Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-08-19


the hotel, the dining room floor is all
waxed and I'm asking for the first
dance with the young and radiant Mrs.
Carter. Get into glad rag and don't
Keep me waiting"
"Tom" gasped.
"Oh, be a sport, Moll, and don't take
water. You said you would wake up
this town, and now do It. 1t seems
twenty instead Of six years since ]
had my arms around you to music.
and I'm not going to wait any longer.
Everybody is there and they can't all
dance with Miss Chester"
That settled it. l couldn't let Wis
iting girl be danced to death. or course
I had planned to make q dignified de-
but under my own roof, backed up by
The presence Of ancestral and marital
rosewood, silver and mahogany as
widow should. but duty called me to
deweed myself amid the informally
Of an impromptu dance at the little
town hotel. And in the fifteen min.
utes Tom gave ME deweeded to some
purpose and lowered out to still more.
never do anything by halves.
In at-that-trOusseau old Rene
lad made me there was one. what she
rallied simple" lingerie frock. And 1t
ooked Just as simple as the check 1t
.alled for. d one and two ciphers back
Il Il. II was Of linen as sheer as
:obweb, real lace and tiny, delicious
ncrustations Of embroidery. 1t fitted
n lines that melted into curves. had
enticements in the shape Of long sash
and a dangerous breast knot Of SHIN
merry blue, the color Of my eyes, and l
Doked newborn In II.
I'm glad that poor Mr.. Carter was
20 stern with me about rats and things
In my hair now that they are out OF
style, for I've got lots Of my own left
In consequence Of not wearing other
PEOPLES. 1t clings and coils to my
head Just any old way that looks as II
had spent an hour on II. That made
me able to be ready to 90 down to Tom
In only ten minutes over the time he
gave me.
I stopped on next to the bottom step
In the wide old hall and called Tom
to turn out the light for me. as Judy
had gone.
| have turned out that light lots OF
times. but felt 1t best to let Tom see
me in ul'light when we were alone.
II Is well did. At first 1t stunned
him, and II is compliment to any
woman to stun Tom Pollard. But Tom
doesn't stay stunned long. and l only
succeeded I'm suppressing him after he
had landed two kisses on my shoulder,
one on my hair and one on the back OF
my neck.
"Molly," be said. standing OF and
looking at me with shining eyes. you
are one lovely dream. Your shoulders
are flushed velvet. your cheeks are
peaches under cream. your eyes are
blue absinth and your mouth red
devil. Come on before | get drunk
looking at you" didn't know wheth-
er I liked that or not and turned down
the light quickly myself and went 70
the gate hurriedly. Tom laughed and
behaved himself
Everybody in town was up to the
hotel and everybody was nice to me,
girls and all. There Is bunch OF
lovely posy girls In this town and they
were all in full flower. Most OF the
men were college boys home for vaca-
ton. and while they are a few years
Younger than |. have been friends
with them for always and they know
how / dance. didn't even get near
enough to the wall to know 1t was
there, though was conscious OF Aunt
Bette and Mrs. Johnson sitting on II
at one end of the room. and every time
passed them ! fiirted with them until
I won a smile from them both. l wish
I could be sure Of hearing Mrs. John
son tell Aunt Adeline al! about It
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