a greater one.
nemely. Meg herself She was as hand
some as she was rich-moreover, she
had an air, one that. he told her often
would make a duchess jealous
The car buying was really her doing
She liked new things. dash and speed.
and the overseeing of ancient bounds.
Roland was in all things conservative
He would not ride in the car except to
bear grandmother company. Meg had
to put up with folk outside and the
chauffeur. But she was never lone
some. Notwithstanding other sales due
to the weight of grandmother's exam
pie, the Hon. Clay found time for
many spins beside her, and at length,
as her enthusiasm mounted. offered to
teach her the art of running the car
Meg was enchanted, but grandmoth-
er put her foot down against the plan
saying, laconically, that she didn't
mean to have $1,000 turned into scrap.
iron for girls folly. The Hon Clay
bowed and smiled, and in strict pri-
vacy. told Meg her lessons might be.
gin in his runabout
Thus it came to pass that early
upon an August morning, misty moist
but lacking dew, Meg slipped away I'm.
seen. and five minutes later was spin
ming beside the Hon. Clay across the
countryside. Up. down, back and
forth, around corners, down by-lanes
the red car twinkled. Meg never in
her life had been so ecstatically hap
Ply. She held the wheel, but all the
working of it came through a stronger
hand that fell over hers-and some
times during longer than was strictly
necessary.
She hardly noted the clinging mol
did she note distance. direction and
the fact that clouds boiling up, had
quite hidden the sun. She was even
oblivious to the fact that they had left
the level farm lands until a hill steer
and rocky. almost stopped the trig ma
chine. BY good hap and caution the
car was coaxed up it. At the summit
Meg looked about. a little apprehen
sively- There was a far view, all hills
and hollows, with sleeper swelling
hills at the boundary-and not a single
house in sight-scarcely, indeed, q
sign of human occupancy
Turn back It's going to rain,'
Meg said. sternIy
The Hon. Clay laughed you near
1t is raining-hard.' he said 81 thinl
there's barn down there in the hoI
| low. Anyway. we'll look for it-any
| shed in such a storm
| Inside of five minutes they haC
| found the barn and were under shelter
but drenched and dripping. Meg. more
over, began to feel desperately hungry
In the excitement of the expedition
she bad eaten no breakfast. She
clapped her hands as her companion
drew from some recess a small ham
! per. full of good things.
You're a special providence every
way" she said with a grateful smile
setting her white teeth in a sandwich
as she spoke.
| The Hon. Clay also smiled. 81 thinl
you'll find out l know how to take ex
cellent care of YOU" he said. Much
better than that nun. Roland Won
he be wild when he knows?"