The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1913-01-31

sition he set before me. He said he
owned stock In concern called The
United Romance and Adventure COM
pany;;' and that for a specified sum Of
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 isl"
"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 ed arranged herself comfort
ably. She was always arranging her.
self comfortably; it was one 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 was not in The least
chagrined.
1T 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 b outside. The night is glori-
ous."
SheIcouldn't have suggested any
thing more to his liking. And so,
after i little hurrying about, the two
young people went outside and began
to promenade slowly up and down the
| mole, Their conversation was desul.
frury Esssss had dropped back into
his she'll 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"
tits rather difficult to see them in
the moonlight; their rags match the
| pavements."
The Egyptian night, that sapphirine
darkness which the flexible magma
ton peoples with lovely and terrible
shades, or floods with mystery and TO.
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,
suffused the SCARED old visage Of the
world with phantom silver; the stones
of the parapet glowed DULY, the pave
ment glistened Whitley, all things 1t
touched with gent4eness, lavishing
beauty upon beauty, mellowing uglt
ness or effacing it. The deep blue
Nile. beribboned with the glancing
| fights 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 cara
van trooped across the bridge into
Cairo.
do you care for poetry, Mr.. Jones?'
| n? l used to write It,"
"And you aren't afraid to admit It?
| 'Well, l shouldn't confess the deco
to every one" he answered frankly
I'VE all write poetry at one time OF
another; but it's generally not consti
tutional, and We recover"
| 7 do not see why any one should b
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, wasn't even a pas
sive one. In all great poets ind m!
own rejected thoughts, as Emerson
says; and that's enough for my slen
der needs. Poets are rather uncom
Portable chaps to have round. The!
} are capricious, irritable, temperament
al, selfish, and usually demand all tn
J attention"
The little vocal stream died VI
again, and once more they listened Il
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 &c
: ing to be the same again.
, Moonlight and poetry; not tn
/ Safest channels to sail uncharted. Tn
girl was lonely. and George was lone
ly, too. His longing had now assume
, a definite form; hers moved from thi
to that, still Indefinitely. The quicl
ness with which this definition ha
, come to George rather startled hin