Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-10

Inc experience. his Two previous at
lacks Zone at twelve, the other at
eighteen) had been incomparably
lighter. and the changes in him. noted
at home. merely slight general ir-
ritability and lack of domestic pune
tuality. due to too much punctuality
elsewhere. But, when his Julia At
water trouble came, the very first
symptom he manifested was a strange
new effort to become beautiful by
means of bodily garnishment. and his
mother even discovered that he
worked with pumice stone upon the
cigarette stains on his fingers.
The most curious thing about his
condition was that for a long time he
took it for granted that his family did
not know what was the matter with
him; and this shows as nothing else
could the meekness and tact of the
DillS: for. excluding bad cooks and
thc dangerously insane, the persons
most disturbing to the serenity of
households are young lovers. So No
bic Dill sat through a Sunday dinner
at home. seemingly drugged to tor
por, while the family talk went on
about him; but when his father, in the
course of some remarks upon politics,
happened TO mention the name of the
county treasur Charles J. Patter-
son, Mobiles startled attention to the
conversation was so conspicuous as to
lie disconcertinE. Mrs Dill signaled
with her head that comment should
be omitted, and Mr.. Dill became. for
the moment. one factor in a fairly
clear example of telepathic communi-
cation, for it is impossible to believe
that his wife's almost imperceptible
gesture was what caused him to recall
that Charles J. Patterson was Julia
NtwaterS uncle.
That name, Charles J. Patterson,
coming thus upon Mobiles ears. was
like an uneXpired shrine on the way
side where plods the fanatic pilgrim;
and yet Mr.. Patterson was the most
casual of Julia's uncles by marriage:
Ire neither had nor desired any effect
upon her destiny. To Noble he was
inefrably privileged and fateful
Something of the same quality in
vested the wooden gateposts in front
of the big, honest brick house where
Julia lived with that august old dan
felt a warmer something for the gate
posts, however, than he felt for Mr..
Atwater. The latter inspired Noble
with not only the uncalled-for affec-
tion and veneration inevitable toward
Julia's next of kin. but also with
BILE and awful power possessed by a
sacred girls father. In sum, Noble
loved Mr.. Atwater; but often. in his
reveries, when he had rescued him
uTO" uIHS uciHS "
death. he preferred to picture the Pc
culiar old mans injuries as ultimate
ly fatal.
If Julia and all her relatives and !
Noble Dill and Mobiles rivals had hap
pened to live in Chicago or New York !
or Picking. much would have been diff !
ferent. In New York a person can be !
in love with any other person and {
walk the streets with some assurance. f,
hut in a town of $1,000 inhabitants ESQ
he in love with beautiful girl who !
belongs to large family connec- |
ton" is like living under the surveil- |
ance of photograph. Everything win |
be known as headquarters.
There were two of Julia's relatives |
who would have been profoundly fiat |
tered and surprised had they realized |
how important they had become to |
Noble Dill. These two were the cou- |
sins. Florence Atwater and Herbert |
nephew. Noble Disseminated between |
them On account of her close con-
sanguinity to Julia, he regarded Flor
ence as a holy child. but her impul-
siveness had invested her. in neigh
b 6ornooa opinion Sn With a terror as
strongly preferred her cousin, young |
Herbert. a much milder and less i'm |
aginative character.
X 4 +
THUS, on sunny afternoon, having
been home to lunch, after his |
morning labors, Noble paused in pass |
ing ''the Henry Atwater house"
fyoung Herbert's place of residence) /
and rather timidly began a CONVEX
sation with this glamored nephew. 1t |
happened that during the course of |
the morning Herbert had chosen |
life career for himself: he had decided |
TO become a scientific specialist, an |
entomologist, and he was nnow on |
his knees studying the manners and |
customs of the bug inhabitants of ]
the lawn before the house, and en- |
ploying for this purpose a large mag |
nifying lens, or reading glass;" his !
discovery of which. in the attic, coin |
cidentally with his reading a recent |
Sunday supplement article on bugs, |
had led to his sudden choice Of a vo- |
cation.
Did somebody-ah. have any of !
the family lost anything. Herbert?" |
Noble asked in a gentle voice, speak |
ing across the fence.
Herbert did not look up. nor did |
J. relax the scientific frown upon |
lis brow. No. he said. They al !
Jiia. when she comes over here, or |
:"yrheres else. but l wouldn't waste |
1:T time lookin' for any old earrings i
O. such. I've got more important |
tHihSS 10 10 on my hanQS.
Intentionally he spoke the high |
hth-after his digital researches in |
Int holes" the most important thing |
that could have been done on his |
lands would have taken him to soap !
and running water. But Noble did |
not press his point. though it was |
indeed obvious. Instead, he said |
Has your Aunt Julia lost an earring, |
1Icrbert?' |
Her? Well. she nearly always has |
lost somep'm or other. but that isn't |
nother'n' me any. 1 got better things |
y ithout interrupting his preoccupa- i
lions or relaxing his forehead. |
'Nkcher1 history is little more i'm |
Jortant to the Inhabitants of our uni |
verse than lot o. worthless jew'lry. F,
] guess" he continued He rose, APP
4. lean upon it. II don't guess |;
there's one person in a thousand" |
j., said. that knows what they ought |
TO know about our inseck friends"
No" Mr.. Dill agreed readily. II
guess that's so. I guess you're right |
about that, Herbert. When did your
Aunt Julia lose the earring, Herbert?"
II u know" said Herbert. Now,
you take my own father and mother:
what do they know? Well, mighty
little They may have had to learn
= little teeny bit about insecks when
they were in school. but, whatever it
was, they went and forgot it prob
ally long before they were married.
Well. that's no way. Fr instance.
you take a pinchin' bug: What you
about it's position In the inseck
worldr'
well" said Noble, uneasily
well" He coughed and fastened to
add: But, AS / was saying. II she
lost her earring somewhere in your