Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1910-07-01

ulu1 away.
When the reverberations of his ter
rlble voice had died on the still air the
girls nervous giggle broke the strain.
ed silence.
81 have made a mistake" explained
Meldon, for the third time that morn
ing.
"Who are you looking for7" asked
the girl good naturedly.
'Miss Mary Smith. She Is the daugh.
ter of Captain Smith. do not know
his given name" Ralph Meldon paus-
ed at the foot of the steps and re.
garded first the little brown church
and then the large conch shell on the
porch near the captains swinging feet
A great light broke over Miss Mamie
Smiths rosy face. 81 guess you mean
Captain Lemuel John Smiths daugh.
ter. OF course you'd be invited, being
city folks" She paused and surveyed
Mellon with genuine admiration in
her big brown eyes
''She said 1t was near the church
and had conch shell on the porch"
insinuated Ralph impatiently.
'Oh, yes. lndeed--just around the
corner Of the church on the other side
of the street You see, almost every
house on thiJ street belongs to Smith.
Just as many folks call the village
'Smithport as they do East Bay"
Captain Smiths white head bodied
over the edge of the hammock Thine
was" he beloved. when there was
a Capn John Henry Smith In every
house In this street, SIR"
"Indeedp' Meldon was properly as
tonished 1T must have made matters
interesting for the postmaster"
at did II did. sir Postmaster got
so rfled with worrying over which
John Henry Smith the letters was for
that he Just denlt 'em out as they
come to hand In the boxes, begin
ming at No. 1, one letter for each so
long as they lasted until the letters
give out. Then next mall time he'd
begin where lie left off till every man
had letter. He had sight Of
trouble with the newspapers, every
other one having a different brand Of
pollticks. About once a week there'd
be row over each Citing their right
letters and papers, and the wimmen
folks got to know so much about each
others affairs that the postmaster give
every John Henry Smith another ini-
tial to HIS name. Mines Cap'n John
Henry r. Smith" The captains rubl-
cund countenance disappeared once
more behind the hammock
MaIdnn turnad tho oornor aud nan ,oh
ed determinedy up the wide cross
street whose rather imposing houses
gave evidence Of greater prosperity
than was enjoyed on the street OF the
Smiths.
Opposite the church was an impos-
ing red brick house, homely of nrchi
lecture. but breathing forth comfort
and at this moment even gayety.
Strains Of music drifted from the open
windows, and a long stretch OF striped
awning made tunnel from the gate
to the front door. Into this tunnel
Mellon marched regardless Of I'm
pending festivities or that he was an
uninyited guest
The front door was open. his hat
and stick were taken away by fut
tering maid and he was left In the
shadow OF wide doorway where he
could see down the vista OF long
room filed with people. He awoke to
the fact thPt the orchestra had been
playing Lohengrin's wedding march,
and now the strains died away, and
the measured tones Of clergyman
hRoIxn tat ba Of
"Dearly beloved. we are gathered
together this man and this
woman In holy matrimony."
Meldon did not hear any more. He
leaned dizzily against the door Intel
and thought vaguely Of that brief
period In the winter when he had re-
Joiced In the sweet companionship OF
Mary Smith. and now she was being
married, and he. an uninvited guest.
lurked at the threshold
The ceremony was over, and there
were the murmur OF voices and low
laughter. MeIdon leaned forward for
one look at the bride. After that It
would be h. part to go.
The bride aud groom were sur.
rounded by n shifting group. but over
there by the window, where the late
afternoon sun fell athwart her golden
hair and pink flushed cheeks, was his
Mary Smith Her gown OF pink fluffy
chiffon denoted her attendance In the
bridal procession. but not as the prin.
cipal Other bridesmaids In pink
chiffon lowered near her or darted In
and out Of the group surrounding the
bride. Meldon could now SEE dark
hair crowned with orange blossoms
and veil.
Mary Smith saw him coming, and
the light IN her shining eyes set his
heart to beating triumphantly. In a
moment he was at her side. and she
was making explanations In her soft
voice: eve live next door. In the
white house. There IL a shell on
every porch In East Bay, I believe, but
ours Is such a monster 1t has become
a landmark in the village. This fl
my uncles house. Ny cousin, Mary
Smith, has Just been married. Let me
introduce you Yes; my uncle il Cap.
tain Lemuol John Smith, and father IL
Captain John Lemuel Smith, and
Meldon followed her graceful form,
half understanding her ripping en-
plantations as 10 the relationship of
the Smiths. but fully realizing that