The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1910-09-08

Perhaps we have to, because we
ourselves are all" C'without any
credentials but those you mention,")
she had been about to say-but there
she caught herself on the very edge of
giving herself and all the rest of them
away to him; all so awfully bored"
she mischievously ended with the
daintiest, faintest possible yawn be-
hind her spread fan.
He looked as If she had taken him
by surprise; then laughed out. "Oh,
that is the way they don't do here" he
provoked her. "You mustn't, when
I'm not expecting it."
Then what are you expecting?" she
inquired little coolly.
WELL" he deliberated, mot expect
ing you to get me ready for a sweet,
and then pop in pickle; and present
ly expecting, hoping, anxiously antici-
pating, what you really care to say"
He was expecting, she looked mali
ciously, more than he was likely to
get; but the fact that he did see
through her to that extent was at
once delightful and charming. She
swayed back into the shadow beyond
the dazzling line of light She wanted
to escape his scrutiny, to be able to
look him over from a safe vantage
ground. But he wouldn't have it. An
instant he stood under the torrent of
white radiance, challenging her to see
Npn hn hnr In
to her retreat "Shall we sit here?" he
said, and she found herself hopelessly
cut off and isolated with the enemy.
She couldn't withhold little grudg-
ing pleasure in the sharpness with
which he had turned her maneuver
and the way it had detached them
from the surrounding crowd. For
there, in the dusky center of the room,
it was as if they watched from safe
covert the rest of their party exposed
in the glare of light; though not, az
Flora presently noted, quite escaping
observation themselves. For an in
stant Harry turned and peered toward
| them with a look in his intentness
that struck Flora as something new in
him and made her wonder if he could
be Jealous. She turned tentatively to
see if Kerr had noticed it, and sur
prised his glance in a quick transi-
tion back to hers.
by your leave" he said, and took
away her fan, which in his hand pres
emily assumed such rhythmic motion
that it ceased to be any more present
to her than delicate current of air
upon her face.
He was not, she felt sure, in spite
of his light manipulation of her fan,
a person who cared to please women,
but one of that devastating sort who
care above everything to please them
selves, and who are skilful without
practice; too skilful, she feared, for
her defenses to hold out against if
he intended to find out what she real
ly thought. aren't we supposed to
be looking at the pictures?" she want
ed to know.
He turned his back on the wall and
its attendant glare. why pictures, !"
he inquired, when there are live peo-
pie to look at? Pictures for places where
they're all half dead. But here, where
even the damnable dust in the street
is alive, why should they paint, or
write, or sculpt, or do anything but
live?" His irascible brows shot the
query at her.
Again the proposition of life-What-
ever that was-was held up before
her, and as ever she faltered in the
face of it. 81 suppose they do it
here" she murmured, with a vague
glance at the paintings around her,
because people do it everywhere
else"
His disparagement was almost a
snarl That's the rotten part of it
because they do it everywhere else!
AS If there wasn't enough monotohy
in the world already without every
chap trying to be like the next instead
of being himself"
But if you have to be what people
expect?"
People don't want what they ex-
pect-if you care for that" He waved
it away with his quick white hand.
But you have to care, unless you
want to be queer" Her poor little Sc
cret was out before she knew, and he
looked at it, laughing immoderately,
yet somehow delightfully."-.
"Ah, if you think the social game is
the game that counts! l had expected
braver things of you. The game that
counts, my girl" he preached it at her
with his long white hand, "the game
that is going on out here is the big
red game of life. That's the only one
that's worth guinea; and there's nc
winning or losing, there's no right OF
wrong to it, and it doesn't matter
what man is in 1t as long as he's 8
good one"
Even if he is a thief?" The ques
tion was out of Floras lips before she
could catch it. 1t was a challenge
She had meant to confound him; but
he caught it as If it delighted him.
well, what would you think?"
He threw it back at her.
What hadn't she thought! How per
sistently her fancy had played will
the question of what sort of man tina
one might be who had so wonderful
ly put his hand under a glass case anC
drawn out the Chatworth ring.
"Oh," she laughed obviously, II SUP
pose he is good one as long as h
isn't caught"
What" His face disowned heI
"You think he's renegade, do you
A chap in perpetual flight, takinl
things because he has to, more or les
pursued by the law? Bah! It's
guild as old, and deal more honor