Americus times-recorder., 1920-06-07

tiOn as If he mad pract.ced the part.
In five minutes he was as ready to
flatter me as ne had been to fiatter
Ann.
! reined Baintree to MS slowest
step. l proposed to have just one good
talk with Mr.. Jacob Smart, son of an
Arkansas sausage maker, and to hand
him few truths, even if | couldn't
have the satisfaction of addressing
him by his own name.
| must take care not to frighten
him-daddy had requested that. So
smiled silly, despicable, actress kind
of grimace. 1t pleased the man, never
theless. 1t pleased him also to ignore
the late unpleasantness in AIMS
house.
Mr. Jacob Smart plunged at once
into his theory of character and
color" He knew exactly what shades
would harmonic with my laura"
what colors would lead me along paths
of perpetual happiness and peace.
Did | guess, he asked, of what spir-
itual delicacy were the tints required
to make the correct background for
my soul?
For some time the bridle-path had
run parallel with the boulevard, a
lovely secluded road, but hilly and
not much used by autoists.
At one of the most secluded spots
Jacob Smart asked
What is the color of your eyes
Mrs. Lorimer?"
Seeking the reply to his question,
he leaned toward me.
Involuntarily, without thought,
being rather startled at the mans
rudeness, but with my accustomed
fearlessness and frankness / looked
squarely, defiantly straight into his
face.
Then the abrupt snort of an auto
horn startled US. Our horses SHE'D
apart. Baintree wheeled and reared
but even as | brought him down
caught glimpse of my husband in
his new car, so close that I could have
touched him with my crop.
Apparently he had been testing the
car on the hills and seeing me, he
had come to a stop.
| don't know which of us was the
paler. Neither of US could speak. FL
nally Bob raised his hat gravely and
then sent his car forward in a sudden
reckless leap.
choked hard as | watched Bob's
car fly along the narrow hill road at
a dangerous speed. Evidently nv hus-
band had seen that offensive design
er of character color schemes making
a closeup" study of my eyes! Evil
IDENTIFY Bob had without under
standing. Probably he had been glid-
ing down the long hill behind us con
gravity" and over the cliff he had a
grand view of me and my companion
IN the valley, had had plenty of time
to behold us lingering in romantic
movie fashion among the pink petals
and sweet odors of the wild crab
treesl Undoubtedly he had miscon.
strued the situation!
Bob" | cried impetuously, des.
perately; then, as the roadster dis
appeared around the curve of the hill
l realized how futile my exclamation
was. | turned from Ives without a
word, without a sign, and headed
Baintree homeward.
For few minutes | heard the
hoofs of the other horse pounding
behind me, but | knew how Baintree
loves to travel when he feels that he
has his riders permission. He. pulled
away from my pursuer in his best
racing style. Presently I turned into
the main-traveled boulevard where, in
the midst of the crowd | felt quite
alone-free from Ives-free to oc-
cupy myself with wretched unavoid-
able review of the situation.
My husband had stopped his car
just in time to see Ives lean close to
me, but Bob had been too far away to
discern the fearlessness, the defiance
the harshness in my own ewes.
My glance was barrier set up be-
fore the flattering intonations and
the lnsinuating reflections, the con-
densed sentiment of Mr.. Jacob Smart.
had meant to reprove the man with
my frankness, to humiliate him with
my coldness, to teach him, without
word, that one well-bred young wo-
rlan considered him an insufferable
cad.
Bob should have expected me to do
ust that thing. Ny husband pretended
TO know me and to value me for the
real woman in me, and therefore he
should have known that l was not
flirting. He should have realized that
was the unwilling victim of an i'm
pertinence.
Had he caught highwayman steal
ing my purse he would have rushed
to my rescue, but when he caught a
cad stealing an intimate glance, my
legal protector had rushed away leav-
ing me to my fate.
He was proceeding in accordance
with a certain new and popular cult,