Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1912-05-16
CHA ~ g., =. =.
and
CHARLEY
By A. MARIA CRAWFORD
By A. MARIA CRAWFORD

party, isn't it?" asked Charles La
nier, admiring the girl as she came
into the room.
"Several hundred have been asked,
l believe" she answered Indifferent
ly, dropping into chair. 81 have
decided not to CO."
"May / ask whyH"
Certainly you may ask" Alice as
sured him with small show Of grace,
''but / must decline to answer, for |
believe that after a minutes medita-
ton your own memory will save me
the trouble and answer you more in
diligently and less dispassionately
than l possibly could under the cir
cumstances.
Gall this is Greek to me, Alice"
said Charley, a surprised, hurt note
in his voice. Suppose you tell me
all about itw
81 can't do it without emotion and
1 will not cry and let you laugh at
me-" Alice slowly pulled the gleam-
ing circle of diamonds from her fin
ger and laid it on the table between
them. 81 give you back your free
DOM"
HSee here, Alice" said the man,
sternly, "you owe me some sort of an
explanation. What's the matter?
Have done anything that displeased
you?"
"No. You have your freedom.
Now enjoy it!"
There was finality in her voice
and without even glancing at the
ring on the table, Charley Lanier
said good night and left her.
He was stunned, he was humiliat-
ed as he stepped into his car and or
dered his chauffeur to run out on
the river road.
Ten miles from town, the stiffness
of the country and of the eternal
hills smote his inner consciousness
with peace and the anger in his
heart for the girl he loved died and
left only sense of loneliness. Life
could be made too great thing to
waste any hours over a tickle wom-
an. He told his chauffeur to drive
back to the Havemeyers' garden par
| ty. If Alice could give him up for
some foolish, abstract reason, he de-
termined that he would forget his
hurt by mingling with people.
'Well, I'm glad to see you here,
Charley" said pleasant voice, as
he turned away from his hostess.
give been looking for you. 1 want
| you to take Thankful Morris around
with you and have her sing. She
has wonderful talent"
| He turned quickly and saw one
of his mothers best friends and be-
side her the beautiful girl whom he
had taken motoring in the afternoon.
1t was when a party of guests had
gone into the house, into the hand
some music room, to hear Thankful
Morris sing, that Charley first saw
Alice standing with a group of men
and covertly watching him. The full
mellow voice of the singer had the
silvery trills of nightingales in it
and the sweetness of her own flower
scented south. Under the sound of
the music the mans heart began to
ache duly, despairingly. He turned
to a fellow clubman and asked him
to provide an escort for the visitor,
then moved quietly through a
French windoY out on the vine-cov-
cred veranda where the moonlight
through the leaves showed in patches
ON the floor.
He was alone there and he leaned
his head back on a chair and closed
his eyes, listening to the pleading
love song that seemed to mock his
own pain. He had never known
Alice to be much given to moods,
and again he wondered what had
caused the change in her. He was
so deeply interested in his own
thoughts, so absorbed in planning
possible solutions for possible prob
lens that he did not hear the merry
guests leave the music room to 60
out into the garden, nor did he hear
the soft footsteps of the girl. She
smoke IN him before he knew that