Omaha daily bee., 1918-09-01
Author OF "Pollyanna."

soiiS W give hSL SOiuC' SnC say
she is, and"
But Mellicent did not finish her sen
tence. A short, sandy-haired youtl
came up and pointed an accusing fin
ger at her dance card, and Mellicen
said yes, the next dance was his. Blu
she smiled brightly at Mr.. Smith a
she foated away. and Mr.. Smith, vel
content, turned and walked into til,
adjoining room.
He came face to face then with Mrs
Hattie and her daughter. These two
ladies, also, were pictures of radian
ENTHUSIASTICALLY were they
radiant, for every beam of light fount
an answering flash in the shimmerine
iridescence of their beads and jewel!
and opalescent sequins.
well, Mr.. Smith, what do yot
think of my partly" AS she asked tht
question Mrs. Hattie tapped his shoul
der with her fan.
Il think a great deal-of you
party" smiled the man. And your
He turned to Miss Bessie
ooh, it'll do-for Hillerton," Mis-.
BESSIE smiled mischievously into hel
mothers eyes. shrugged her shoulder:
and passed on into the music room.
"As if it wasn't quite the hnest
thing Hillerton ever had-except the
Gaylord parties, of course" bridlet
Mrs. Hattie, turning to Mr.. Smith
That's just daughters way of teasing
me-and. of course, now she is where
she sees the real thing in entertaining
she goes home with those rich girls
in her school, you know. But this is a
nice party, isn't it, Mr.. Smith,"
ut certainly is"
Daughter says we should have
wine; that everybody who is anybody
has wine now-champagne, and cigar
cts for the ladies'. Think of tin
Hillerton! Still, I've heard the Gay
lords do. I've never been there yet
though, of course, we shall be invited
now. I'm crazy to see the inside OF
their house, but | don't believe it's
much handsomer than this. Do you:
But therel You don't know. of course
You've never been there, any more
than l have, and you're man Of SIM
pie tastes, l judge, Mr.. Smith" She
smiled graciously. Benny says that
Aunt Maggie's got the incest house he
ever saw, and that Mr.. Smith says
so. too. So, YOU see, / have grounds
for my opinion"
Mr.. Smith laughed.
"Well, I'm not sure I ever said just
that to Benny, but I'll not dispute it
Miss Maggie's house is indeed Won
derfully delightful-to live in"
"I've no doubt of it," conceded
Mrs. Hattie complacently. Poor
Maggie! She always did contrive to
make the most of everything she had
But she's never been ambitious for
really nice things, | imagine. At least
she always seems contented enough
with her shabby chairs and carpets
While l." She paused, looked about
her, then drew a blissful sigh. "Oh
Mr.. Smith, you don't know-you can't
know what it is to me to just look
around and realize that they are all
mine--these beautiful things|
Then you're very happy Mrs.
Blaisdell?"
"Oh, yes. Why, Mr.. Smith, there
isn't piece of furniture in this room
that didn't cost more than the Pen
nocks's-I know, because I've been
there. And my curtains are nicer,
too, and my pictures, they're SO much
brighter-some of her oil paintings
are terribly dull-looking. And my
Bessie-did you notice her dress to-
night? But, there You didn't, OF
course. And if you had, you wouldn't
have realized how expensive it was.
What do you know about the cost OF
women's dresses?" she laughed arch
ly. "But I don't mini telling you. 1t
was $3.50, hundred and fifty dollars.
and it came from New York. | don't
believe that white muslin thing OF
Gussie Pennock's cost fifty! You
know Gussie?"
"I've seen her"
"Yes, of course you have-with
Fred. He used to go with her a lot.
He goes with Pearl Gaylord more
now. There. you can see them this
minute, dancing together-the one in
the low-cut. blue dress. Pretty, too,
isn't she? Her fathers worth mil
lion. I suppose. l wonder how
'twould feel to be worth-a million"
She spoke musingly, her eyes, fol-
lowing the .low-cut blue dress. But,
then, maybe I shall know, some
time--from Cousin Stanley, | mean"
she explained smilingly, in answer to
the question she thought she saw be-
hind Mr.. Smiths smoked glasses.
ooh, of course. there's nothing sure
about it. But he gave US some, and ii
he's dead, of course, that other let
ter'll be opened in two years; and l
don't see why he wouldn't give us the
rest, as long as he'd shown he remem-
bered he'd got US. Do you?"
"Well-er--as to that Mr..
Smith hesitated. He had grown
strangely red.
"Well, there aren't any other rela-
tions so near, anyway, so can't help
thinking about it, and wondering"
she interposed. And 'twould be mil
lions, not just one million. He's
worth 10 or 20, they say. But, then,
we shall know in time"
"Oh, yes, you'll KNOWN time"
agreed Mr.. Smith with smile. turn
ing away as another guest came up to
his hostess.
Mr.. Smiths smile had been rather
forced, and his face was still some
what red as he picked his way through
the crowded rooms to the place where
he could see Frank Blaisdeli standing
alone, surveying the scene, his hands
in his pockets.
"Well, Mr.. Smith, this is some
show, amt it," greeted the grocer as
Mr.. Smith approached.
1T certainly is." >
"Gee. | should say so-though l
can't say I'm stuck on the brand my
satf Rut as for this money business,