The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1912-06-21

lightness. she ignored It. She was
truly fond of Grace, also infinitely
sorry for her. Grace had grown up in
shadow In a tragic household which
had revolved about her father, a hope
less and fretful cripple. She was
motherless. The lack cut deep when
she saw daily her fathers mother,
woman OF iron TO all else. tender, pitt
| ful, lavishly loving toward her strick-
en- son. She had held on to life grim
ly until his life flickered out. Then,
In week, Grace had found herself
alone. She had gone abroad, hardly
knowing what else to do. Thus she
had come to know Juliette, and in Sc
quence. Juliette's world.
II had not taken to her-she was
too shy. too stiff, too direct. Her i'm
pulse had been TO send the widow
$500 in such fashion nobody would
know whence II came. Juliette had
stopped that, saying:
wait! You shall give It afterward.
II you do 1t now other folks won't
come TO the tableaux; We shall make
nearly as much by them, and you
really have no right to cheat poor
Lizzie out OF anything she can get"
Grace had felt the force Of this, but
in her mind the $500 was already
Lizzie's property. In like manner
she had yielded her own MEDITATION
against the spotlight and agreed TO
appear in THE Huguenot Lovers"
There had been no time for rehears-
ais. Juliette carried through her
enterprises always in whirlwind style.
And really there was little need-she
had chosen simple, familiar pictures.
With merry malice she had cast Phil
Darling for the hopeless bachelor
squirting at his darning needle over
weller of toeless socks. and posed
a pair of lovers so shy they were
wordless to set forth "a Leap Year
Proposal"
II was that way all down the line.
Indeed the fitting OF the pictures to
the actors in them drew roars OF
laughing applause from the very first.
What did 1t matter that the lighting
was feeble, the costuming not over ac-
curate? It was different at least-un-
like the everyday seeming.
Juliette herself made a stunning
Gretchen. staring wide-eyed at Me-
phistopheles in the person Of an elder
ly adorer, who offered her all the bead
necklaces of his dry goods empori-
UNI, and poor Anna Roberts, beauless
at almost thirty, thrilled with delight
in the Maiden's Choice. wherein,
standing before a mirror, she held up
one after another a dozen handsome
masculine photos. and ended by kiss.
Ing the very last one.
A great night, all Mendon agreed!
The town was proud OF itself, OF its
inhabitant who could plan and exc
cute this on the spur of the moment
So II was more than we'll disposed to-
ward the very last thing on the bill
When the Huguenot lovers dawned
doubled applause. Jack Esrond be-
came wonderfully his costume, II II
were only near-velvet. and very mod
ern lace. AS for Grace, nobody quite
believed his eyes. She was white
rice powder assured that-but hel
eyes glowed like black diamonds, hel
lips were tremulous scarlet bow
her clinging pose brought out all the
fine lines of her figure, and made he,
n creature delightful 10 the eye.
But what she looked was nothing
to what Esmond suddenly felt-t
quick suppressed tremor, a Wild,
beating heart. When close within hi
2 arms she lightly bound upon him thu
= white badge of safety. suddenly h
$ understood. She loved him-not o
/. merit. but Of free grace. She was
8 woman, beautiful, untouched. true an,
tender. Juliette! Juliette had man,
y lovers-he wanted woman content 4
= have but one. So as the curtain fel
; he bent and kissed Grace again, whis
pering softly: You have truly save
q more than my life"