The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1911-01-24


from the room at the moment EthaI
Stanley entered from the adjoining
bedchamber.
The young man surveyed the luxuri
GUS appointments Of the studio with &
discontinued frown on his handsome
face With knitted brows he crossed
the room to the easel where his last
picture was hidden bS curtain
Presently he dropped the curtain and
turned to fnd the japanese standing
at attention in the doorway.
What is it, NasogiY" asked Stanley
"The telephone calls, sir" replied the
man.
"Who is itT"
''Mr. Clayton, sir"
"Ah, how are you, BobY. Stanley
was saying over the wire. Certainly
Delighted Bring the whole crowd.
was going to dine alone, but Nasogi
is a magician and can spread feast
for dozen. Eight-thirty. Good. Be
sure to bring your fiddle. Goodby.
"Nasogi, Mr. Clayton and four friends
will dine with me tonight at $50
There will be three ladies in the com
pany Can you manage it in three
hours?" He looked at his watch.
Most certainly, sir. 1t win be
ready at the hour. l viii go to the
market again Immediately" In an in.
slant the Japanese had bowed himself
from the room and Stanley was alone
He flung himself into deep chair and
lighted pipe.
The pagoda shape of a stone lantern
was outlined against the twilight
space of the window and reminded
Stanley of the gray day he had first
seen it in a neglected gagden beyond
the gates of Tokyo 1t was what he
had been looking for ever since he had
come to Japan. He might have bought
a score of stone lanterns in the Orien-
tai shops of New York, but his par
ticular stone lantern must be found
by himself in some place where it had
stood-in the garden of some home or
among the ruins of a temple. These
things have associations or they could
find no place in his collection.
He remembered the day, gray with a
fine mist of rain. He had bowled out
of the city with his favorite rickshaw
man between the shafts, and when the
first light shower came the runner had
turned into a tiny tangled garden
where a small house stood deserted
among the plum trees.
AS Stanley found shelter in the We
randa he spied the stone lantern near
ly overgrown with some clinging vine.
"Who owns this houseY he asked
quickly.
The runner named a man in the
neighborhood. ut was his daughter
who lived in the house with her hus-
band. They were newly married, and
they called it the abode of peace and
joy But the husband went away to
war, and he never came back. The
daughter lives with her parents, an in
consolable widow, and the little house
is place of SORROW"
Stanley thought over the little trag-
edy that had been briefly played out
here, and then when the rain had stop
ped he sought the house of the owner
and found it easy to purchase the
stone lantern.
any daughter will be glad 1t
grieves her to see even a distant
glimpse of her former abode. 1 shall
tear down the house one day and turn
the place into a playground" said the
dignifed old gentleman.
1t was dark now, and his pipe had
gone out Stanley switched on the
electrics and then extinguished them,
lighting in their place several softly
shaded lamps.
As he dressed for dinner he won
dered idly who the girl was that the
Claytons were bringing with them
Bob had said it was a friend of his
wife's, and Mrs. Clayton had so many
friends 1t was useless to puzzle his
head over that. The other couple were
the Testers. The Claytons and the
Testers were his most intimate friends
and had been Celia's, too, before she
and Stanley had quarreled and sep
arated Celia had returned to her par
ents, and Stanley had gone to Japan
and lately had returned to occupy the
studio alone. Under the circumstances
he rather wondered at the Claytons
bringing along a strange girl.
Years of travel and hard work had
not softened the blow of Celia's de-
sertion after the bitter. foolish little
disagreement. He had written once,
but she had never replied to it. He
tried not to think of her. In that way
alone there was peace Of mind.
Exactly at $50 the elevator stopped
at his floor, and Nasogi threw open
the studio door to announce the guests.
Maud Clayton and Bessie Lester came
in first, and close behind them was
third figure. at the sight of which
Stanley's heart jumped into his throat
and stayed there for awhile. Bob and
Tony brought up the rear, covering the
awkward situation with frivolous talk
and laughter.
''Shall we take Off our things in here,
Ethan?" called Mrs. Clayton over her
shoulder, one hand ON his bedroom
door.
Certainly You all know the way.
Celia" he found time to murmur as
her hand rested in his for brief In
slant, this is a surprise-a pleasant
surprise"
81 am glad you feel So" she breath
ed quickly. 'They urged me to come.
and gave way to the impulse" Then
she. had disappeared with the other
women. while her husband Joined the
men at the fireplace.
At table there was much curiosity
about the stone lantern. FLANDERS
has one that he picked up in the
Aomori province 1t has all sorts of
a history-battle, murder and sudden
DEATH" remarked Bob Clayton to his
host.
mine has a more modest history"
hesitated Stanley, his eyes meeting
Celia's across the table for an instant.
at is more of romance, although
there is note of tragedy hidden there
In
"Tell it," they urged in concert, al
thought Celia Stanley's voice was
scarcely heard.
Nasogi, with his strange intuition of
things as they should be, had arrang-
ed the table so that Celia sat opposite
her husband-in fact, 1t was her old
place as the mistress of his household,
only it so happened that Nasogi had
never before seen or heard of Celia,
nor did he know that his master had a
wife.
Ethan Stanley looked around the ia
BILE and with a slight stiffening Of his
shoulders proceeded to tell his guests
the story Of the stone lantern.
"And so.' he said In conclusion, his