The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-12-27
By
HORACE

CHAPTER /.
The Vanishing Portrait.

MD Boston Post Road, between Green.
yich and Stamford, gave me a mes
sage from her uncle. That Is the
logical beginning of this story; though
10 make everything quite clear from
The start it may be better to bark
4 hack a few months, to the day on
/ which Evelyn Grayson and l first met.
Then, as now, We were each driving
our W car; she. a great sixty horse
power machine, all glistening pale vel
low, and |, a compact six-cylinder
racer, of dull dusty gray. But we were
not on any such broad, roomy thor
oughfare as the Boston Post Road. On
the contrary we were ~short-cutting
through a narrow, rough lane. beset
BY stone walls and interrupted at in
tervals by a series of sharp ard
u~eacherOus angles.
| know | shall never forget the mo-
nentary impression / received. Out
Of the golden sunlight, it seemed to
me, there had emerged suddenly a
tsbleau Of Queen Titania on a topaz
throne-the faireSt Queen Titania i'm.
agitation ever conjured-and |, in my
mad, painting speed was about to
crash into the gauzy fabric of that
dream creation and rend 1t with
brutal, t%orturing onrush of relentless,
hard-driven nickel steel. | take no
credit to myself for what l did. Volt
ton was absent. My hands acted on
an impulse above and beyond all tardy
mental guidance. For just a flashing
instant the gray ose of my car rose
before me, as in strenuous assault 1t
mounted half way to the coping of
the roadside wall. I felt my seat dart
away from beneath me, was conscious
Of my body in swift, unsupported
aerial flight, and then--but 1t Is idle
to attempt to set down the conglom-
crate sensations of that small fraction
Of a second. When | regained con-
sciousness, Queen Titania was kneel.
Ing In the dust of the lane beside me
"a very distressed and anxious Queen
Ttanla, with wide, startled eyes, and
quiVerlngly sympathetic ups-and
about Us were a half dozen or more
Of the Vicipal country folk.
Between that meeting in midway
and this meeting On the old Boston
Post Road in mid-September, there
had been others, of course; for Queen
Iltania, whose everyday name. as |
have said, was Evelyn Grayson, was
the niece and ward Of my nearest
neighbor, Mr., Robert Cameron, a gen.
tleman recently come to reside on
what for a century and more had been
known as the old Towrsbury Estate,
extending for quite a mile along the
Connecticut shore of Long Island
Sound In the neighborhood of Green
EiCh.
The intervening four months had
witnessed the gradual growth of as
near al approach to intimacy between
Cameron and myself as was possible
considering the manner Of man thAt
Cameron was. BY which statement |
mean TO imply naught to my neigh
boris discredit. He was in all spect
admirable-a gentleman of education
and culture, widely travelled. OF exalt
cd ideals and noble principles TO which
he gave rigid adherence. Butt was
about to qualify this by describing
him as reserved and taciturn. ] fear,
though, to give a wrong impression.
He was scarcely that. There were
moments, however, when he was unre-
sponslVe, and he, was never demonstra-
i've. He had more poise than any
man know. He allowed you to see
Just 90 much Of him, and no more. At
ames he was almost stubbornly reti.
cent. And yet. III spite of these quail.
Tues, which appeared to be cultivated
rather than inherent, he gave repeated
evidence of a nature at once so sim.
pie and kindly and sympathetic as to
command both confidence and affec-
ton.
10 the progress Of my intimacy
with Evelyn there had been no such
experimental impeachment. She was
fearlessly outspoken. with a frankness
born Of unspoiled innocence; barely
six weeks having elapsed between her
graduation from the tiny French con
vent of Sainte Barbe near Paris and
our perilous encounter in that con
Nacted, treacherous, yet blessed little
connecticut lane. And she possessed,
moreover, a multiplicity of addition
al charms, both of person and dispo-
sluon-Charms too numerous indeed
10 enumerate, and far too sacred TO
discuss. From which 1t may rightly
De Inferred that we understood each
olher, Evelyn and /. and that we were
already considerably beyond the state
Or condition Of mere formal acquaint'
anceship.
1t was no Queen Titania who now
came gliding to a stand beside me on
ehe broad, level, well.oiled highway,
uhdeF a double row Of arching elma, 1t
was no gossamer fairy, but Hebe, the
NouueEs or Youth, with creamy sEin
and red lips and a lifting melody of
voice:
VIA. no, Sir Philip! We are well
met"
And then she told me that her Uncle
Ronert had telephoned for me, leav-
ing a message with my man, bidding
re come to him at my earliest leisure.
why not come for dinnerT" size add
ga and her eyes gave accent TO her
words.
bntl your | queried: for her car
was Traded in the opposite direction
an. going alone TO Norton. have
hamper in the tcnneau for that poor
malley family. ! shall be back In
anne. We dine at half-past seven. you
hhow, Youil comet"
of course ut come I answered