Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-11

told him how his parents had gone to
their God together-"the happiest fate.
old man, that can fall on husband and
wife"-one stormy night in the Bay OF
Biscay. In company with every other soul
on board the troOpship Helianthus. and
that henceforth Hughie must be prepared
to regard the broken-down old buffer be-
fore him as his father and mother
Hughie had gravely accepted this ar
rangement. and for more than seventeen
years he and his uncle had treated one
another as father and son.
Jimmy Marrable was a little eccentric
but so are most old bachelors-sad like
good many eccentric men he rather prided
himself on his peculiarities. II anything
he rather cultivated them. One of his
most startling characteristics was habit
of thinking aloud. He would emerge uI-
eXpectedly from a brown study. to com
ment to himself with stunning sudden
ness and absolute candor on the appear
ancc and manners Of those around him
1t was credibly reported that he had
once taken a rather intense and Volub,e
lady in to dinner. and after regarding heI
for some time with a f1xity- Of attention
which had deluded the good soul into the
belief that he was hanging on her lips
had remarked to himself. with appalling
distinctness. during a lull in the converse
ton: Guinea set-misf1t at the top
gutta-percha flxings-wonder they don't
drop into her soup!" and continued his
meal without any apparent consciousness
Of having said anything unusual
He was eccentric, too, about other mat.
ters. Once Hughie. returning from school
for his holidays. discovered that there had
been an addition to the family in his alb
Sence.
Mrs. Capper's very face in the hall told
him that something was wrong. Its owner
informed Hughie that though one should
be prepared to take life as one found 1t.
and live and let live had been her motto
from infancy. her equilibrium ever since
the thing had happened had lain at the
mercy Of the first aggressively disposed
feather that came along. and what peo-
pie in the neighborhood would say she
dared not think.
She ran on. Hughie waited patiently
and presently unearthed the facts.
A few weeks ago the master had re-
turned from protracted visit to London,
announced that the pair were henceforth
to be regarded as permanent inmates OF
the establishment. Beyond the fact that
one brat was fair and a boy. and the
other darlxish and a girl, and that Mrs.
Capper had given warning on sight.
composedly for his. uncle TO come home
from shooting.
Jimmy Marrable. when he arrived. was
not communicative. He merely stated
that the little devils were the children OF
an old friend Of his, called Gaymer, who
had died suddenly and left them to be
brought up by him as guardian.
And Hughie, my son. he concluded.
"if you don't want your head bitten of
you will refrain in this case from indulg-
ing in your propensity for asking why
and getting to the bottom OF things. I'm
not best pleased at finding them on my
hands, but here they are and there's an
end of it. The girl is flve-ten years
younger than you-and the boy eight. She
is called Joan, and his idfotic name is
Iancelot Wellesley. I wonder they didn't
christen him Gaiahad Napoleon! Come
upstairs and see them"
All this had occurred seven years ago.
During that time Lancelot Wellesley Gay
mer had grown up sufficiently to go to a
public school, and consequently Miss Joan
Gaymer had been left very much in the