The daily morning oasis., 1920-11-10
V. lie PoRrRAlT AGAIN.

v. TIE PORTRAIT AGAIN.
That week saw infatuated spring,
! abandoning every show of diiIidence
hastenng with footsteps daily more
fleet to fling herself into the arms OF
summer.
Mrs Trowhridge had arranged to
/ Eake over the southampton cottage OF
a friend who Vas going abroad
Priscilla preoccupied with personal in
terests her unhappiness and the work
| that seemed its only antidote, was
careless whittier they went for the
summer, or when, or how, so long as
The change were not permitted to hin
der her painting. and asked only TO be
let alone till she 'finShed her two latest
! canyases.
Twice she begged for postpone
ments which we're Srudgngly conced
cd. and ultimately. badgered beyond
endurance by her aunt's insstence
that she name definite day when she
wQuld be willing 70 g9. aatIY DECLARED
she Wouldn't bulge a foot out Of
town before she had al least com
pleted the portrait OF Ada Moyer.,
Mrs. Trowbrdge heard the accent of
/ finaIity and gave in at discretion-bul
with pHrsed lips,
Fosdick, observing Priscilla in
threefoId capacity, conceded the con
quest of his admiration as a sports
man: the girl was. putting up the gam
est fight conceivable, against crushing
odds,
The physician in him saw with sat
isfaction the seemingly successful
working out of his prescribed regime.
Even the sedative which, by his order
Priscilla took every night on going to
bed, was doing its work without any
apparent i'll effect: TO the contrary.
indeed, since her dreams no longer
distressed the girl. STILL it would be
over-sanguine to consider the case
already closed with a cure
And the lover remained in suspense.
hoping against hope with an uneasy
heart
ADlIeWS IuiHtu up uO d'6 vi i$C-
onora after her departure from the
Wapole in company with Mario. Ii
those two had married, they had man
aged the business with the utmost
circumspection and secrecy.
He reported no progress in his
search for traces of Mother O'More"
assuming that such a person had
ever existed. I s4.s ~
There came at length day of re-
laxing heat, when everything went
wrong.
Ada Meyer showed up in the morn
ing only to announce that, much as
she adored her portrait, she hadn't
the slightest intention of going on
with the sittings or, for that matter,
of stopping on in town another day
in such weather. If Priscilla wanted
TO finish the portrait she Weuld have
to bring it down to the Meyer country
home and work on ii there. This be-
: ing manifestly unreasOnabe-Ada
knew quite we'll it would he impossi-
BILE to duplicate the lighting of the
studio-Priscilla felt constrained to
( point our candidly how selfish Ada
was. And they bickered until they
parted. each huffed to the verge of
: tears, 4it- ~ |
I Priscilla eonsoiea herself, she had
shopping to do, -
/ The shops were crowded, the sales
people irritable and irritating. She
found nothing that suited her. Be
tween three and four she gave up
/ trying and thoroughly out of humor,
started to walk home. up the avenue.
/ In front of the Hardness gallery a
/ little knot of people had collected,
creating an eddy in the tides of foot
traffic Priscilla hesitated, then with
| quickening pulses added herself to the
4 group before the show window. work
ing her way into it's heart, where she
obtained an unObstructed view Of her
work
For it was true what she had sur
missed: Hardness had already put the
portrait of LeonOra on exhibition.
And already il was attracting con-
spicuOus amount of attention.
Enchanted. Priscilla stood before
her painting with eyes that shOne
and cheeks agIow, an exquisite emo
ton yelling in her BOSOM.
Near ny a man spoke in the Ian
guage Of the studios, praisng the por-
trait to companion. And Priscilla
heard and was exalted. .' ''.
1 When she dared trust herself to DO
So she looked around cautiously, seek
ing to identify that kindly critic whose
appreciation was so much the more
acceptable because he spoke with the
tongue of understanding. 81
A small chuckle was struggling in
her throat. She could not help won
dering what the man would think
could ne know how dangerously near
he was to being publicly kissed by q