The Mount Holly news., 1919-10-14
A Matter of
Tradition
r
BY DORA NOLAN

I somewhat rickety but beautiful stair
case and into a great empty front
| chamber.
Here, on built-in seat by one of
the many-paned windows, from which
the glass had long ago fallen, Alicia
seated herself. removed the wide shade
hat and laid 1t on the window SILL A
cool breeze from the water ruffled her
fine brown hair. There was no sound
but the drowsy hum of an occasional
bee and the soft swish-swash of tiny
wavelets on the beach below.
There is a certain sleep-inducing
quality in the early afternoon air Of
a midsummer day that is difficult to
resist when one is alone and fairy
breezes caress ones eyes. Alicia didn't
try very hard.
Presently she was thinking in con-
fused, half-conscious way of the things
! that must have happened In this old
ho6se, abandoned now, She had been
told, for twenty-five years. This old
front chamber-how many lives had II
welcomed into the world how many
ushered out3 How many young brides
had looked out Of this very window
down onto the sparkling ocean?
Alicia's eyes were closed now; she
didn't trouble to open them to see Just
how that sparkling ocean must have
looked to the young brides. The hot
midday air was an easy victor
The soft purring of the waves ON the
pebbly beach became more insistent;
the tide was rising. With 1t came a
stronger breeze.
1t lifted Alicia's shade hat and watt
ed 1t gently down to a resting place
amid the sorrel and daisies. Several
bees investigated its wreath Of gay
colored flowers with disappointing re-
sults-and flew away, moralizing, no
doubt, on their particular version of
the aphorism "AlI is not gold" etc.
Alicia slept on.
Somewhere In the direction of the
very rough road from which branched
the grassy lane new sound originat-
ed. 1t was an alien, mechanical sound.
| If the sleeper had awakened she
would have identified it and wondered
a little perhaps.
A powerful car was passing over
or, rather, thrOugh-the abandoned
thoroughfare. A quarter of mile
! from the house 1t gave up the under
taking and the driver picked his way
up the lane like one unfamiliar with
his surroundings yet not unprepared
for them.
Gaining the level plateau where an
| unobstructed view of the old mansion
could be had the young man paused.
| and with folded arms stood deep In
the sorrel and daisies. Through wide
set. humorous gray eyes he took in the
| scene before him Poor Dadl" he
| sighed at last, and made his way to-
ward the house.
why, even some of the peoples still
| growing in front of the housel" he ex-
claimed Alicia's hat played its prac-
not with such disappointing results
this time to the be-fooled For Pliny
| Caverly the fourth decided instantly
| that he would like girl who wore a
hat like that-and there might be rea-
sons why 1t was important that be
| should.
Holding the hat gingerly in his hand
Pliny stood still and studied his ances-
trail home at close range. The win
dOws over the porch would be in that
| front chamber where he was born and
| where-but somebody was sitting near
one of them. Just q glimpse Of fine
brown hair and a broad forehead, that
was all; but 1t was rather tantalizing
| to Pliny-for the reason.
Could it be the girl of the poppy
hat. sitting up there in that historic
| front chamber where dad had first
seen his mother, when she had come
from boarding school with dads sister
| for a vacation, the chamber that had
been a sort of upstairs sitting room
in those days7 He'd see. would Pliny,
right away; it was important ne
should know He thought he liked the
soft brown hair and it certainly was
a well-modeled forehead, but he knew
he liked the hat and what the hat
whispered of its owner.
It was very still, that well-shaped
| head Of which he could get but a
glimpse. Evidently its owner hadn't
noticed his approach. Would it be
possible to gain that room unheard?
he wondered.
| Surely 1t would be no trespass-it
was his house. at all events. Pliny
tried it. and succeeded. He reached
| the doorway on tiptOe, the shade hat
still in his hand. There the intruder
stood motionless. drinking in the pic
ture before him, the slender girl in
| frock of delicate green, the girl with
fine brown hair blown lightly about
by the ocean zephyrs.
The girl of the poppy hat, indubita-
| bly,. The right girl. the right girl Of
all girls. And sleeping quietly on the
window seat,
So moveless she seemed, so very
still, that suddenly a panic fear
smOte Pliny. He took q hurried step
forward, and Alicia opened her eyes.
They looked. first, straight into
Pliny's, and then dazedly about the
old, dismantled room 81 was think
ing OF the people who must have lived
and died here; and of the brides
why, I must have fallen asleep
Youf--"
YES" interrupted Caveriy, 81 found
your hat on the grass. And l was
thinking of brides, too. Brides-and
this room. You see"-Pliny went on
like race horse, giving the girl Of
the poppy hat no chance to speak
there is a tradition in the Caverly
family that the eldest son always
meets his bride for the first time In
this room 1t held true for three gen
erations."
The girl raised her right hand to
her cheek and deliberately pinched it
so hard that the red mark, staining
the fair skin. was visible to the young
man across the room.
Quickly he crossed and sat down be-
side her Boldly he did the pre-
sumptuous thing OF grasping. quite
gently, the hand responsible for the
blemish "Why did you do that7" he
demanded sternly.
ITO make sure ! was not dreaming q
answered Alicia, drawing away her
hand. "Who. pray, are you-whc
walk into the Caverly mansion, spy
ing on sleeping girls and talking about
the traditions of the placer
Pliny arose and bowed low before
| Alicia. 81 am Pliny Caverly the