The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1912-02-03

cess. and Erebus firmly refused to play
lady's-maid. Since the Terror was one
Of those who enjoy doing those things
which they are called upon TO do, he
presently forgot the unmanliness of
the occupation. and began to take
pleasure in handling the sillSen
strands
1t was on the fifth day after bath,
when lle was brushing out her hair In
the sun ca the top of the Knoll that
he received the severe shock. Heaven
knows that the Princess was not a
demonstrative child; indeed, she had
never had the chance. But he had
Just finished his task and was survey
ing the shining result with satlsfac-
tion. when of Il sudden. without any
warning. She threw her arms round
his neck and kissed him.
"Oh, you are nice" she said.
The Terror's ineffable serenity was
for once scattered to the winds. He
flushed and gazed round the woods
with horror-stricken eyes: II anyone
should have seen It
The Princess marked his trouble. and
said In tone of distress, Don't you
like me to kiss your
The Terror swallowed the lump of
horror IN his throat. and said family
but gallantly: "Yes-Oh. rather"
"Thcn kiss me-" said the Princess
simply, smuggling closer to him.
The dcspalrlng eyes OF the Terror
swept the woods; then he kissed her
gingerly.
~ Qgi fond Of you, you know" said
the Princess In frankly proprietary
tone.
The Terror's scattered wits at last
worked He rose to his feet and said
quickly: Eyes. Let's be getting to
the others"
The Princess rose obediently.
But the ice was broken; and the
kisses OF the Princess If not frequent,
were at any rate not rare. The Ter
ror at first endured them; then he
came rather to like them. But he
strictly enjolned discretion on her.
Discretion and kisses, however, have
no natural affinity; and without their
knowing it, Virgins became aware OF
the practice.
The confidence between the Twins
had always been so full that he was
not aware that he was letting q cat
out of a bag when he said TO Erebus
81 suppose the Tcrror's In love with
the Princess, kissing her like that.
think it's awfully silly" And he
spurned the earth.
Erebus's dark face was all one dusky
flush, as. somewhat breathlessly, she
drew from Virgins his idyllic story.
ThCn she rose and with clenched fists
and blazing ewes, sought the Princess.
She found her lying back drowsily
against n bank, and forthwith cried
fercely:
princess or no Princess. you shan't
kiss him.
The drowsiness fed; and the Prin-
cess sat up. Her gray eyes darkened
and sparkled. She had never made a
face In her life; II is quite probable
that she was Ignorant that faces were
made but quite naturally she made a
hideons face at Erebus' and said 81
"If you do, I'll smack you!" cried
Erebus; and she ground her teeth.
"He won't let you; and II you do,
he'll smack you--much harder" said
the Princess confidently.
Had the Princess been standing up,
Erebus would have smacked her then
and there; but the Princess was sit
ting safely down. Erebus growled In
her throat, turned on her heel, and
dashed away in seach of the Terror.
She came upon him dragging q fallen
bough up 10 the Knoll for firewood
"I know all about your kissing the
Princess never heard of such silly
babyishness :" she cried in tone Of
the flercest contempt
The shame-faced Terror blushed ;
then he turned braZen
"You mind your own business" he
said firmly. "It isn't babylsh at all I!
She's asked me to marry her; and I'm
going to--so there"
In the face OF this situation Erebus
found herself utterly helpless; she
wrung her hands and turned sharply
aside into the wood.
Then followed a period Of strain.
Erebus assumed an attitude OF naughty
contempt toward the errant pair. she
devoted herself to Virgins and let
:. them coldly alone. II Is TO be feared
that the kisses, having been forbidden,
became sWeeter and more frequent.
II was at this juncture that Sir
Maurice Falconer, the uncle OF the
Twins, came into the affair. He had
from the very beginning taken a diff
, ferent view of the disappearance OF
, the Princess from that OF the rest OF
! the world. 1t was his habit to ascribe
any uncommon event which occurred
In the Deepings TO his nephew and
} niece. When then he first rend in his
: Morning Post OF that disappearance
he said quietly to himself; "The
Twins agalnp He was confirmed In
: his opinion by the sight OF a reproduc-
tion Of the Socialist Manifesto in an
enterprising halfpenny paper.
: But Sir Maurice was not man to
: interfere lightly, and he was busy
enough with many lunches, race
meetings, dinners, dances. and suppers
to postpone his Intervention till the
sixth day, when every Socialist Organ
izatlon from San Francisco to Japan
was loudly dIsayowlng any completely
with the crime and the diplomatists
and newspapers of Germany and Eng
land were snarling at enc another In q
fashion which fOrbOde war. He felt
that the time had come TO ease the in
: ternational situation.
+ With that end In view. ne went down
to Little Deeping. and learned from
Mrs Dangerheld that the Twins were
camping out on Deepi'.g Knoll. Then,