The Washington herald., 1913-12-07

i teacn Dg "Ldh 10 SoAS2
the oral system-that is. the lip
reading system. When people pronounce
a word correctly they all make exactly
the same movements with their lips, so
that. without hearing a sound, you only
have to watch them very closely to know
what they are saying. OF course, this
needs practice, and some people do IT
better and quicker than others. 1 sup
pose 1 must have a special sort of knack
in that direction, because I do not re-
member a time when, by merely watch
ing people speaking at a distance, no
matter at what distance if I could see
them clearly I did not know what they
were saying.
When people. as they often do, think
my skill at it borders on the marvellous
1 always explain to them that it is moth
ing OF the kind, that mine is simply
a case of ''pracice makes perfect" This
knack of mine, in a way, is almost equiv
alent to another sense. 1t has led me
into the most singular situations, and 1t
has been the cause of many really ex-
traordinary adventures. I will tell you
of one which happened to me when was
quite a child, the details of which have
never faded from my memory.
My father and mother were abroad,
and 1 was staying, with some old and
trusted servants, in little cottage which
We had in the country. 1 suppose I must
have been between twelve and thirteen
years of age. was returning by train
to the cottage from a short visit which
had been paying to some friends. In my
compartment there were two persons be-
sides myself-an elderly woman who sat
in front of me, and a man who was at
the other end of her seat. At station
not very far from my home the woman
got out; a man got in and placed him
self beside the one who was already
there. I could see they were acquuaint-
ances-they began to talk to each other.
They had been talking together for
some minutes in such low tones that
you could not only not hear their words,
you could scarcely tell that they were
speaking. But that made no difference
TO me; though they spoke in the tiniest
whisper 1 had only to look at their faces
20 know Exactly what they were saying.
AS a matter of fact, happening to glance
up from the magazine 1 was reading, 1
saw the man who had been there first
say to the other something which gave
me quite a start. What he said was this
Il only saw the fag-end Of the SENTENCED:
" Myrtle Cottage; it's got a
great, old myrtle in the front garden"
The other man said something. but as
his face was turned from me 1 could
not see what; the tone in which he spoke
was so subdued that hearing was out of
the question. The first man replied
(whose face was TO mel:
His name is Collegiate. He's an old
bachelor, who uses the place as a sum-
mer cottage. He's got some of the finest
old silver in England. There's a Charles
II salt-cellar in the place which would
fetch twenty pounds an ounce any
where"
The other man sat up erect and shook
his head, looking straight in front Of
him, so that 1 could see what he said.
though he spoke only in a whisper.
"Old silver is no better than new; you
can only melt it"
The other man seemed to grow quite
warm.
only melt it, Don't be fool; you
don't know what you're talking about.
That stun at Myrtle Cottage is worth to
us well over a thousand; I shall be sur
prised If I don't get more for it,
The other man must have glanced at
me while was watching his companion
speak. He whispered to his friend:
That Internal kid is watching US as
if she were all eyes"
The other said: Let her watch Much
good may it do her; she can't hear a
word-goggle-eyed brat"'
What he meant by ''goggIe-eyed"
don't know, and 1t was true that could
not hear! but, as it happened, it was
not necessary that should. I think the
other must have been suspicious, be-
cause he replied, If possible in a smaller
whisper than ever:
II should like to twist her skinny neck
and throw her out on to the line"
He looked as II he could do it too; such
an unpleasant look came into his eyes
that it quite frightened M. So glanced
back at my magazine, and left the rest
of their conversation unmatched.
But I had heard, or rather seen, enough
TO set me thinking. I knew Myrtle Cot
tage quite well, and the big myrtle tree;
it was not very far from our own cot
tage. And I knew Mr.. Collegiate and his
collection Of old silver-particularly that
Charles II salt-cellar Of which he was
so proud. What interest had it for these
two men? I was so young and so sim
Pile that it never occurred to me that
there could be anything sinister about
these two whispering gentlemen.
They both Of them got out at the sta
tion before ours. 1 thought no more
about them, but did think Of Mr.. Cole
gate and Of Myrtle Cottage. So after
tea 1 went for a stroll, without saying a
word to any one. Ny stroll took me to
Myrtle Cottage
1t stood all by itself in a most secluded
situation on the other side of Woodbar-
row Common. When got into the gar