Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-05-05


the golden clock on the mantelpiece.
1t was half past 8, and as yet not one
of her invited guests had arrived.
She had inspected the brilliantly ar
rayed table with its cut glass and gold
and silver and it's priceless floral deco
rations, and she had warmly COM
mended the diffident Hawkins and
then had swept her lavender velvet,
diamonds and orchids into the draw
ing room, where she waited with grow
ing uneasiness for the first arrival.
Instinctively she had felt the tenta-
tive approaches of Hawkins and knew
that he was watching her with anxious
eyes from some point of vantage. She
knew that he must be the bearer of
various fiery bulletins from the frantic
Pierre in the kitchens below, which
of course he dared not deliver. In
! spite of this soul torturing suspense
she must sit perfectly still and pretend
to be bored by the delay. and yet she
/ shuddered and wished it were possible
/ for a millionairess to stamp her feet
and weep noisily. 1t would be great
/ relief!
| Poor Midgeley, her husband, had new
er objected to that sort of thing in the
/ old days when they had lived in a
/ suburb of London and she, his Ameri-
| can wife, had kept dodgers, while
! Midgeley himself had been underfoot-
/ man in the house of a duke. Those
happy days were in the past-before
l. T., L.
| suddenly died and left her half doz-
en- gold mines and she had become a
great heiress.
Henrietta Midgeley's favorite recre-
alton for years had been novel reading
of the paper covered, penny dreadful
variety. Therefore. when, like one of
the heroines in her favorite novel, she
came into her own dowry of wealth,
there was only one thought in her mind,
and that was to break into society
not British society. where Midgeley's
record as a faithful servant would be
a barrier to any attempt at equality
with his betters. but that cosmopoli-
tan western half Of the United States
where every city has its own Society
spelled with capital IS" Henry
Midgeley had objected to bombarding
society and after quarrel with his
wife had been duly pensioned off.
She had picked out Croesus City be-
cause one of her Uncle Franks gold
mines was situated on its outskirts
and because she would berthe richest
woman there. Henrietta made one
fatal mistake in selecting Croesus City
as the place for her premiere-she did
not realize that in this mining city
gold was such a common article that
there was only one thing that counted
there and that was blood. Anybody
having the remotest connection with
New England or ehe southern states
paraded the fact and was feted accord
ingly
Major Puddiford Smith had been her
late uncle's lawyer and confidential
man Of business, and he assured his
rich client of Mrs Puddiford Smiths
friendship
Now. Mrs. Puddiford Smith had been
a Puddiford OF Connecticut, and she
had combined her bIooded name with
her husbands plebeian though richly
endowed appellafiOn and commemorative
STOOD proudly on the top rung or tn
Croesus City social ladder.
A week ago she had given a Dime
for Henrietta and invited all the bes
people i'll the city. and poor Henriett.
had displayed all her ignorance an.
eommonplaceness to the Crumley Ban
nertons, the teachers and the Bon
ways. They had smiled and talked t
her, and Mrs. Midgeley had huttere'
and gone away triumphant. A day o
two later she committed the fault O
ascending out dinner invita- lions to a
these people who had never Gale
upon her.
If Mrs Puddiford Smith had ne