The Adair County news. [volume] (Columbia, Ky.) 1897-1987, 1918-01-02
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heavens name are you doing here, Cor
don ELLIOTT" she demanded, and before
he could answer had seized both hands
and turned excitedly to call a stOcky
man near. "Peter-Peteri Guess
who's here?"
Hello, Pagetr ~ grinned Gordon, and
he shook hands with the husband of
Diane.
Elliot turned to introduce his friend,
but she anticipated him.
"Cousin Diane" she said dryly,
"don't you know me?"
Mrs. Paget swooped down upon the
girl and smothered her in her en-
brace.
''This is Sheba-little Sheba that I
have told you so often about, Peter"
she cried. "Glory be, I'm glad to see
you, child" And Diane kissed her
again warmly. "You two met on the
same boat, of course, coming in.
hope you didn't let her get lonesome,
Gordon. Look after Sheba's suitcases.
Peter. You'll come to dinner tonight,
Gordon-at seven"
I'm in the kind hands Of my coun-
trywoman," laughed Gordon. "rll GER
tainly be on hand"
''But what in the world are you do
ing here? You're the last man I'd
have expected to see."
'Tm in the service of the govern
ment, and I've been sent in on bust
ness"
"Well, I'm going to say something
original, dear people," Mrs. Paget re-
Piled. tits a small world ISN'T it?"
While he was dressing for dinner
later in the day, Elliot recalled early
memories Of the Pagets. He had
known Diane ever since they had been
youngsters together at school. He
remembered her as a restless, wiry
little thing, keen as knife-blade. Al.
ways popular socially, she had sur
prised everybody by refusing the catch
! of the town to marry a young mining
engineer without penny. Gordon was
In college at the time, but during the
next long vacation he had fraterniZed
a good deal with the Peter Pagets. The
young married people had been very
much in love with each other, but not
too preoccupied to take the college boy
into their happiness as a comrade.
Then the Arctic goldfields had claimed
Paget and his bride. That had been
more than ten years ago, and until
today Gordon had not seen them since.
While Elliot was brushing his dinner
coat before the open window of the
room assigned to him at the hotel,
somebody came out to the porch below.
The voice of a woman floated family
to him.
"Seen DANES Irish beauty yet,
Ned?"
'Yes," a man answered.
The woman laughed softly. Mrs.
Mallory came up on the same boat
with her." The infection suggested
that the words were meant not to tell
fact, but some less obvious infer
ence.
'She's wonderfully pretty, and of
course Diane will make the most of
her. But Mrs. Mallory is a woman
among ten thousand"
said the man.
'But it isn't you. Well see what
We'll see."
They were moving up the street and
Gordon heard no more. What he had
heard was not clear to him. Why
should any Importance attach to the
fact that Mrs. Mallory and Sheba
O'Neill had come up the river on the
same boat? Yet he was vaguely dis
turbed by the insinuation that in some
way Diane was entering her cousin as
a rival of the older woman. He re-
scented the idea that the fine, young
personality of the Irish girl was being
cheapened by management on the part
of Diane Paget.
Elliot was not the only dinner guest
at the Paget home that evening. He
: found Colby Macdonald sitting in the
living room with Sheba. She came
: quickly forward to meet the newly ar
q rived guest.
4 "Mr. Macdonald has been telling me
/ about my father. He knew him or
4 Frenchman creek where they bOtf
f worked claims" explained the girl.
The big mining man made no com
S ment and added nothing to what sh,
d said. There were times when his fac,
q was about as expressive as a ston,
o wall.
e The dinner went off very well. Dian,
L and Peter had a great many questions
to ask Gordon about old friends. B.
It the time these had been answered Mac
IS donald was chatting easily with Sheba
She listened with glowing eyes to tn
n strange tales this man of magnificen
1t horizons had to tell. Never before ha,
she come into contact with anyone lik
y him.
,e Page was superintendent of tn
70 Lucky Strike, a mine owned princi
,e pally by Macdonald. The two aalke
t business for few minutes over thei