The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1919-10-31
CHAPTER /.
Claire.

4
Claire.
I've always thought this adventure
might credibly have happened to any
body else but me. Since it did happen
to me I've come to the incredible con-
clusion that it's your staid. proper
spinsters who get into some of the
bluggiest adventures, only the world,
just because of the bred-in-the-bone
propriety of the people involved, never
hears about the adventures.
Ann Preswick and / had spent the
summer casually rowing through Hol-
land and Belgium, accompanied by two
large suitcases, bunch of extra soft
lead pencils-mine-an large paint
box and q white umbrella--Ann's-
searching such adventures, literary
and artistic, as two rather staid and
prosaic women would be likely to find,
which adventures we hoped to convert
into cash through the American maya
zines.
At the end of three months Ann
thought she saw two real live books
as the offspring of our joint labors, so
Will my lyptWIllEI nShL 0oWh "
Vevay for the winter to work. How
ever, / had hardly found myself nicely
settled and Belgian Byways" squirt
ing along when l was cabled for to
come home on family business.
While / was having the PORTER buy
my Paris ticket for me lady's card
was brought to my room by the pro-
prietor himself, telling me that the
madame below stairs was the highly
respected principal of young ladies'
school.
The madame turned out to be a
pudgy, self-important person, speak
ing voluble and understandable Eng
lish, who dived without waste of OPP
portunity into her reason for visiting
me: one of the young ladies Of her
school had just been telegraphed by
monsieur lie pere to meet him in Paris
in the morning and must go up by the
night train-of necessity, mademoi,
selle must be chaperoned upon the
journey-and madame had elected me
to the privilege of doing 1t.
"That is something never do, mad
ame-chaperon strange young ladies'
'dadame-if you please-one mo
ment. See the message of the father
She pulled out long telegram II
French, 'sYou see-he goes to Amer
lea at once with his daughter. She
must be in Paris in the morning
must, you comprehend
MADAME, you really must excuse mi
and allow me to say bonjour. / neye
chaperon strange young ladies"
With that I sailed off upstairs a
fast as my legs could carry me.
After what I'd said to madame ant
the way I'd treated her 1t never oe
Cured to me that she'd laugh at M
refusal. But it's what she did. Sh
simply brought the child to the station
and put her in my hands And | say
a pair of beautiful big round eyes an
a pair of beautiful big braids behind
I'd seen the braids the moment l er
tered the station and before madam
had discovered me-and a charming
charming little creature about hfteer
in short frocks, and she put her itti
exquisitely gloved hand in mine an
said, "oh, do let me go with you /
hot cause you UT VI AAOuotS' -
make me feel so safe and I'm
scared"
The last came out with little gull
and silly old thing that / am abor
children of just that age-where chll'
hoods world is closing them out OF i
innumerable projections and womal
hood is opening the door to the worI
of straying feet said, Come on, m
DEAR" and put my arm around ne
and away we went
CIaire-she asked me to call NJ
by her first name-was as good as N
word. She didn't make me the lea
trouble and she saved me great de
at the frontier, for she spoke boz
French and German fiuently-which
don't-and when a iingy, villainou
looking customs official eviscerated o.
compartment l was only toe thankf
/ had the child with me. l thought
heard her say, "Cest ma mere" al
why she should be telling them aho
her mother couldn't make out. so
asked her.
The child blushed furiously and to-
my hand.
'Don't be angry with me, pleas
The man ms sted on knowing who y
were and j sold him you were =
rn7iher.s