Oxford Democrat., 1914-02-03

vate. Though possibly-and here was
an idea-he was again the victim OF
those newspaper lies, the "Kanaka
king" and all the rest Of 1t. he put
his visitor out Of his mind and settled
back to dream Of Miss Marshall with
mingled torment and Joy.
They passed through stone gate
way Of massive and towering design
that reared its head like mausoleum
in the lonely woods. The winding road
led through more, and was 80 narrow
that the trees met overhead and the
air turned chill in the deflle below. 1t
was a very big place, the driver said
miles and miles Of II, and he ficked
his whip in the direction Of unintel-
igible local landmarks. 1t hadn't been
worth taxes till the wood pulp busi-
ness began. and now even the stump
age would bring all Of $40 an acre.
"A stroke Of luck for the general,
wasn't 1t, what with pulp getting
dearer every day-though he just let
It lie like 1t was, and did nothing.
Thousands and thousands Of dollars in
wood pulp and stumpage. and as good
as money in the bank"
Matt suffered under these reflections;
It made him feel more Of an intruder
than ever, poorer and Of less account.
Who was he to be driving through such
unnumbered acres Of wood pulp and
daring to lift his eyes, however tim
idly, to its owners daughter? 1t en-
phasized his presumption, and every
tree became new barrier, abhorrent
to look upon. 1t was in very crushed
humor, indeed. that he approached the
lawns and strawberries, the tortuous
brick walks and at last the house itself
"a stately old colonial structure. with
that dignified frontage Of classic white
columns so dear to our forefathers and
80 expressive Of their lives and aspira-
lions.
Matt descended, dismissed the con-
veyance with the thrifty intention Of
walking home and turned to mount the
wide, high steps. He was greeted ut
the top by Miss Marshall. who seemed
to spring up from nowhere, smiling and
radiant and bewitching to look at in
her boyish riding costume. Her father
and she had Just got back-and. oh, so
afraid that he might have been made
to wait-papa having met long lost
lovely friend In teuf-teuf and tiger
coat and wanting to remain the rest Of
the week to talk to her But they must
60 right In, or papa would be at the
mullins and disgracing himself. Papa
was terribly elemental about mullins.
Amid this laughing cordiality Matt
found himself being guided through a
lofty hallway, lined with books and
engravings, to a large, low ceilinged
room, where the old general. also In
riding dress. was standing before log
fire and refraining In the most ex-
emplary manner from any premature
onslaught on the tea table. This in
spite Of the fact that 1t stood tempt
ingly near by. cleaning with old silver
and set about with red roses.
What were Matt's sensations as he
sat beside Miss Marshall on the sofa,
balancing teacup on his knee and
stealing little sidswise looks at her?
The dismalest imaginable. 1t must be
confessed. She was prettier than he had
remembered her-maddeningly pretty.
and every mark Of her consideration
came as fresh stab. rs a fresh reali-
zation of the gulf between them.
He was constrained: he knew he was
not appearing at his best; he seemed
to feel her artifices to draw him out.
to overcome his awkwardness. to dis
play him to some advantage before
her father. But those old. profound
eyes were not to be deceived and had
the look Of wondering at her trouble
An ex-ambassador could read n young
man like book-even while eating
mullins and joking about tiger skin
ladies' in teuf-teufs. 1t appeared that
q teuf-teuf was an automobile. MATHS
ignorance Of the word seemed to stamp
him as a boor. What misfortune he
had never heard Of It before. He
made an anxious note Of 1t for future
occasions. and then 1t came over him
with despair that there would be no
future occasions. He would never see
Christine Marshall again. Thus alto
gsther daunted and depressed how
hard 1t was to affect liveliness, to talk
about the islands, to try to hide that
grinding sense of failure.
He hoped afterward that he had not
talked too much about the islands. 1t
was all he knew to talk about. Canni-
balls, fighting, pearl diving and the
shuddering, bloody business OF the
bark Moroa-things that people usually
liked to hear, especially from a sur
yiyor Of the last. The general with
big laugh called him Captain Othello
"A sally that induced Chris to repeat
with a whimsical acceptance that made
Matt's heart beat: THAT 1t was
strange, most passing strange; twas
pitiful, twas wondrous pitiful"-caus'
Ing him to flush and feel very self
conscious indeed, though thrilled, too,
a. those fine eyes turned on him 80
kindly and with such smiling signif-
canoe. How little she realized their
havoc on a poor devil who, then and
there, could have knelt down and kiss
ed the hem of her skirt with such
reverence and alteration that 1t would
have been an added rapture to In
| clude a pair of trim, small riding boots
as well and the very bit Of carpet on
which they stood. These thoughts,
however, were not good for sustained
and conventional conversation. Such
as it was, 1t languished terribly al
| times, and the generals mouth could
be seen to purse under his mustache
as though concealing-yes-a yawn
| Captain Othello grew bluer and bluel
and more abstracted and constrained
until finally an unmistakable yawr
brought him to his feet