Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-09-26
The LILY In
The QUAGMIRE

By Genieve-Parnell Bond

f. IuereS slew. num- oeS"s oiN
man. Get in line. What'n 1t be?"
"Minem be straight" And Stuar
varney, tall, dark. good looking
straight Of limb and lean-took hii
place among his boon companions. tt
know how to be good fellow" at this
critical point Of the political situation
meant something; and Stuart had al
ways been somewhat Of q mixer and Q
'rounder," as the term goes. Good,
he said, replacing his glass, "but the
moonshine stuff down in the Virgins
foothills could put 1t all over this"
Il guess there's nothing quite good
enough for you in this little old town,
came over his shoulder, in thick, sar-
castle tones. why don't you move
on?"
In the mirror above the bar, Stuart
saw the reflection Of the burly figure
of Hal Chesmore, who was lined W
for the opposition, with a wealthy
family behind him. Whether he rep
resented the better or the worse ele-
ment in the political game would have
been hard to say. For behind all OF
the grandiloquent speeches and loudly
proclaimed principles and promises
lurked the truth-as the truth has an
unpleasant way Of lurking-the taw-
dry, homely, sometimes hideous, but
always wholesome truth.
Stuart was friendly with some Of his
antagonists, but not with this. one
Stuart was familiar with the game;
he knew that there were many Of its
moves which would not look pretty In
print. He was a mover in the game
himself. But there are limits in the
name of decency; and only Chesmores
money held his place among the
doubtful fraternity Of the Red Rib
bon." Stuart took no pains to conceal
his aversion.
Chesmore's heavy fist shot out sud-
denly. Stuart, without turning, dodg-
ed It, then wheeled quickly and with
the rapidity Of chain lightning meas
ured his antagonists length on the
floor. Chesrnore's head struck the foot
rail as he fell, and for a moment he
was unconscious. Stuart coolly finish
ed his drink while the injured man
was quickly spirited out Of sight. A
few moments later one Of Chesmore's
partisans touched Stuart on the arm,
and asked him to step own-stairs.
Chesmore, his pores dilated and his
skin reddish purple with habitual
drink, sat blinking in the half-dark.
"You got me this time, Stew" he
said with clumsy attempt at good
humor. But come, now-it wasn't
quite nice of. you, with lady waiting
for me In the cafe"
Stuart folded his arms, and looked
disdainfully at the man. Don't call
me Stew-Pm Mr.. Varney-to you.
Why didn't you think Of the lady be-
fore you started the rough house?"
The bleary eyes narrowed. Because
I saw you go in, and I made up my
mind to get you. Didn't you say the
Red Ribbon wasn't big enough to hold
the two Of us?"
ga "You know it-and loud enough for
you to hear easily" responded Stuart.
"And everybody knows why-although
I'm the only duck with nerve enough
to let you know how much you're dis
liked"
"Well-we'll settle this later on.
There are other ways to even a score"
Chesmore regarded Stuart with a
tolerant leer. AT any rate, come up
and have one on me-"
There were three Of the Chesmore
men, and Stuart was alone with, them
IN the dimly Lighted basement. He
shrugged his shoulders and followed
them to the bar. According to Red
Ribbon ethics, and the ethics Of every
other institution Of its kind, there
were four rounds Of drinks; after
which Chesmore, with the ironically
jovial words: Don't forget-we1l be
quits, before we finish," rushed into
the street, took pun or two at a Gig
arctic, and entered the cafe.
At this moment the swinging door
between the bar and cafe was opened
by a>waiter, who paused for a word
with the head man. Stuart's glance
went straight to the face Of a woman
seated at one Of the tables. Their eyes
met in the great mirror with q shock.
The young man withdrew his regard
Immediately, and replaced his half
raised glass on the. bar with such
force that it was shattered. He found
the hand that he passed over his face
unsteady. He felt the blood tingling
up to his temples. Then he looked
again, for he was no coward.
He could see the face quite plainly.
Under the little fool-hat, with its
French festoons Of pink and blue flow-
ers, 1t peered forth, q trifie pale, clean
cut and almost sharp-featured save
for the touch Of voluptuousness in the
rounding of the chin, under which the
clasped hands showed rather thin and
nervous, until, with quick movement,
she turned the palms outward, and he
saw the second touch Of rosy voluptu-
BUSINESS, in their soft cushioning. She
wore a tightly banded Balkan blouse,
and close-fitting slashed skirt-a
costume which responded as a we'll
cinched harness to every movement Of
her 1.-THE body.
Stuart had many times watched the
women surging up and down Broad
way in costumes such as this. He had
watched them getting on and of the
cars. He was but man, and he had
not turned away his eyes. And the
results of his observations had been no
better and no worse than those of
other men. But he had said quite dar-
ingly to an ultra fashionable young
matron: IF women who walk the
streets in a single thickness Of slashed
and clinging silk could read the
thoughts Of men-well, they wouldn't"
The girl had turned her eyes away.
and everything went black for Stuart
for a moment. He did not recall the
details of how he got into the street,
and he could not recall how far he had