Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-02-19

Vi Ills DlIlu L lluNt IAoDlu ldIcu IOIlu
In quest of love and romance. not with
out hope of adventure. for he was |
valorous chap with the heritage Of |
warriors in his 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 I will look for the /
Golden Girl sitting by the wayside. |
She must be there. and though 1t is a |
wide world. ! am young and my eyes
are sharp. I will find her sitting at
the roadside eager for me to come. not
housed in gloomy castle surrounded
by the spooks of hundred ancestors J
| They who live In castles wed to hate.
und they who wed at the roadside live
| to love. Fortune attend me. If love
lies at the roadside waiting do not let
me pass it by. All the princesses are
not inside the castles. Some sit out
side the gates and laugh with gee. for
love Is their companion. So away I
go, Ia, la! looking for the princes with
the happy heart and the smiling lips!
| 1t is wide world. but my eyes are
sharp. l 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 all for him, it would appear,
but he passed them by, for his eyes
were sharp and his wits awake And
so 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 itscf.
| His mothers romance would stand
alone and shine without a flicker to
the end of time There could be no
counterpart.
We'll. / had the fun of looking he
philosophical Ito himself. for no man
knew of his secret project and grin
ned with sort of amused tolerance
for the sentimental side Of his nature
I'm silly ass to have even dreamed
of finding her as l passed along and
if | had found her what the deuce
could | have done about it anyway:
This isn't the day for medieval ady
snatching. ! dare say I'm just as well
off for not having found her still
have the Zest for hunting farther. and
there's a lot in that" Then aloud
Hobbs. are we on time?"
We are. SIR said Hobbs without
even glancing at his watch The train
was passing One Hundred and Twen-
ty-fifth street. ITO the minute sir.
We will be in in ten minutes if moth
ing happens. Mr.. King will be at the
station to meet you, sir. Any orders,
sir|
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 a 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 the
game, attended by two pretty young
girls, lieutenant in flannels and the
: ceremonious Count Quinnox, iron gray
and gaunt faced battIeman with the
saber scars on his cheek and the bull
let wound in his side.
Good work, Rainie." shouted the
umpire as his wife safely placed the
ball far out of her opponents reach.
Hi" shouted Robin, turning on
him with scowl. You're not sup
posed to cheer anybody. dyou under
stand? You're only an umpire
, "Outburst of excitement, kid" apol.
+ ogized the umpire complacently
Couldn't help it. Forty thirty. Get
busy"
He called him Kid" whispered
; one of the young girls to the other.
We'll, | heard the prince call Mr..
King Truck a little while ago" yhis.
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
automobile 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 1t might an
pear from this that Maud suffered
somewhat from loneliness In the great
mouse on the hill. The Welton girls
mad known Robin scant threeauar.
tiers OF an hour and were deeply IN
ijlove with him. Fannie was eighteen