The Press., 1918-11-21

maipng in the old COrdOva homestead
 and Alice. as the only unmarried sister. had fOlInh It her duty to remain with l him to keep house.
 So, while AIice's brother ordered 1 hardy rosP bushes from the florist. | Alice never would consent to anything of longer duration than geraniumS, i panSirS and other anpuaIs. Whenever
 the question of having the house repa-
 pered came up, AUce always looked
 perpeXed. ''lt is all right for a stay
 at home," she would say, but I'm not interested in the old house." As d matter of fact, Alice had never travelled more than fifty miles away from home. And now at twenty-seyeR she was as much q fixture in the old home town as she had been at twenty.
 when she first came home from board
 ing school tn keep house for her broth
 CT.
 Alexander Burton had proposed ev- cry six months since that time-al- ways when the first crisp days of au- tumn came and when spring brought around renewal of hope with the bud ding of leaves and flowers. Alice'S an sWer was always the same.
 "T really do like you enough to marry you" Alice would begin, and at Alex an6Pr'S entrcAty she would admit she really loved him.
 "If l weren't a real COrdOva I'd mar ry you, but that would mean being tied down. and a nomad can't be tied down. l must be free to g0."
 Alexander stopped trying to argue Alice out of her notion early in his cOuPtShip Instead. he always brought her books on travel and time tables and the various highIy-cOlOred folders put out hy Stear1Ship companies and tourist agencies. As a matter of fact. Alexander in the course of his business had travelled many thousand miles more than Alice, but he never bOasted of this fact. He seemed to take a due pride in the old Burton homestead, and planted perenniHlS when he was home like the other natives.
 "But you might hS well marry me as to stay here all your life" he suggested once; and then Alice explained that
 
 of her ambition was the fact that her brother had not married. Sometime he would marry and then she would start to go nOmHding.
 Alice'S wardrobe from year to year always showed a complete travelling outfit, and while other women in the neighhOrhOOd wore flmy silks and lowered hats to church and to go shop ping Alice was always dressed in trim taiI0r-made clothes with shoes and hats that would have been worthy of an ex- perienced gl0be-trOtter. It was Whfs- pered about that she had wonderful cOllectiOn of luggage, perfectly equipped Ir:IvPling toilet case, folding umbrellas and all the cOntraptiOns in. vented to tempt the habitual traveller. But people did not make fun of Alice nor even smile at her fad. They as surPd each other, as she assured them that she was real COrdova and hence naturally looked forward to travel The pity was that Alice's brother didn't marry and release her. Certainly there were enough nice girls in town without any husbands. It WAS funny how harl some men were to suit
 Of course, when he did select one of the incest of these girls everyone said they were sure they were surprisrd- nice enough girl, to he sure. but they hadn't thought he would be so easily suited. The day of the wedding was settled, and Alice, with fast heating heart and trembling hands, spent long hours each day trying to decide wheth CT her first trip would be to the Argen- tine, to Japan or to Egypt.
 She asked Alexander Burton's ad- vice, and as she did so she hoped that he did not notice that her lips were dry and that her heart was beating She tried so hard to show true COrdOva enthusiasm over the pros | poets of her Ong-planned trip.
 Tt doesn't much matter where you begin," Burton told her. q suppose you might spend six months in each place the first time. suppose you won't aim to get back for over d year. Your brother can handle your affairs perfectly, am sure. and banking ar , can easily be made for you at various ports"
 "Oh. hadn't you expected me back