The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-12-21

dI CdSh OIASi oSi tSo cSSNNy
Of picnic dainties.
Dearest Is a famous hand at plan
ming that sort Of thing. We had
camped upon a small rise in the mid
die of an open space where great oak
trees cut us off from sight of the road
on the one hand, and broad meadows
and wooded slopes fell away toward
Hartsmere stream on the other; the
latter streaking the green Of it all
with silver a field or two away.
Close at hand the ruined chapel or
convent which we had come to see
piled itself in picturesque confusion,
and we had reached that point in u
merry-making when we were simply
content to gaze alphabetically upon 1t
and listen uncomprehendingly to
Freer recite it's history with never
tagging accuracy and zeal.
He knows everything, that chap!
And is disgustingly ready to give
everybody else the benefit Of his
learning at all times.
Agatha First vas sitting near him
tho not making any attempt to dis
guise her indifference to his pedantlc
discourse, while Arch and Agatha
Sixth, l am glad to say, were carry
ing on a whispered conversation to-
gether on the other side of the cloth.
Dearest and I sat together, of course,
at one end Of the square, and as /
10 l. l>- - =, 11- t1nn on fhat Tho
others could not hear l thought Arch
! was playing up to the part she and l
had selected for him, that Of Agatha
| Sixth's lover, a little better than U.s.
ual. He was certainly all attention
to the girl at his side and listened to
! her every word with the eager inter-
est Of the most devoted sutton. And
tho delicate face Of Miss Lawrence
was alive with feeling and glowed
pink ever without the aid Of the rose
| colored parasol she carried.
20, what do you Think" she cried
in her soft, cultivated voice, INF. Ter
hume says that the ruins are haunted!
By the ghost Of a nun that al shut
ND in the wall once!" Her really won
| derful black eyes were bright with
interest and I thought she made a
rather dazzling picture in her white
| frock and the fictitious aureole OF
| pink sunshade about her. But /
couldn't swallow a b~are-faced whop-
per like that, for that nun story is
| so old. So I had just begun to ex-
plain that Arch was chatting her, and
the ghost racket his own invention
entirely, when l caught his express
sion and my wife's eye. The former
was embarrassed and the latter Sc
we're, and I stopped in the middle of
a sentence as I Tfathomed the COM
bined significance Of eye and look.
$50 that's it, is it," I thought to
myself. Poor old boy! He's 30
much in love he doesn't know what
| he's saying. Anything will do as long
as she will listen! And I'm deuced
glad to see 1t, too"
But Freer showed less perspicacity,
though of course there's this to be
said, he didn't have the Fey to the
| situation as l did, and challenged poor
| old Arch's story of the nun, and al
five minutes had him showed up
proper, the old fellow at last having
| to take refuge in the statement that
/ it must have been some other ruins
| he had in mind. Strange to say,
however, for all his learning Freer
did not win a smile from Agatha
Sixth, who only turned to Terhune
with more interest than ever as a
| result Of his efforts.
It was then that Dearest made her
! remark about motoring over to see
| Mrs. Chiltern on the following day.
It vas an innocent enough remark
and very casually said, but it SEEM
ed to have an electrifying effect upon
Agatha First. She jumped up and
came over to my wife.
Don't do that" she said. low and
earnestly; please don't, Agatha.
dear!" Dearest was surprised, and,
by Jove, so was I, or puzzled, at
least! The girl seemed * awfully
earnest about not wishing US to see
Mrs. Chiltern-out of all proportion
to the importance of her request, it
seemed to me. But why not?" my
wife couldn't help asking.
Because we have such a little time
, left to be together. you and Lord
Vincent and Mr.. Terhune and Agatha
Sixth and myself" she said. Mr..
Terhure tells me he has to go back
to London in a day OF two, and /
think it's a shame to waste a whole
day by going over to Chiltern house!
Besides, you said they owed you a
CALL" She had lowered her voice
during this last statement, but 1t was
not necessary. Freer had strolled off
to the ruins and Archibald and Agatha
Sixth were too absorbed in each 9TH
er's company to notice us.
Her reasons were specious and IL
logical enough, but Dearest, to my
surprise, seemed inclined to accept
them and had to interfere.
"TheJ do W us a CALL" I said,
"but that wouldn't prevent us from
having a jolly time of it if we all
! chose to go over together! On the
| contrary, it would be something to
do"
Then Agatha First, evidently goad-
ed into a corner, set her young face