The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-12-17

ing. She saw in the doorway tall,
well-built man of about thirty-five. His
dress was scrupuously neat but had an
air OF careless indifference. He had a
shock Of dark curly hair and pointed
beard. which threw his pale face into
clear relief. Everything about him be-
tokened a fearless indifference as to
how that mind impressed anybody
else. He rather peered at the guests
without seeming to be particularly In
terested In the fact that they were
there.
The man was Michael Krellin, Rus
sian by birth-but neither Russian nor
American in sympathy or viewpoint.
He spoke English with scrupulous
scholarly exactness and with far more
control over his vocabulary than his
accent. /
Mentally he had the deliberately OPP
timistic qualities of the political
dreamer who has saved his optimism
by fighting for the next reform at hand
each time that he saw that the present
one was lost. His manner betrayed
itself at once as being humorous and
easy, with sort of detached imper-
sona1 impertinence.
1t was evident, too. that he had the
assurance of platform orator and the
self-conffdence of one to whom the
worlds ideals of success are totally
| unimportant-
| 49, Caroline's- impression was OF per-
sonality so vivid that 1t could project
| itself at once, and the half hour that
followed only amplified the sugges-
tions of himself he gave In his first
! quick actions; the seizure of the soup
| bowl, followed by his quick sortie to
the pantry whence he emerged with
a knife, fork, spon and napkin in one
hand and the soup bowl in the other.
| Almost in one motion he laid his
booty on the table, dragged up chair.
sat down, and tucked his napkin Sc
renely into his collar, exclaiming the
while joyously, "Hildegarde, Hide
garde. I've news for you. Good news. y
HlLDEcARnE TRIES TO BE
SYMPATHETIC WITH kRELLiN
His voice had the smooth ripple of
lnstrous. thick piled plush. 1t fitted
him with the absolute serenity of his
lin respected neither the Russian Gear
nor the Russian tyranny.
H., On the, other hand he was quite un-
impressed by the American democracy
and the American idea of liberty
why, IAcAs SuOuIu uLCAPCNICu 6uOSI1
in a cooperative dining room impress
him? Their elegance was lost on his
nearsighted eyes; their importance
his brain would always be too far
sighted to acknowledge.
I'm hungry as a wolf. All night at
the Offices" He informed some one
presumably Hildegarde)-maki a
vociferous onslaught upon his soup the
while. 49, co., 1880 - ''-'-
You must be tired, Micheal." said
Hildegarde.
His voice merry, but his body re-
laxed. Michael replied dauntlessly
MOT very
He had taken place between Susan
and Hildegarde and as he sat down
Susan drew away. Caroline was quite
unperturbed; Lawrence was annoyed
But strangely enough the first person
on whom Krellin definitely focused
his near-sighted eyes was Susan. His
first hunger satisfied. his idea of man
nerliness reared its head.
'Oh, you're having a party, Hide
garde. l didn't see, pardon, l am near
sighted and have broken my glasses
III step in later"
/. AS he rose to withdraw, Hildegarde's
fearlessness awoke. There had been {
moment when Michael's sudden pro
lection on the scene had seemed t
} Hildegarde the final and unendurabl
} calamity. But now the true aristoc
racy that is kindheartedness reassert