Graham guardian., 1918-01-18


cushion on the bureau there. It said:
Guess what has happened. If you
can't guess then look In the kitchen
refrigerator and If that doesn't tell
you, peep into the little bedroom and
see who's there"
This was the note that Colin Dare,
old bachelor friend Of The Yates, found
on the pincushion when he returned to
his room at eleven after an especially
trying evening spent with a client In
his law offices. The handwriting was
unfamiliar to him and there was moth
ing for him to do but to follow the in
structiOns Of the note. He looked at
the beautifully filed larder and. still
! in doubt, peeped into the little beG-
room that, for aught he knew, had not
been touched since the original tenants
Of the apartment had left a week ha-
fore. He softly opened just enough
Of the door to see Hortense's tumbled
curls on the pillow and then withdrew
rs silently as he had approached. per-
picked with what was an extremely
difficult question to solve. 1t was
Hortense-those curls could be no
she would be in high dudgeon when
she awOke to learn that he had al
lowed her to remain there all night.
/ So sure was ne that he ought not
to allow her to sleep peacefully on
that he tried to imagine his best
method of procedure in waking her.
But this seemed SO much more diff
cult than the task of simply letting
her sleep that he faltered and soon
retired to his own room. He intended
to stay awake all night so that he
might be prepared to relieve her dis
tress when she discovered that her
parents were not In the apartment.
But toward daylight he fell asleep
in his dressing room gown on the
lounge In his bedroom and slept so
soundly that only the tempting aroma
Of coffee and Drowned mullins, waited
from the kitchen window through the
court into his own bedroom, walked
him.
1t was perfectly shaven, serene
looking, calm-eyed young lawyer who
presented himself at the kitchen door
q half hour later, and was all but
caught in the embrace of the very
much agitated Hortense, not from the
oven and the mullins.
"Oh, l thought you were father"
she gasped, and then leaned back, limp
and confused, against the kitchen cup
board.
The only thing to do was to eat
breakfast, and after that the only thing
to do seemed to be to spend Thanks
giving day together and feast upon
the good things that Hortense had
prepared. There were meanwhile
many explanations and much discus
sion of what should be done next.
Colin Dare, though he recalled Hor-
tense as a very dlsdainful little girl,
whom, four years ago, he was In good
way Of being In love with If she had
permitted 1t, regarded her now as
sort of Thanksgiving angel, the per-
sonification Of bounty and good cook
ltIEs I1C IOPCu " hCCp hOobS WIN
a Jap chef, but four within week had
proved either thieves or fools, so he
had despaired. The broiler, he eX-
planned, was left from the order of
the one that had left the previous
morning.
"Once, you know, girl would
have thought her reputation had been
compromised just because she had ac-
cidentally stayed in the same apart.
ment with man all night" Colin
told Hortense. II am glad you didn't
look on 1t in that light"
Hortense assured him that she was
far too up-to-date for such foolish.
ness. "Still," she said, mother Is a
little old-fashioned. OF course, I'll take
train back tonight and I'll tell her
Just what happened. l wonder what
girl would have done when mother
was young when she found herself in
just this situation"
"She would have felt that she had
to accept the man in the question as
her husband whether she wanted to
or not pronounced Colin with lawyer
like conclusion. "That Is why I'm
glad you are girl of today. If you
should ever consent to be my wife l
want to know 1t is because you care
for me-"
BY eight that night Hortense and
Colin were on their way to meet Hor-
tense's parents In Raynortown where
they had been wired to await Hor.
:ense. Somehow in that Thanksgiving
afternoon Colin had woOed and won
the dlsdainful little girl he had once
almost loved and they felt that the
Thanksgiving surprises were not COM
plete till they had both together craved
the parental blessing.