The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-07-02

consumed the enIlTo INDUSTRIOUS cake.
She shook her head in weary re.
membrance. "This neighborhood fir
inshed considerable practice for the
medical profession that night"
Graham cast surreptitious glance
at Ruth She seemed quite serene
Eabout it.
But really / don't think that was
as bad as the tulips" Mrs. Hillock
went on. did Ruth tell you about
the tulips?" she inquired of Graham
No, Ruth had not told him
"Well, that was last spring." Mrs
Hillock explained. ooh, dear, dear!"
she sighed "That was awful! You
see Mrs Templeton right here beside
us on the left has perfectly wonder
full tulips.
"She gets them from Holland-some
rare wonderful variety and awfully
expensive. Then there's Mrs. Allen
who lives a little further on down
the street who goes in herself for a
chaste plain expanse of lawn and
thinks flower beds and all that sort
of thing extremely rocco and in very
bad taste.
well, one day Everton heard hc1
congratulate Mrs. Templeton on her
wonderful tulips, and say that she
really envied Unexpectedly insincere
but how was Everton to know that
and Mrs. Templeton said that indeed
they were getting almost too much sor
her, and sometimes she thought there
were too many for beauty.
"Of course, she didn't mean it. She
wouldn't have parted with one for
worlds. But how, l repeat was Ever
ton to know? So that outrageous
child carefully reasoned it out ami
then made all arrangements for then.
Since Mrs. Templeton had too many
and Mrs Allen wished for some, ne
simply transplanted a hundred or so
from one place to the other
"And both women were furious,
simply furious. l sent our gardener
right over to repair the damage, and
fairly Frustrated myself in apologies,
but that didn't seem to help"
"But it was sweet of him." insisted
Ruth He supposed, of course, that it
hadn't occurred to them what to do
to prevent the child from painting
the house pink another timer"
"But he knows that we are all dis
pleased about it-that he's maSe US
trouble" Ruth insisted. He'll never
paint the house again. He wanted
only to make us happy.
"But what's to prevent him from do
ing something else just as outrage
ous?"
81 sincerely hope" declared Ruth
with conviction, that there is nothing
to prevent his always reasoning things
out and acting on every generous iul
pulse"
They couldn't let it alone.
1t had begun a day or so before
with a few idle comments on the
case of Everton, and had suddenly
grown into a full bodied controversy.
A day or so before they had been
happy in their mutual love, and now
this thing seemed to have eclipsed it
entirely-to have done away with il,
somehow, leaving them only this
eternal wrangling between them.
"Why can't you see?" Graham kept
demanding of himself.
tIf he's that sort of a person!" Ruth
kept repeating to her heart.
All that afternoon the controversy
kept them in its clutch, until at last
Ruth, scarcely knowing wha she was
doing until it was done, slipped the
diamond solitaire from her left hand.
81 can't marry anyone wrangle
with like this" she declared.
He took the ring duly. He had not
dreamed it would come to this
Nor had she dreamed he would take
it, and would let it end so easily.
And so it was over, that which had
seemed as permanent as the hills;
was over so easily that they scarcely
knew what had happened.
He found his hat and walked in dull
bewilderment down the street.
Ruth, left behind, still sat in the
swing, frightened, despairing, DESC
late She could not keep her eyes
from her ringless finger so symbol
cal of the emptiness of her heart.
Presently Everton returned, buoy
antly enthusiastic over his afternoon
He had had a wonderful time, brc
Ruth, absorbed in her own misery,
scarcely listened to it.
AS a matter of fact Everton him
self scarcely realized how wonderful
it had been, nor would he have had
the words to do justice to it His al
truistic little heart had been charmed
with the whole arrangement.
He particularly liked the idea of
every guest bringing Fife present.
1t was at his suggestion that Effie