Omaha daily bee., 1910-07-03

different from silberberg he was in every
way. especially in his attitude toward girls.
Society be plagued! She would be per-
fectly silent as TO the cabin in the dunes,
and she would never, never, give evidence
against these people. She would refuse TO
know their Names and refuse to testify.
There. She was In a fine flush Of defiance
as she heard Carson finishing some further
observation about the shell-mounds.
Down along the lagoon" he said, ''the
shells are those of oysters prehistoric ike
these. At Strong's Bayou they are twenty
feet deep. What hosts Of inhabitants"
Tremendous hosts" assented Virginia,
Who had Just defied the courts, 10 De 30
deep.
Il mean the savages," he explained.
TO be sure" abe calculated. what
dreadfully deep creatures they are! One
learns that from Cooper"
But back where we started" he went
on, hoping for a painless adjustment OF her
ideas to his-"bacll where we started, they
were CLAIMS"
'The-the people?" she inquired hesitantly.
'or--or WHAT
Il was referring to the shelI-fish," said
he with a little stiffness, arising from
doubts as to whether she might not be
making game Of him. But in this little
sea- it is hard to talk connectedly and man
age the launch"
That isn't It at all" she replied. "Your
class wasn't paying the slightest attention.
Pardon me"
lie threw over the tiller to round into a
little reedy cove; but instead of running
ashore he entered a narrow creelS which
he followed through such amazing tor
tuosties that the sun. low in the west, was
now on the right, now on the left. some
times astern, and again dead ahead. An
indolent current flowed with their course
its water rudy and clear like wine, and
beautifully placid save where touched by
the dying wind. Tasseled reeds cut off
the horizon, and at no time was anything
TO be seen but the reeds. the water, the
aquatic birds that flew Off like figures
from a Japanese screen. the silent little
launch. and the young and interesting out
law with whom she seemed TO have entered
into new world consisting OF labyrinth
as complex as that OF Crete, from whish.
so far as she could see, there was no es-
cape.
The reeds beside the lazy stream shivered
with the motion OF soampering fish; and
when the boat entered the still ponds.
strung on the tiny waterway, like beads
on a cord, the CLASSY surface would sud-
denly bulge up into swift shining swells,
as the finny giants took flight How beau
tiful it was, she thought, the perfection
II msrshy loneliness!
I'm having" said she, "a perfectly de-
lishtful tme!"
II am very, very slad," said he
LILY pads now rose and fell in the wakes
OF fish and bost-great green disks with no
notch in their sides for the stem. but only
slit, as II nature had used a pair OF
scissors and made but one snip al it.
Negotiating a passage so narrow that the
strAkes Of the launch softly scraped both
rooty shores, they emerged into a lakele,
not much larger than a good sized theater
which was quite green with the floating
leaves, like a rich. flat meadow. And over
-waNy, creamy, pure. and sedateiy beauti-
full.
oh" cried Virginia How exquisite!
Carson cruised about and practically rob-
bed the pond OF every blossom.
They are smaller than the northern
lilies" said he, "and they have little frag.
rance; but love them all the better"
They are daintier." she said, land not
so pronounced"
Like the southern girls" said he
I'm southern girl" SAID she. III AL
a northern tourist"
Il knew that" he replied. Il had that ir
mind"
This talk was verging unon the personal
and therefore TO be discouraged. How
keenly observing he must be to detect ir
her cosmopolitan English the old Alabams
accent! She supposed herself to be quite
rid Of II. His own occasional and incoRsis
tent lapses into ultra softness OF intona tior
seemed quite like dialect 10 her. He waxed
more and more interesting. Surely, surely
he was not so very much worse, at heart
with his love Of flowers and his chivalrou,
delicacy, than some people in-in othe!
walks OF life. She was quite recovered
from her alarm, quite In control OF the
situation now. smuggling bewitehingly down
ard looking at her lilies, as they emerged
from the narrows and shot out into the
lagoon. the blue waves OF which had sub.
sided into round-rolling short swells.
"Good-by," cried Virginia looking hack
into the enchanted marsh. "Good-by! This