Evening star., 1920-11-28
A MIXED TF1REESOME
n oRTIMER STURGIS. when I
~ first knew him. was a care
W free man Of thirty-eight, of

from time TO time by 1uQtCIoUS Ne"
lures on the e-stock exchange. Although
he never played golf. his had not been
altogether an i'll spent life. He swung
a rcreditable racquet at tennis. was
always ready to contribute a baritone
solo to charity concerts and gave free
" to the poor. He was what you
might call a golden-mean man. good
hearted rather than magnetic, with
no heroic virtues. For hobby he
had taken up the collecting OF porce-
lain vases, and he was engaged 10
Betty Weston, a charming girl OF
twenty-five. lifelong friend OF mine
I liked Mortimer. Everybody liked
him. EBut. at the same time. I was
little surprised that girl ike Setty
should have become engaged to him.
As said before. he was not mag
netic; and magnetism, thought, was
the chief quality she would have De
manded in a man. Betty was one
of those ardent, vivid girls with an
intense capacity for hero-worsh1p.
and L would have supposed tnat
something more in the nature OF
piumed knight or "a. a eorsaM Sas id..1 81 Rnt ne
of course, il there is branch OF
modern industry where the demand
Is greater than the supply, 1t is the
manufacture Of knights and corsars.
and nowadays girl. however namlns
her aspirations, has to take the pest
she can get. I mustsadmit that Betty
seemed perfectly content with Mor
timer. Love is a word capable or
many shades of meaning. Prooaoiy
Betty did not feel all her senses swim
in a divine ecstasy almost too Keen
to be endured when Mortimer bent
over her in the twilight and mur
INJURED in her ear that Consonoateo
Peanuts had gone up nfteen po,nes
that day and he had sold at a nunoreo
and eleven and cleaned up big; but.
revartheiesa in a placid way. she was
extremely fond of him. and there
seemed no reason why the marriage
should not be success HIS cniet
failing1the fact that he was not
have done: for Betty. though she
played herself. was not bigoted. and
freafet1 his indifference to the game
with an affectionate pity.
Such. then, was the state OF anairs
vhcn Eddie Denton arrived and the
trouble began.
evening after a tea party at which
u.e had been fellow-guests. when,
walking down the road, we happehec
70 meet Mortimer. He broke into
run when he saw US. ana eanopso
hand. He was plainly excited. thing
which was unusual In this well-oai- !
anced man. His broad. good-humor-
ed face was working violently.
Good news!" he cried. Good news!
Dear old ,Eddie's back!
ooh. how nice for you. dear" sale |
Betty. Eddie Denton is Mortimers
best friend" she explained to me: ne
has told me so much about him.
have been looking forward to ms
coming ssn,a Z, htm,s eSn,s. A0r''e 'n'nkS 'ne
- ~
sco will you. when you know him.
- cried Mortimer. Dear old Ed
die. He's wonder! The best fell
low ON earth. We were at school and
college together. There's nobody like
Eddie! He elanded yesterday. Just !
home from Central Africa. He's an
exnloref. you know" he said to me
.'Spends all his time in places where
IT'S death for white man to CO..
"An explorer" heard Betty breathe |!
pressed, fear. as she was. Explorers
as a matter of fact. leave me trint
cold. 1t always seemed to. me that |
the difiicu1ties Of their life are greatly |
exaEgerated-general by themselves
In = large country nke area AT. T. @ LOT
almost impossible for man not to |
get somewhere IL he goes on long
enough. Give me the fellow who car
plunge into the bowels OF the eartf |
At Grand Central and hnd the right |
subway train with nothing but a mis- !
leading green hne to guide him. How
ever, we are not all constituted alike !
I'm this world and 1t was apparent |
from the hush on. her, cheeks and |
the fight in her eyes that Betty ad-
Il wired to him at once" went or /
Nortimer, "and insisted. on his COM /
Ing. down here. It's two. years since
I saw him. You don't know, how J
have looked forward. dear. to YOU |
and Eddie meeting. He is just your |
sort I know how romantic you are
and keen on adventure and all that /
Well. you should hear Eddie tell the |
story Of how he brought down the |
bull bongo with his last cartridge i
ers had fed into the fdongo or UNDER |
growth.
81 should love to-" whispered Betty |
her eyes glowing. I suppose to an |
impressionahle girl these things real |
y are Of absorbing interest For my
than ponEos. while dongos frankly !
bore ME- when do you expect him?" |
He Will get my wire tonight. I'm
hoping we shall see the dear old fel-
low tomorrow afternoon some time. |
How surprised old Eddie will be to |,
hear that I'm engaged. He's such q !
eondrmed bachelor himself. He told |
me once that he considered the wis |
est thing ever said by human tongue !
was the Swahili proverb-'whoso |
faketh woman into his kraal de- |
positeth himself straiehtway IN the
wongo. Woneo. he tells me. is a sort
of broth composed OF herbs and meat |
bones. corresponding to our gumbo ]
You must get Eddie to give it you fr
the original Swahili II sounds ever
better" y
saw the girls eyes flash. and fhere
came into her face that peculiar set
expression which married men know
y passed in an instant, but not be-
Tore II had given me material for
Thought. which lasted all the way tc
OF the night. 1 was fond of Morti-
mer Sturgis. and I could see trouble
ahead for. him as plainly as though
mad been a palmist reading his
nand az $40 visit There are other
p,oseros fully as wise. as the one
The Swahilf. and one OF the wisest ir
mat quaint old East London saving
handed down from one generation
OF costermongers to another and
Mnlspefed at midnight in the wig
vans OF the whelk- sellers: "Neyer
introduce your donah to a pal" In
nose SIX words is contained the wis
dom of the ages.
- could read the future so plainly
what but one thing could happer
S,er mortimer had Influenced Betty.
lma aeination with his stories of his
rrend's .Comantic career nd added the
hnsshinS touch by advertising him az
2 woman-hater? He might lust a.
Wen nave asked for his ring back at
once bly, heart bled for Mortimer.
~ happened TO call at his house O,
.ae second evening Of the explorers
SfSft. ana alreadv Tho r,fvch;ns 80