The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1919-12-13
CHAPTER I.


twenty-five miles of mOonlit bay. Ii
was not for lack Of a partner that she
stood alone. She had promised this
very extra to four inSistent men. but .
had excused herself to one after an
other Of them, Just for moment. /
Just while / powder my nose"
They had all seen her run up the .
stairs in the main hallway; they had /
not seen her travel steadily on 4
| through the length of the hotel and /.
| come down the ladder-like exit into /
the garden. Why had she done it? /
That was a question that she herself |
could not have answered but that did |
! not occur to her as a matter for sOlu- !
| ton, so often had similar impulse
| snatched her mOmentarily away from
crowded world.
Andrea had a past, but very little
| history. She was the only daughter
| Of Lord PellOr of PellOr, land-poor
| baron who could distribute five titles
| among his five sons but very little
/ cash. AS a result Andrea had lived
/ the life, if life you can call it, of tab
| ulated impoverished English gentle
women: Everything that the traffic
| will bear for the men of the family
and for the girl just enough froCks at
her coming out TO diSsemble the bait
that clothes the hook that catches the
man with millions.
During her first season offers had
come to her; not the measured adj
vances of buyers in the marriage mar
ket, for about the brow of such bud.
ding maidenhOOd as had been hers
there hangs guardian halo that
blinds the eyes of sane-aged men, but
the O'erleaping Onslaughts of youth
maddened hearts.
1t was in her fifth season that the
arbiters of her fate raised the shears
of destiny and clicked them. He who
fell to her lot was n man of humble
origin who had reached the ripe age
of fifty-eight without ever having had
time to marry. His life, with q diff
ference, had been just as narrow, hide
bound and conventional as had hers.
The difference was that he had trav-
eled the stereotyped Dick Wilmington
trail TO high finance rather than the
social highway. He had started out in
Africa with pack of cheap jewelry,
an open mind and an easy conscience,
and had emerged after twenty-five
years as one of the few Gentiles in the
combine that controls the worlds dia-
mond output. His wealth was so great
| ol, OSt
a matter of course. But, as usual, an
aristocratic marriage had to come
first.
The contract was as cold-blOOded as
any ever perpetrated by a royal house.
Allowances, carefully graded. were
stipulated to be paid at fixed times TO
Andrea's parents and to each of her
, five brothers. She herself came in for
!, n large and inalienable marriage set
} Element and was further secured in
such details as to where the town res
3 idence was to be located as well as TO
: the number and nature of the country
. places which were to be maintained
! When the document was finally COM
! pleted it was casually submitted Ia
!. Andrea for approval. Nobody dreamed
: that she would doubt for a moment
= that those in family authority were
d most able to decide what was best for
" her and nobody was right. She merely
. skinned through the typewriter
pages of the prenuptial agreement, sat
isfied herself that n vast sum of money
was destined to the upkeep of Pellor
and dreamy-eyed with sudden memo
h. ries, nodded her adorable head in con
sent.
N All doubtless would have taken its
w appointed course had not the Euro
n pean war put in its nightly discon
e certing finger. Surprising things hap
pened in South Africa. Andrea's affi
anced sailed on twenty-fOur hours no
tice. The diamond mines closed down
took a short nap and then suddenl!
awakened to the fact that Americi
a alone was demanding as much of thei
2 product as had the whole world before
4 1t turned it's entire attention to max
e Ing munitions and paying for them
n Andrea's betrOthed found himself har
messed to his job, possibly for the du
s ration of the war. AS result 1t wa
'. decided in family conclave that 1t wa
v. incumbent upon Andrea to take ad
vantage of providential detail of tw'
of her brothers on the NyaSsaland ez
r peditionary force and accompan
them, surrendering st. Georges chape
for a quiet marriage in the colonies.
- 1t was a blow, but the fact that tn
entire set of tapered allowance
would not start until the sacriticia
-, ceremony had taken place more tina
. offset the loss in pOmp. Andrea star
ed for Africa escorted not only by tn
aforementioned brothers but by oil
~ Aunty Gwen. hale and hearty at seN
~ enty in spite, or perhaps by reason, @
il having been frightened out OF man
- years growth. So here they were
Aunty and she, on the point of par
ing with the two boys at the last pc:
:. sible port up the coast and whose il
=" habitants had seized upon the occaSiO
to give q grand ball in the mode of tn
=. English, who have ever danced, courte
- and loved best when on the eve {
Ie battle.
Andrea drew long and Quiverir
ha