The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-01-01

He had the oldest sense of embar-
rassment before her clear eyes
"That is. the natives gave it one
and now every one knows it by
that name-in their language, of
course. They call it the Great
House of the Little Shoes"
"But why?"
ga fancy of the owners. On
each side az the entrance stands a
stone pillar, and carved on each
one is a small shoe"
"a lady's?" :
GA child's."
The girl asked nothing more.
Indeed, the pause lasted beyond
the limits of conventionality, until
the man grew restless and won
dered. Was her curiosity busy
with him? Had she guessed his
identity with the builder of the
house?
Noel stirred angrily in his seat.
Was she secretly divining his sem
timentality, and hooking at it,
That was impossible. Who could
guess the story Of the magic shoes?
Yet, how still she was! How
There came the roll of a drum,
and a mans voice spoke in the
loud tones of announcement. It
was the hour of the contest for
that first prize which only David
Noel knew was already his own.
The girls eyes glinted like sun
touched jewels. She looked up
eagerly to Noel, ready as a butter
fly poised for flight.
Before that glance his dark
mood fled away. AT once she was
opposite him, her soft body yield
ed itself to his touch.
He had not needed the bride to
obtain the doll for her. Before
they had circled the floor once,
Noel knew that. Never had he
held a partner like this one in any
dance. She drifted with him;
obedient to his barest motion, yet
scarcely more in his clasp than an
armful Of painted air.
Where had he heard a vague
legend Of a beautiful woman crea-
ture called Lilith, who was moth
ing but a phantasm of "painted
air." exquisite and unreal as a
rainbow? Surely that was an in
congruous memory to haunt one
IN a prosalc super room!
The dance was a new and rather
difficult waltz. Presently little
bursts and ripples of applause
broke out from different groups Of
spectators, who turned from the
business of supping or drinking to
watch this couple pass. The APP
plause grew, pursuing the two
around the room like a following
wave of sound.
Ordinarily, the very distin-
gulshed Dom David would have
been very distinctly annoyed at
his position Of conspicuous friv-
oily. Tonight he was truly be-
witched. Indeed, he had been so
ever since that morning when the
dancing girl had spoken across his
window.
She had taken off her gloves at
the table, so her small hand Law
palm to palm with his. From that
contact strange. currents seemed
to flow between them, until the
man conid have faneiee: their very
thoughts common property. 4
slow, profound excitement began
to beat through Noel like a pulse.
This girl-what if she were a
compromise offered by chance?
Since her mere likeness to Con
stance Bruce could stir him so,
what if he yielded to that old
weakness which it seemed he could
not shake off? Better, perhaps,
to satisfy his eyes with the substi.
tute, rather than take home some
random princess who was a strang-
er to both his gaze and heart.
All his life he had laborcd. What
if henceforth he laid down ambi-
ton and drifted without purpose
as his languorous waltz music
eddied and swung in lazy meas
uresi
The music stopped. B~ewildered,
David Noel jerked his mind out Of
fancy into fact, and led the girl
back to their table. The clappinp
hands, the curious stares, the
glances admiring or jealous, were
no more to him than a background
for the central figure of his com
panion.
The girl was looking at him
across the table, her face vivid,
even dazzling, in it's bright tri'
umph and delight. Her lips. scar.
let now, were parted by her flut.
tering breath. Her curls eyi-
denced their genuineness ~
crisping into still closer tendrils of