Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1912-01-25
CHAPTER II.
The Duchess Approves.

eager mOthers-who, true TO her word,
Lady Galorey had invited down-from
laying siege to Dan Blair. Lady Ga
lorey asked him:
Don't you want to marry any one
of these beauties, DAM" And Blair,
with his beautiful smile and what Lily
called his inspired candor, answered.;
mot on your life, Lady Galorey"
And she agreed Il think myself
you are too young"
NO." Dan refuted, "you are wrong
there. shall marry as fast as I can"
His hostess was surprised.
''Why, l thought you wanted your
fling first"
And Dan, from his chair, in which,
with book, he had been sitting when
Lady Galorey found him, answered
cheerfully;
ooh, don't like being alone. want
to go about with some one. should
like a fling all right, but I want to
fling with somebody as I CO."
The lady Of the house was not
philosopher nor an analyst. She had
certain affairs Of her own and was en-
crossed in them and lived in them. AS
far as Lady GalOrey was concerned
the rest Of the world might go and
hang itself as long as it didn't do it
at her gate-pOst But Blair couldn't
leave any one Indifferent to him very
long, not unless one could be indiffer-
ent to a blaze of sunlight; one must
either draw the blinds down or bask
in its brightness.
She laughed. You're perfectly deli
cious! You mean to say you want to
be married at once and let your wife
fling around with your"
Gust that"
''How sweet of you, Dan! And you
won't marry one Of these girls here?"
Don't fill the bill, Lady GaIorey."
"Oh you have a sweetheart at home,
then?"
'All Off" he assured her blithely,
and rose tall and straight and slender.
The Duchess of Breakwater had
come in, indeed she never failed to
when there was any question of find
ing Blair.
Dan stood straightjy before the two
women Of an old race, and the Amer
lean didn't suggest any line of noble
ancestors whatsoever. His features
were rather cOnSlOnerate; his mus
cles were possibly not the perfect elias
tic specimens that were those muscles
whose strain and sinew had been
made from the same stock for genera
lions. He was, nevertheless, very
good to look on. Any woman would
have thought so, and ne bent his blond
head as he looked az the Duchess Of
Breakwater with something like be-
nevOlence, something of his fathers
kindness in his clear blue eyes.
Neither Of the noble ladies vaguely IN
derstood him. His hostess thought
him "a good Sort" not half bad,
splendid catch, and tue other woman,
only few years hiS senior, was in
love with him. The duchess had mar
ried at eighteen, tired of her bargain
at twenty, and found herself widow
at twenty-five She held a telegram
in her hand
We've got the box for Mandalay to-
night at the Gaiety, and let's motor
i'm
Only Lady Galorey hesitated, disap-
pointed.
'Too bad--I had specially arranged
for Lady Grandcourt to drive over
with Eileen. I thought it would be a
ripping chance for her to see Dan"
When at length the duchess had sue
ceeded in getting Dan to herself to-
ward the end of the day in the red
room, after tea, she said:
so you won't marry a London
beauty"
And rather coldly Dan had an
swered:
why, you talk, all of you, as If l
had only to ask any girl Of them, and
she would jump down my throat"
Don't try it" the duchess answered.
unless you want to have your mouth
full"
Dan did not reply for a second, but
he looked at her more seriously, con-
scious of her grace and her good
4OOhS. one was Certainly D0JCSr 10
look at than the simple girls with
their big hands, small wits, long faces
and. as the boy expressed it, cutter
lack of get-up" The duchess shone
out to advantage
why don't you talk to me?" she
asked softly. 'You know you would
rather talk to me than the others"
Eyes," he said frankly; "they make
me nervous"
'And I don't?"
mo- he said. 'T learn a lot every
time we are together
Learn" she repeated, not particu-
larly f1attered by this. what sort of
things?"
ooh, about the whole business" he
returned vaguely. "You know what I
moan"
'"Then," she said with slight laugh,
"you mean to say you talk to me for
educational purposes? What beast