The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1913-07-31
LEAF EIGHTH.
Blue Absinth.

| the hotel, the dining room foOr is all
J waxed and I'm asking for the first
dance with the young and radiant Mrs.
/ Carter. Get into a glad rag and don't
keep me waiting"
Toni | gasped.
"Oh. be a sport. Mol. and don't take
! water. You said you would wake up
this town. and now do it 1t seems
| twenty instead of six years since
/ had my arms around you to music
and I'm not going to wait any longer.
Everybody is there and they can't all
dance with Miss Chester" "a
That settled it. l couldn't let Wis
/ iting girl be danced to death. or course
had planned to make q dignified de-
/ but under my own roof. backed up by
! the presence of ancestral and marital
rosewood. silver and mahogany as a
widow should hut duty called me to
deweed myself amid the informality
of an irnpromptu dance at the little
town hotel And in the fifteen min
utes Tom gave me deweeded to some
purpose and lowered out to still more,
never do anything by halves.
In that-that- trousseau old Rene
had made me there was one, what sne
called simple lingerie frock. And it
looked just as simple as the check il
: called for, one and two ciphers back
of it. 1t was of linen as sheer as
cobweb. real lace and tiny, delicious
incrustations of embroidery. 1t fitted
, in lines that melted into curves, had
81 II, of l1,1, n,
and dangerous breast knot of SHIN
merry blue. the color of my eyes. and
| looked newborn in it.
I'm glad that poor Mr.. Carter was
50 stern with me about rats and things
in my hair, now that they are out Of
style, for I've got lots of my own left
in consequence of not wearing other
peoples. 1t clings and coils to my
head just any old way that looks as If
l had spent an hour on it. That made
me able to be ready to go down to Tom
in only ten minutes over the time he
gave me.
l stopped on next to the bottom step
in the wide old hall and called Tom
to turn out the light for me. as Judy
had gone.
/ have turned out that light lots of
times, but felt it best to let Tom see
me in a full light when we were alone.
1t is we'll | did! At first it stunned
him, and it is a compliment to any
woman to stun Tom Pollard. But Tom
doesn't stay stunned long, and | only
succeeded in suppressing him after he
had landed two kisses on my shoulder.
one on my hair and one on the back of
my neck.
MOLLY" he said. standing off and
looking at me with shining eyes. you
are one lovely dream. Your shoulders
are flushed velvet, your cheeks are
peaches under cream, your eyes are
blue absinth and your mouth a red
devil. Come on before l get drunk
looking at you" | didn't know wheth-
er liked that or not and turned down
the light quickly myself and went to
the gate hurriedly. Tom laughed and
behaved himself.
Everybody in town was up to the
hotel and everybody was nice to me,
girls and all. There is bunch Of
lovely posy girls in this town and they
were all in full flower. Most of the
men were college boys home for vaca-
ton. and while they are few years
younger than l. l have been friends
with them for always and they know
how | dance. | didn't even get near
enough to the wall to know it was
there. though l was conscious of Aunt
Bette and Mrs. johnson sitting on it
at one end of the room, and every time
/ passed them firted with them until
won a smile from them both. wish
could be sure of hearing Mrs. John
son tell Aunt Adeline all about 1t.
And it was well did come to save
Ruth Chester from a dancing death.
for she is as light as a feather and
sails on the air like thistledown. felt
sorry for Tom. for when he danced with
me he could see her, and when he dane
ed with her pouted at him. even over
Judge Wade's arm. | verify believe II
was from being really ratified that he
asked little Pet Buford to dance with
him-by mistake as 1t were. After
that if Pet breathed single strain OF
music out of his arms / didn't see It,
| knew that gone expression on his
face and 1t made me feel so lonesome
that was more gracious to the judge
than was exactly safe. He dances just
as magniicently as he exists In life
and ii is a kind of ceremonial to do II
with him. The boys all wore white
hannels and most Of the men. but the
Judge was as formally dressed as he
would have been in midwinter. and
wondered If Alfred could be half as
distinguished to look at. suppose my
eyes must have been telling on me
about show grand thought he was
looking because he-well. | was rather
relieved when one Of the boys took ms
outr6f his arms for good. long. swing
ing twostep.
And how l did enjoy it all, every
single minute Of IT, NV heart beat