The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-21
eContinuedl


 CCouttuued1
 Never in ai. .ue world But grieve not Tonight joy Is to be unconfned and there Is no tomorrow"
 And one may make mad love to @nyT'
 'HTo any whom one madly loves, of course; not to twelve at once. But we must gO. See. isn't 1t dneT'
 At once from somewhere on parade there came the clear note of a bugie. which seemed to draw the attention of all. We could see ascending the great dagStaG at the end of its hal yard SAe broad folds Of the flag. Fol lowing this was hoisted a hoop or rim of torches. which paused in such DO sitiOn that the folds of the nag were well illuminated. A moment of silence came at that and then a clapping of hands from all about the parade Es the banner noated out, and the voices Of men. deep throated. greeted the flag. Again the bands broke into the strains of the national anthem, but 1mmed1ately they swung into a roldck- Gng cavalry air.
 Tonight" said Kitty to me cone may be fafthlesB and be GhriVen by the morning sun. Isn't 1t funny how these things go7 Such a tot of fuss is made in the world by Ignoring the great fact that man is by nature both gregarfOus and poiygamOus. Believe me, there is much In this doctrine of the Mormons out there in the west" The floor now was beginning to i'll with dancers. There moved before uS
 1P anIn which breathed the fragrance of soft music. A subtle charm emanated from these surroundings. Music. the sight and odor of sweet flowers. the sound of pleasant waters. the presence of things beautifuI-these have ever had their effect on me.
 Signing, 1 said to myself that I was young. 1 turned to speak to my hos tess. but Ahe wss gone. So there stood for half an hour, biting my the mysterious Ellen, when felt d tug at my sleeve.
 Come with me- whispered a voice It was Kitty. We passed to the op posite side of the dancing floor anC halted at the front of a wide marquee whose flaps were spread to cover d long row of seats.
 Count them" said Kitty. 'There are twelve"
 And 50 Indeed there were twelve beautiful young girls, as one migh. pronounce. even though all were mask ed with half face domlnos. Half o1 them were dressed in white and hall in black and thus they alternateo down the row. Twelve hands handled divers fans. Twelve pairs of eyes look ed out, eyes merry. or challenging, or mysterious, one could not tell. About these young belles gathered the dens- est throng of all the crowd
 At each fair charmer as I bowed I looked with what directness l dared to see if I might penetrate the mask and 80 foil Kitty in her amiab bie intentions. As we passed out at the foot of the row I recalled that 1 had not heard the name of Ellen
 Now. then. which one is she?" I queried of my hostess
 Silly. do you want me to put your hand in hers7 You are now on your own resources. Play the game" And the next moment she again was gone.
 I had opportunity without rudeness the crowd so pressing iD behind me. to glance once more up the line. 1 saw, or thought l saw. just a chance glance toward where stood. near the foot of the Row of Mystery. as they called it. I looked a second time and then all doubt whatever vanished.
 If this girl in the black laces. with the gold comb in her hair and the gold shot little shoes just showing at the edge of her gown and the red rose at her hair. held down by the comb, half hidden by the pile of locks caught up by the ribbon of the mask. if this girl were not the mysterious Ellen. then indeed must Ellen look well to her laurels. for here, indeed, was a rival for heri
 l began to edge through the ranks of young men who gathered there, laugh ing. beseeching. impIorinR. claiming. The sparkle of the scene was in my veins l did not waIk-the music car ried me before her. And so 1 bowed and murmured. "I have waited hours for my hostess to present me to Miss Ellen" q mumbled the rest of some Imaginary name since I had heard none.l
 The girl pressed the tip of her fan against her teeth and looked at me meditativeIy.
 "And ours. of course. is this dance" went on.
 elf cou.i only remember all the names"- she began besitatingIT.
 "I was introduced as Jack O. of Vir- ginia.'
 "Yes? And in what arm?'
 Cavalry" replied promptly. "Do you not see the yellow?" l gestured toward the facings. You who belong