Evening star., 1913-08-10

'Spca romance
large Nobody paid the slightest attention to MIN
except the girl at his side. who said GROSSLY:
but what want to know is. are you gong e. 70
motor to Red-Rose with US tomorrow morning " ai
Won not? That's what 1 want to know
NO." said Jimmy Rogers. Yes mean. no.
think l promised TO play In 1oursohe Win "
Carterets and Jessica Ronalds'
The people about the table were all talking very
fast and apparently listening at all but he leaned
forward once more with a determined gleam In ms
"sneakinr OF romance he said loudly. Three. or
,our of his friends at him and gr1nned ana
presently there little silence, broken by an ola
gentleman at the other end of the table, who said:
"Heyo What? Chance? All. speaking OF chance
reminds me of something that happened to Arthur
Benham and me '61 No. l think 1T was In oo-the
summer of So We were in Berlin and
Jimmy Rogers sat back in his chair, and the siri
beside him gave little gggle Of delight
What's the of trying to talk to this crowd OF
manacs?" he demanded morosely. They won give
you q chance-not a chance. And they're all my
friends too I'm going drink myself to death
He had an assortment of things to do it with lie
had half glass of sherry from earlier stage or
the dinner and champagne, which had been given
hin, when he was not looking very large glass
OF whisky water, which he had asked for. he
drank them ALL scowling the table at sibyl
Carteret who had observed his struggles and was
making triumphant him over his defeat
But when at the old Sentlemans long story
about Arthur Benham and himself in the summer OF
go had come dull end. there fell another pause
Speaking Of romance said Jimmy Rogers IN =
determined tone and grinned down at him
and beat upon the table with his hand
Jimmy Rogers said he. is bursting with ro-
mance-as usual Please. everybody. listen to him or
he'll all the evening Viens done, mon oraVe
Quest que va chanter?
a long time ago." said Jimmy Rogers. our little
friend Sibyl Carteret-now engaged in making hid
eous face at me across the aforementioned the word
romance 1t reminded Of a gentleman met this
morning down on that old public pier at the Neck
which nobody uses any more except to from This
gentleman struck as having the truly romantic
spirit. He weather-beaten gentleman with an
experienced and he was shabbily dressed He
looked like a rather superior What called my
attention him the fact that he was not fishing
the other tramps on the pier. or sleeping In
with greasy newspaper over his face. but
was lying on pile bags of something and looking
out to sea- 1 asked him if he watching for the
new big liner because 1t was SATURDAY mornlhs, anu
i knew she'd be going out Now here comes In the
romantic point Of view. The shabby gentleman said
interested in liners Gle called them ferry
boats) He said
II like watch the tramps-the poor old rusty.
ratty tramps I like to watch 'em go sneakng out
without anybody the pier to wave handkerchiefs
at em, and without any band to play. like to won
where they're going to and whatn happen to em
before they come back again
He said:
Think O. the ports they're bound for! Rio like
not. Buenos Aires And he pronounced
Buenos Aires right, too) Or maybe round the Horn.
maybe round the Cape Perth and Melbourne
and Sydney; or right out East to Hongkons and
Yokohama
".And maybe said. they'll get there at
all Maybe they'll break their poor cheap backs be-
froe they ever make landfalL Lots OF them do
Oh. yes it's the tramps like to watch.
II asked him IL he'd ever been to Sea, and he
stared and said Of he had Everybody
had He said he knew all the seas In the world and
Of the lands too but that there were still some
places left, he they'd be worth going
Mrs Stanley the hostess. gave little laugh of de-
lighted interest and clapped her hands together be-
fore her.
"Oh what a charming person." she cried Jimmy.
dear, what a charming person. If only might
been with you! Tell l adore that kind
OF a man. you know" She caught her husbands eye
the table laughed again. and Stanley grin
ned back at her. He understood his enthusiastic
rather better than most men do and it a never
ending satisfaction to him that he could be as badly
in love with her as he was and at the same time de-
1iffl
much franker and more open than the ways
of anybody else he knew. Her emotions
usually the surface, and il difficult for her
conceal them When she embarrassed she
blushed deep crimson; when she was angry
she sulked exactly like a little child. and when she
had pain she wept
Just clapped small hands
delightedly upon Jimmy Rogers If she
quite years old and he telling her fairy stories
Tell more! More!" she begged.
"More?" said Jimmy Rogers "Oh. yes. 1 have
best for the last-that is it would be the
best. sure. If could make it out asked this
chap what he doing here. and he said he look
ing for the break o day Yes just like that-the
break o. day. And he wouldn't explain what he
1t sounds poetical. but bit obscure. if
anybody here explain it shall be glad
The people about the table began to laugh and
besiege Jimmy Rogers with questions but Stanley
observed that his wife laugh with others
She had suddenly gone very white, bent Ter
down that her face partial shadow
and after a moment he saw her lift her champagne
glass to drink from IL. and ne that her hand
was shaking.
AS instinctively he would have sprung help
her aid attracting the attention of Jimmy Rogers
and his other guests by a rapid flow OF comment and
question.
And OH" said that young presently. II al
most forgot This chap asked whose place this was
Said he'd the house the hill He seemed
much interested in you, Tommy. maybe he's burg
lar You'd best have everything locked up tight
Stanley stole a quick glance across the table and
sat back with little sigh Of relief for his wife
seemed quite herself again after all, he thought
il might have been moments pain fantness.
But late that night he heard her stirring about in
her room long after the household asleep. She
seemed to be walking and down. once he
thought he heard her sob. He the point of
going in to comfort her, but he held back He said
that II she wanted him she would come to him of her
own accord Toward morning he rose and again lis
tened at the door between the two rooms but 1t
still there now. and he went back to bed quite
in his mind.
About mid afternoon of the following day Eleanor
Stanley slipped out of the deserted house-for her
husband had had go up town his lawyer
people and her guests scattered about the
Sountryside motoring or playing gof-out Of the
mouse and down the long hill slope the shore
She passed the greenhouses, skirted for the