Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-09-15

sunlight from the opposite wirdnwS.
and two little points Of silver danced
in her blue eyes. All. hn. her eyes
were biue--blnr as spring water in the
morning, blue as the summer sky seen
through q cleft in the mountains, blue
as laDiS lnZuli. with the same Gbers Of
gold. And every feature and contour
of the face ~harmonized with the mar
velous hair and the wonderful eyes; q
beautiful face, warm, dreamy, engag.
ing. mobile. 1t was not the face Of a
worldly woman; neither was it the
face Of a girl. 1t was too emotional
for the second, and there was not
enough control for the first.
But the prophecy Of laughter did not
come to pass. The little wrinkles faded,
the mouth grew sad, and the silver
points no longer danced in her eyes
The pain in her heart was always
~shadowing. She had seer her fairest
dream beaten and crumpled upon the
reef of d%isillusion,
Yet again the smile renewed itself.
She was a creature Of varying moods
She twisted and untwisted the news
paper, Should she? Ought she? Had
she not always regretted these singu-
lar impulses? And yet what harm to
read this letter and return it to the
sender? She was SO lonely here. IT.
was like being among a strange people,
so long ago was it that her foot had
touched this soil. Was it possible that
| she was twenty-Gvet Was there not
| some miscount. and was it not fifteen
instead? Would NOT this wal of wis.
dom and folly be decided ere long?
She opened the paper and smoothed
out the folds. Nine. Angot-There
is a letter for you in the mail depart
ment Of this office" 1t was so droll.
1t was unlike anything she had ever
heard ola personal inquiry column,
where Cupids and Psyches billed and
cooed. The merest chance had thrown
the original inquiry under her notice.
Her answer was an impulse to which
she had given no second thought til!
too late. She ought to have ignored
it. But she was lonely; the people she
knew were out Of town, and the jest
might amuse her.
This man was in ali probability q
gentleman. since he was a member Of
a gentlemen's club. But second thought
convinced her that this proved nothing.
Men are often, called gentlemen out OF
compliment to their ancestors. Still,
If this man only saw the affair from
her angle of vision. the grotesque hu-
NOR of it and not the common vulgar
intrigue, She hesitated, as well she
might. Surprising that eventually he
found out who she was? That would
never, never do. No one must know
that she was in America, about to ster
into the widest of wild adventures
No; she must not be found out The
the court must never know. From
their viewpoint they would have de
clared that she was about to tarnisl
q distinguished name, to outrage the
. Oldest aristocracy in Europe, the
court of Italy. But she had her owr
opinion: what she proposed to do was
! In itself harmless and innocent. But
this gentleman who leaned out of the
window? She had seen the mattel
. flare in the young mans face. Was
it the face she had seen in that hasl
of light that interested her sufficient!
to risk the note? Against the dark Of
the night it had appeared for an in
slant, clean, crisp. ruddy as q cameo
The face warranted confidence.
She had sung because she had beer
happy, happy with that transient hap
piness which at times was her portion
Could she ever judge another man b.
t his looks: She believed not. How
, she had run, The man, bareheaded
giving chase and the burly policeman
across the street!
, She stepped down from the alcove
wound the gray veil round the ridin,
Somehow in the daylight the magi
was gone from his face. for she hat
recognized him that first day in thu
park. He rode well. She touched
bell. A maid appeared.
"Bettina, you will so to the Office O
IAAS LIZ "oPpPSl In illidiAS " q lCllC.
addressed to Nine. Argot. And be
quick, for I may change my mind"
The maid was back in a half hour.
"There was a letter, then" The
points were dancing again in the blue
eyes.
you may go. Perhaps and BETH
mas mistress smiled-'perhaps l may
let you read it and answer it after
am done with it. That would be
rather neat"
The slight nod was a dismissal, and
the maid went about her duties. which
were not many in this house.
Meanwhile the lady with the yene.
tian hair toyed with the letter. Club
paper! Evidently he was not afraid to
trust her. But would he amuse her:
The contents gave her a genuine sur.
prise. She ran to the window. Ital.
ian! 1t was written in Italian. with
all the f1ourishes of an Italian born,
She turned to the signature-Hillard
CO hn J,o1 cirpaI l,;o ,or,o So fr,Jl