Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-09-26
NUMBER 80

On the twenty-second anniversary
Of his birth Prince Robin Jared forth
In quest Of love and romance. not with
out hope Of adventure, for he was q
valorous chap with the heritage Of
warriors In bis veins. Said he to him
self In dreamy contemplation Of the
long journey ahead Of him: Il will
traverse the great highways that my
mother trod. and ! will look for the
Golden Girl sitting by the wayside.
She must be there. and though It Is q
wide world. I am young and my eyea
are sharp. will find her sitting al
the roadside eager for me to come. moi
love Is their companion. 80 away I
30, la, la! looking for the princes with
the happy heart and the smiling lips!
1t is wide world, but my eyes are
sharp. shall find my princess"
But, alas, for his fine young dream,
he found no golden girl at the roadside
nor anything that suggested romance.
There were happy hearts and smiling
lips, and ali for him, 1t would appear,
but he passed them by, for bis eyes
were sharp and his wits awake. And
30 at last he came to Gotham, his
heart as free as the air he breathed,
confessing that his quest had been In
vain. History failed to repeat itself.
His mothers romance would stand
alone and shine without q flicker to
the end of time. There could be no
counterpart.
well, had the fun Of looking" he
philosophical Ito himself, for no man
knew of his secret project and grin
ned with a sort of amused tolerance
for the sentimental side Of his nature.
"Im a silly ass to have even dreamed
Of finding her as I passed along, and
II l had found her what the deuce
could / have done about 1t anyway?
This isn't the day for medieval lady
snatching. l dare say I'm just as well
of for not having found her. l still
have the zest for hunting farther, and
there's a lot in that" Then aloud,
Hobbs, are We on time?"
I'VE are, SIR" said Hobbs without
even glancing at his watch. The train
was passing One Hundred and Twen-
ty-ffth street. ITO the minute, sir.
We will be in in ten minutes II moth
ing happens. Mr.. King will be at the
station to meet you, sir. Any orders.
sirY
"Yes; pinch me, Hobbs"
pinch your highness" In amaze
ment. my word, sir, wot"-
81 just want to be sure that the
dream is over, Hobbs. Never mind
You needn't pinch me. I'm awake"
and to prove It he stretched his fine
young body in the ecstasy Of realiza-
ton.
That night he slept soundly In the
Catskills.
Toward the end Of his first week at
Red Roof, the summer home Of the
Truxton Kings, the prince might have
been found on the broad lawn late one
afternoon playing tennis with his
hostess, the lovely and vivacious
Aunt Lorraine" To him Mrs. King
would always be Aunt Lorraine"
even as he would never be anything
but Bobby to her.
She was several years under forty
and as light and active as q young
girl. Her smooth cheek glowed with
the happiness and thrill Of the sport,
and he was hard put to hold his own
against her, even though she insisted
that he play his level best.
Truxton King. stalwart and lazy.
lounged on the turf. umpiring tho
game, attended by two pretty young
girls, a lieutenant in fannels and the
Count Quinnox. iron gray
and gaunt faced battleman with the
saber scars on his cheek and the bul-
let wound In his side.
Good work, Rainie!" shouted tho
umpire as his wife safely placed the
ball far out of her opponents reach.
"Hi!" shouted Robin. turning on
him with a scowl. You're not sup
posed to cheer anybody. d'you under.
stand? You're only an umpire"
"Outburst Of excitement, KID" apol-
ogized the umpire compiacently.
Couldn't help 1t. Forty thirty. Get
busy"
HE called him KID" whispered
one Of the young girls to the other.
well. l heard the prince call Mr..
King Truck little while ago." whis-
pered the other.
isn't he good looking% sighed the
first one.
They were sisters. very young. and
lived In the cottage across the road
with their widowed mother. Their
existence was quite unknown to Mr..
and Mrs. Blithers, although the ami.
able Maud was rather nice to them.
She had once picked them up In her
when she encountered
them walking to the station. After
that she called them by their Chris.
tian names and generously asked
them to call her Maud. It might ap-
pear from this that Maud suffered
somewhat from loneliness In the great
house on the hill. The Welton girls
had known Robin a scant three-Quar.
ters of an hour and were deeply In
love with him. Fannie was eighteen
and Nellie but little more than six
teen. He was their first prince.
"Whee-eer' shrilled Mrs. King, going
madly after return that her opponent
had lobbed over the net. She missed.
Deuce" said her husband laconical-
ly. A servant was crossing the lawn
with a tray Of iced drinks. As he
neared the recumbent group he paused
and allowed his gaze to
shift toward the road below. Then he
came on, and as he drew alongside the
umpire he leaned over and
spoke In q low tone of voice.
"WhatT demanded King. squirting.
"Just come in the gate, SIR" said tho
footman.
King shot a glance over his shoulder
and then sat up in astonishment
"Good Lord! Blithers! What the
deuce can he be doing herel say.
Lorraine! Hiw
Vantage in," cried his pretty wife,
dashing stray lock from her eyes.
Mr.. Kings astonishment was gen