The Forrest City times., 1914-05-01

Booth caught the angry flash in her eyes. preceding the flush and unac- countable pallor that followed almost immediately. He felt guilty. and at the same time deeply annoyed with Leslie. Later on he tried to explain, but the attempt was lamentable fail ure. She laughed not unkindly, in his face.
 Leslie had refused to allow the , sketch to leave his hand If she could have gained possession of 1t. even for an instant. the thing would have been l torn to bits. But 1t went back into his 1 commodious pocketbook, and she was l too proud to demand 1t of him. | She became oddly sensitive to Booths persistent though inoffensive scrutiny as time wore on More than once she had caught him looking at her with tixedness that betrayed per plexity so plainly that she could not fail to recognize an underlying motive. He was vainly striving to refresh his memory; that was clear to her. There is no mistaking that look In persons eyes. It cannot be disguised.
 He was as deeply perplexed as ever when the time came for him to depart with Leslie. He asked her point blank on the last evening of his stay If they had ever met before, and she frankly confessed to a short memory for faces. It was not unlikely, she said, that he had seen her in London or In Paris, but she had not the faintest recollec- tion of having seen him before their meeting in the road.
 Urged by Sara, she had reluctantly consented to sit to him for a portrait during the month of June. He put the request in such terms that 1t did not sound like a proposition. It was not surprising that he should want her for a subject; in fact, he put it In such a way that she could not but feel that she would be doing him a great and enduring favor. She imposed but one condition: The picture was never to | be exhibited He met that, with bland magnanimity, by profferlng the canvas to Mrs. Wrandall, as the subjects next best friend" to have and to hold so long as she might live free 1 gratis, with the artists compl- ments," and so on and so forth, in airy good humor.
 Lesile's aid had been solicited by both Sara and the painter in the final effort to overcome the girls objec- tons. He was rather bored about 1t. but added his voice to the general glamour. With half an eye one could see that he did not relish the idea of Hetty posing for days to the hand some, agreeable painter. Moreover It meant that Booth, who could afford to gratify his own whine, would be obliged to spend a month or more in the neighborhood, so that he could de- vote himself almost entirely to the consummation of this particular under. taking. Moreover, 1t meant that Vivi- ans portrait was to be temporarily disregarded.
 Sara Wrandall was quick to recog nize the first symptoms of jealousy on the part of her brother-in-law The new idol of the Wrandalls was In love selfishly, insufferably in love as things went with all the Wrandalls They hated selflshly, and so they loved Her husband had been their king. But their king was dead, long live the king. Leslie had put on the family crown-a little jauntily, perhaps cooked over the eye bit so to speal but it was there just the same, an noyingly plain to view.
 Sara had tried to like him. He haC been her friend the only one she coulc claim among them all. And yet, be heath his genial allegiance, she coult detect the air of condescension, the bland attitude of a superior who de fends anothers cause for the reason that it gratifes Nero. She experienced thrill of malicious joy In contemplat ing the fall of Nero He would brin} down his house about his head. anC there would be no Rome to pay tht fiddler
 1 Brandon Booth took a small cottag, on the upper road, half way between
 the village and the home of Sari
 Wrandall, and not far from the ab
 horred back gate" that swung in tn,
 teeth of her connections by marriage He set up his establishment in half day and, being settled, betook himsel
 off to dine with Sara and Hetty Al
 his household cares, like the world
 rested snugly on the shoulders of al : Atlas named Pat, than whom therr } was no more faithful servitor in al the earth. nor in the heavens, for tha
 matter, If we are to accept his owl estimate of himself In any event, h, was treasure. Booths house was al
 ways in order. Try as he would. h. 3 couldn't get it out of order Pats wifi saw to that.
 : As he swung jauntily down the tree 3 lined road that led to Sara's portals 3 Booth was full of the joy of living - Sara was at the bottom of the ter
 race moving among the flower beds fl F the formal garden
 |, At the sound of his footsteps on tn - gravel, Sara looked up and instantl B smiled her welcome.