The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-10-25
BY
LLOYD OSBOURNE
:svyrish,. isi. y the BsDss.msnill Csapssy.

Walking home and turned to mount the
wide high steps He was greeted at
the top by Miss Marshall. who seemed
to spring up from nowhere. smiling and
radiant and brwitching to look at in
her hoyish riding costume Her father
and she had Just got bark-and. oh. so
afraid that he might have been made
! to wait papa having met a long lost
lovely friend in nfteuf and Il tiger
J coat HEl wanting to remain the rest of
the week to talk to her But they must
/ go right in, or papa would be ut the
| Elnhins and dis"ra"ing himself Papa
was tcr"ihly elemental about mullins
Ami this lar"hin" cordi'lity Matt
found himself bcin" GUIDED through a
lofty hallway. lined with books and
, en@rAvinaS, to ,"r"c. low cciinged
room. whore the Cd General. also in
, riding dress. was Standing before log
fire ana rofl"ining in the most OK
empary manner from any premature
onslaught on the tea table This in
spite of the fact TINT 1t stood tompt.
ingly near by cleaning with old silver
and set about with red roses.
What were MATHS sensations as he
sat beside Miss Marshall on the sofa.
balancing a teacup on his knee and
stealing little Sidewisa looks at her?
The dismalest imaginable. 1t must be
confessed She was prettier than he had
remembered her-maddenincly pretty.
and every mark of her consideration
came as n fresh stab. as Il fresh reali
cation Of the gulf between them
He was constrained: he knew he was
not appearing ut his best: he seemed
to feel her articles to draw him ont,
to overcome his awkWarlnesS. to dis
play him TO some advantage before
her father But those old. profound
eyes were not to he deceived and hYd
the look Of wondering mt her trouble
An eX-nmbaSSHdor could read vonnr
man like a hookeven while pntin.
mullins and Joking about TIGER skin
ladies' in tnnf-teufS It annearrd that
tenftcuf WAS an automobile MATHS
Ignorance OF the word seemed 10 Stamn
him rs n hoor What a misfortune he
had never heard of II before Ue
made IN anxious note of II for future
occasions. and then 1t came over him
with despair that there would he no
future occasions He would never see ,
Christine Marshall again Thus alto
gether daunted and depressed how
hard ii was to affe t livelneSs. to tax
about the islands. to try to hide that
grinding sense of faiGre.
lie hoped afterward that he had not |
talked too much about the islands II !
was all he knew 10 talk about. Canni F!
balls. fighting, pearl diving and the
shuddcrinG, bloody business of the !
bark Moroa things that people usually /
liked to hear. especially from a sar
vlvor OF the last The general with
lis laugh called him Captain Otbello /
"a sait that induced Chris to r,pr3t
with Il whimsical acpeptan q that made
MATHS heart beat: That il was
strange. most passing strange: twas
pltliul. twas wondrouS pitiful"-caus
Ing him to flush and feel very self
conscious indeed. though thrilled too.
as those fine eyes turned on him 50
kindly and with such Smiling siynid |
canoe, How little she realized their
havoc on Il poor Gevil who then and
there. could have knelt down ami kiss
cd the hem of her skirt with su.h
reverence and alteration TINT It would
have been an added rapture to in.
clude pair of trim. snail riding hpnts
rs well and the very lit of Garnet on
Which they stood. These thoughts.
however. We're not good for sustained
ana conventional conversation. Sut.h
as 1t WAS. it languiSheI terribly at
times. and the generals mouth could
be seen to purse under his mustache
as though concealing -ycs-a yawn
Captain Othello grew bluer and bluer
and more abstracted and constrained
until finally an unmistakable yawn
brought him To his feet