Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-06

Rob WALKED n few hundred yards back
through the underbrush along the river
bank with Jim. finding the going all hat
gested that Bob had better be turning
back before he got lost.
"what?. laughed Bob. with the river
for a gride7'
'T'm the one that's responsible" the
guide asserted himself. II don't want you
should go no further"
Very we'll" acquiesced Bob good no.
turedly, and sat down on a fallen pine
For a few minutes after Jim's depart
guido,s thus.fer-and- no-further attitude,
Then, moved by a sudden impulse, no
undressed, plunged into the water anu
SWAN downstream to a point where he
could soc beyond the bend OF the river.
His suspicious were Justified. A half-mile
away Jim was speeding toward the
landing in small skin with an outboard
motor. b.,
swan back to his clothes.
"Returning to the waterwing, he re.
ported simply. "Jim's right The going is
rotten" But he threw quick glance at
Mrs. Hartley, knitting placidly:
There's plenty Of food In the boat, ,,aS.
n picnic Of II until Jim gets, back" And
from her, the others took their cue for
tho time being.
But az night came on. they grew silent,
especially the vivacious Madeline True;
tho watermelon spray hoods assured
them OF shelter II the rain which Jim
had predicted materialized. But there
were midges and mosquitoes and, annoy
ingly insistent. san off-key chorus or
frogs. Fors once. Madehne Iva was r,naroris no, ,ns
suggestion that they all turn IN even
IL there wasn't room to turn over.' which
made the hit of the evening.
The women had the cockpit with It's
iii Doh yt,n1
steersman's cubby hole. forward. Some
| where around 2 n. m. a staccato drum
ming on the hoods stretched khaki can.
vas announced the arrival Of the rain.
Came morning, G DAMP. ,annd d,s'a ~ nnd sooEe5 os
| the bread, 80 that breakfast was not al!
| It might have been.
Ana Bob, who. thinking over the AFFAIR
from start to finish In the still watches
NJ the night, had heartily condemned his
| hostess for deliberately planning n stu
| alton wherein her daughter would shine
in Comparison with her daughters possi-
HE rival, was forced to coscede n grudg-
ing admiration Of her psssp'Ias'Eg Ios, gsr vi,
vacity. More than that, she was grumpy
| and muesed. Her hair. lacking Its usual
nightly attentions. clung In sticky, un-
curling wisps to her head while Eleanor.
| pamely succumbing to circumstances,
5ad braided her abundant locks into a
rir,ish pigtail down her back.
| And II was Eleanor who. taking pity
nm Bob's apparent boredom routed out
! some nshhooks. from the tool box and
improvised line by nnravellng some
| emergency steering gear.
| They tried II first from the boat then,
| growing careless Of the drizzle, ventured
TO the bank. They didn't have mucn
luck--fishing. But Jim. shooting around
| the point in the outboard, grinned broad
| iv ns ne saw his employers daughter re
| clining comfortably in Bobs arms. For
tunately, he couldn't overhear their con-
"That villain Jim put one over on us. =
Boo was saying. "Your mother was in
| It, too"
Mother exploded Eleanor. IT'S just
| for things like this mothers arranging
nv affairs that when ! became engaged
to- YOU \ month ago I wouldn't tell a
soul For once I was bound to d. some
thing on my own hook. As for this epi-
sode-I wondered what was up when I
saw mother having a long talk with Jim
before we left camp And now. when she
discovers that she has endured all this
needlessly-"
Never mind. darlngr' interrupted
Bob. IT'S worth II all for the kiss I'm
going to take this very minuter'
Whereupon Jim, like a gentleman.
closed his eyes.
Next complete novelette,
"Stuart's Compensation"