Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-12-17
MAGAZINE SECTION for December Il, 1916

1t at the time, but-supposin' she'd wired
some one that knows the ropes up North
she might have got such an answer"
"But why should she have wired New
York about me? Jerry, you old liar, did
you see the address on her telegram"
"The steward that sint it happened to
show it to me, he answered sheepishly.
"'Twas addressed to ould Sam Benton,
sor. | didn't be afther tellin' We, for
didn't think it fair we sh'ud know the
lady's int rest in we until"
"You supplemented, doddering old
idiot!' | snapped. "Why, any one would
think that-that- And she said you
told her." | added dazedly.
"She said | was most inthrestin gin
tleman," corrected Jerry. "More power
to her bright eyes and intelligent ears!"
"But why should she have evaded-"
otis not Jerry Kenney that'll be afther
gossipin' about lady, sor," said Jerry.
"Sure, I'll be no Cupid for we, sor."
Jerry, you may go to hell, said l.
He grnned. We started toward the
train which had drawn up hundred yards
from the beach. / remember, vaguely, a
man with firm fingers touching my hurt
leg; remember hearing him say that I'd
have to keep quiet for fortnight and
would be lame for a month; remember
him insisting that l drink something;
remember, hazily, being lifted into an
automobile after our train stopped; cool
sheets, Darkness.
When | woke it was day, and Jerry was
placing breakfast tray on table in the
center of a well furnished room.
A HORSEMAN is pretty hard propo-
sition-physically of course, | mean.
In week | was able to get around with
the aid of cane, and then | insisted on
moving from Miss Leland's house to a
little cottage down by the half-mile eXer-
else track that her father had built. For
it was awkward living at the mansion.
Miss Leland treated me as welcome
guest, but her chaperon-I was dust be-
meath her feet She didn't approve of me
at all; didn't approve of Miss Leland's
hiring me in the first place, and was most
open in her disapproval of my living under
the same roof with her and her charge
| think Mrs. Clarke thought trainer was
a servant.
As for myself-in those seven days in
which | was confined to bed or couch l
mulled the situation over pretty thor
oughly. What if Miss Leland had wired
Sam Benton from Charleston about me?
She might even then have been consider
ing offering me place as her trainer and
wanted to make sure of my character.
Any interest deeper than that-well, l
was presumptuous fool; that's all! And
if | didn't want my fingers burned I'd
better get out of reach of the fire
She came in to see me several times a
day while | was confined to my room, and
was as kind as could be. But Mrs. Clarke
was always with her, and that woman's
attitude was quite the opposite to Miss
Leland's. Mrs. Clarke had a way of MAX
ing one feel out of place. She made me
feel, more by her manner than by any
thing she said, that | was taking advan-
tage of a young girls kindness in even
thinking of remaining as a guest while l
was an employee. That alone wouldn't
have made me leave and start house
keeping in the cottage with Jerry, but
there was the hopelessness of it all This
girl was rich; | was-"poor" puts it
mildly fhnuub ba ,,ro+ I ,,,J,