Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1915-05-19


tonight she found the stranger sit
ting quietly at her side. The chair had
been vacant since the departure from
Mandalay. Evidently the purser had
decided to be thorough in regard to
her wishes. It would look less con-
spicuous to make the introduction In
this manner. And she wanted to meet
this man who had almost made her
cry out in establishment.
Miss Chetwood, Mr.. Warrington"
This was as far as the purser would
unbend.
The coloners eyes popped; the |
Warrington bowed awkwardly, for he |
was decidedly confused.
Hal" doomed the German. 'Vat
do you tink uff -
And from soup to coffee Warrington
e1uded, lodged, stepped under and ran
around the fusillade of questions.
Elsa laughed softly. There were
breathing spells, to be sure. Under
the cover of this verbal lombard
ment she found time to inspect the
stranger. The likeness, SO close at
hand, started ringing in her ears
and f1utter in her throat. It was al
most unbelievable. He was bigger,
broader, his eyes were keener, but
there was only one real difference:
| this man was rugged, whereas Arthur
was elegant. 1t was as If nature had
taken two forms from the same mold,
and had finished but one of them. His
voice was not unpleasant, but there
| were little sharp points of harshness
in it, due quite possibly to the dust.
II am much interested In that little
parrot of yours. have heard about
him"
"Oh! suppose you've heard what
they call us?" His eyes looked straight
into hers, smilingly.
Parrot & Co.? Yes. Will you show
him off tomorrow?
Il shall be very happy to-"
But all the while he was puzzling
over the purser's unaccountable action
in deliberately introducing him to this
brown-eyed, golden-skinned young
woman. Never before had such a
thing occurred upon these boats. True,
he had occasionally been spoken to;
an idle question flung at him, like a
bare bone to dog. II flung by an
Englishman, he answered it courte-
ously, and subsidized. He had been
, snubbed too many times not to have
learned this lesson. It never entered
his head that the Introduction might
have been brought about by the girls
interest. He was too MORALLY shy of
, | To IF cI1af l.
i. ity. So his gratitude was extended to
the purser, who, on his side, regretted
his good-natured recommendations of
the previous hour.
When Elsa learned that the man at
her side was to proceed to Rangoon,
!, she ceased to ask him any more ques-
= tons. She preferred to read her
books slowly. Once, while he was en-
!, gaging the purser, her glance ran
y over his clothes She Instantly berated
u her impulsive criticism as bit OF
= downright caddishness. The lapels OF
the coat were shiny; the winged col
Il lar gave evidence of having gone tt
,. the native laundry once too often, anG
. . the cuff buttons were Of ordinary rupee
+ silver. The ensemble suggested tha
q since the purchase Of these habili
:. ments of civilization the man ha(
y grown, expanded.
Immediately after dinner she retired
tc her stateroom, conscious that he
- balance needed readjusting. She hal
heard and read much lore concernin,
reincarnation, specifically; yet here
within call Of her voice, was Arthur
not the shadow Of a substance, blu
y Arthur, shorn of his elegance, his soft
:. lazy voice, his half-dreaming eyes, hi
charming Incidence. Why should thi
- mans path cross hers, out of all tn
millions that ran parallel?
She opened her window and locke
I up at the stars again. She wonders
i what this man had done to put hir
4 beyond the pale. It was not possibl
\ that dishonor 1urked behind thos
81 frank blue eyes. She turned from tn
d window and threw open one Of he
q kit-bass, delved among the soft fail
q RIGS and silks and produced q photo
n graph. She had not glanced at it du1
4 ing all these weeks. There had bee
4 q purpose back Of this apparent neg
i | A0S@ no fCIy IAAAS SA0 VI OaOCu Md
i pened. Her pulse beat on, evenly, III
stirred. She was failure
i In the photograph the mans bear
4 was trimmed Valois; the beard Of tn
1 man who had sat next to her at Dime
4 had grown freely and naturally, full
Such a beard was out of fashion, say
! among country doctors. It signifie
81 carelessness. Indifference, or a full lif
wherein the niceties Of the razor ha
81 OF necessity been ignored. Keenl
+ she searched the familiar likeness
What an amazing freak Of nature!
Il was unreal. She tossed the phot'
graph back into the ht-bag. bewi