The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-03-07
CHAPTER XIII.


The Irrevocable Gift.
why wilt thou ever scare me with
thy tears,
And make me tremble, lest a saying
learnt,
In days far-off, on that dark earth
be true?
The gods themselves cannot recall
their gifts
"Tithonus,' Tennyson.
Vernon, next morning, was so in
creasingly conscious of the pain in
her muscles, and the shock of her
accident, that she remained in bed
during the greater part of the day.
petted and fused over by her aunl,
who grew every day more devoted
to her. more proud Of her, more
tender towards her.
Now Vernon had invited Selma to
come and play tennis that afternoon
with the express intention of giving
pleasure to Jem. But Mrs. Bardsley
brought word upstairs that Jem was
going to the most remote of the
farms TO help get in the hay, and
could not possibly be back to play
tennis, so the only thing to do was
to put Selma off.
A day in bed, and much anxious
thought, still failed to reveal TO Yer
non the exact secret of Jem's dis
proportionate rage and fury. ''He has
such an extremely queer temper,
can't manage him one bit" she
told herself 1t is safe to say that.
for the whole of the day, she thought
of hardly anything but Jem, and the
surprising difficulty of maintaining
equable relations with him for any
length of time.
She felt that their next meeting
would be a trifle awkward, and
wondered whether she would be ex-
pected TO apologize, or whether her
dignity demanded that she would
wait for apologies from him
This question was settled, however,
by the fact that for three days they
did not meet at all On the fourth
day they had to go out to dinner
together with Mrs. Bardsley, they
having been bdden to dine with
Lord and Lady Bunbury. They all
drove there and back together, bu.
had no chance to talk; and at din
ner lem was seated between his
hostess and the fair Adelaide, a sit
uation which was apparently very
distressing, alike to the young man
and the maiden. Adelaide was in love
with Miles in the PROSTATE, f,abby
fashion, in which such girls as she
fall in love. She thought Jem plain
and very difficult to talk to; and
felt it hard that she should have to
make the effort to entertain him
She tried to talk of the accident
at the picnic and found his silence
on this subject so complete and so
forbidding that for the rest of the
meal she was thoroughly disheart-
ened. Some of the children appeared
for dessert and Jem kindled into
something like animation at their in
spring presence. Vernon was oppo-
site him. about half way down the
table. She wore a becoming gown of
filmy white, and pearls Were twist
ed among her curls. She was looking
so pretty as to cause a small sensa,
tion among the more distant mem.
bers of the county who now saw her
for the first time. Lady Bun decid-
ed that it would not do to invite her
again. Next time the invitation
should be for Jem alone. This girl
took the shine out of Adelaide in
way that was positively cruel.
Vernon was so unsophisticated as
to enjoy the admiration she created.
She did not realize that it was ad-
miration exactly. but she found ev-
erybody particularly kind, and anx-
ious to please her. She basked in
the smiles and small attentions of
all the men present. Old Mr.. Hesk-
eth, master of the hounds, promised