Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1913-08-21

OWICu DtOSh III u nv
United Romance and Adventure COM
pany;' and that for a specified sum or
money, one could have any adventure
one pleased"
did you ever hear OF such a
thing?" cried the mother merrily. For
tune searched her face keenly. The
United Romance and Adventure Com
pany! He must have been joking.
What did you say his name is?"
"Ryanne. Joking is my idea exact
ly," George agreed. "The scheme is
to plunge the stakeholder into a real
live adventure, and then let him pull
himself out the best way he can.
Sounds good. He added that this rug
business was an instance Of the sue
cess Of the concern. There goes the
music. Do you dance. Miss Ched'
soye?"
"A little" Fortune was preoccu-
pied. She was wondering what lay
behind Mr.. Ryanne's amiable jest.
Go along, both Of you" said Mrs.
Chedsoye. Il am too old to dance. l
prefer watching people," She sat
down and arranged herself comfort
ably. She was always arranging her
self comfortably; 1t was n OF the Sc
crets of her perennial youth. She
was very lovely, but George had eyes
for the daughter only. MrS. Ched'
soye saw this, but "a not in the least
chagrined.
at is so many years since I tripped
the light fantastic toe" George con-
fessed, reluctantly and ~nervously, now
that he had bravely committed him.
self. 1T is quite possible that the
accent will be primarily upon the
trip"
Perhaps, them" replied the girl,
who truthfully was out Of tune, per
haps | had better get my wraps and
we'll go outside. The night is giori-
| ous."
She couldn't have suggested any
thing more to his liking. And so,
after a little hurrying about, the two
young people went outside and began
to. promenade slowly up and down the
mole. Their conversation was desul
tory. George had dropped back into
his shell and the girl was not equal
to the task Of drawing him out
| Once he stumbled over a sleeping
beggar, and would have fallen had she
not caught him by the arm.
Thanks. I'm clumsy"
IT'S rather dificul to see them in
the moonlight; their rags match the
pavements."
The Egyptian night, that %sapphirine
| darkness which the flexible imagina'
ton peoples with lovely and terrible
| shades, or floods with mystery and 70
nance and wonder, lay softly upon
| this strip of verdure aslant the des'
ert's face, the Valley Of the Nile. The
moon, round, brilliant, strangely near,
| suftused the SCARED old visage of the
world with phantom silver; the stones
of the parapet glowed DULY, the pave
mont glistened whitley, all things II
| touched with gentleness, lavishing
beauty upon beauty, meliowing ugli
ness or effacing 1t. The deep blue
Nile, b~eribboned with the glancing
lights from the silent feluccas. curling
unsteady along the sides of the frost
like dahabeahs and steamers, rolled
on to the sea; and the blue-white
arc.lamps. spanning the Great Nile
bridge, took the semblance of a pear
necklace. From time to time a cara
van trooped across the bridge into
Cairo.
DO you care for poetry, Mr.. Jones?'
IL? / used to write It."
"And you aren't afraid to admit It.?
We'll, | shouldn't confess the deed
to every one," he answered frankly
I'VE all write poetry at n time Of
another; but it's generally not consti
tutional, and we recover"
81 do not see why any one should be
ashamed Of writing poetry"
"Ah, but there is poetry and poetry
my kind and Byron's is born Of kin
dred souls; but he was an active
genius, whereas. l wasn't even a pas
sive one. In all great poets I find my
own rejected thoughts, as Emerson
y and that's enough for my slen
der needs. Poets are rather uncom
Portable chaps to have round. The,
are c~apricious, irritable. temperament
al, selfish, and usually demand all the
attention"
The little vocal stream died NJ
again, and once more they listened t.
the magic sounds Of the night. Sh'
stopped abruptly to look over the para
pet, and his shoulder met hers; afte,
that the world to him was never go
ing to be the same again.
Moonlight and poetry; not tn
safest channels to sail u%ncharted. Tit
girl was lonely. and George was lone
ly, too. His longing had now assumed
a definite form; hers moved from thi
to that, still indefinitely. The quick
ness with which this definition hat
come to George rather startled him
His first sight OF Fortune Chedsoy'
had been but yesterday; yet, here h
was, not desperately but %consciousl.
In love with her. The situation Dor
against all precepts; It ripped up hi
preconceived ideas Of romance az