The Washington herald., 1920-10-19

supporting its weight with the aid
OF the back of a chair. Then he
partook OF his meal deliberately.
turning the leaves from time to
time and glsncing half idly at the
contents.
Presently he was struck by some
thing familiar to him in a picture
a half-psge, badly printed reproduc-
tlon OF photograph of a vessel.
Languidly interested, he leaned for
n nearer scrutiny and a view Of the
/ horid headlines of the column next
TO the picture.
Yes; he was not mistaken. The
engraving was of the s00-ton yacht
ldalia, belonging TO that prince of
good fellows, Midas OF the money
market, and society's pink OF per-
fection, J. Ward Tolliver"
, Slowly slipping his black coffee
Gcddie read The column OF print.
4 Following a listed statement of Mr..
| Toll!yers real estate and bonds
came a description of the yachts
| furnishings. ana then the grain OF
| news no bigger than a mustard seed.
Mr.. TClliver, with a party of IA
vored guests, would sail the next
day on a six-weeks' cruise along
| the Central American and South
American coasts and among the Ba-
hama Islands. Among the guests
were Mrs. Cumberland Payne and
| Miss Ida Payne, OF Norfolk.
! The writer. with the fatuous pre-
sumption that was demanded OF him
by his readers, had concocted a
romance suited to their palates. He
4 brscketed the names of Miss Payne
and Mr.. Tolliver until he had we'll
nigh read the marriage ceremony
over them. He played coyIy and
insinuatingly upon the strings Of
| "on dit" and Madame RUmor" and
a little bird" and no one woul ID
4 be surprised" and ended with con-
/ grstulstions.
Geddie having finished his break
fast took his papers to the edge OF
! the gallery, and sat there in hit
faVortte steamer chair with his feet
on the bamboo railing. He lighted
cigar, and looked out upon the
| sea He felt a glow Of satisfaction
at finding lie was SO little dis.
turbed by what he had read. He
J told himself that ne had conquered
| the distress that had sent him. Z
! voluntary exile. TO this far land OF
: NV lONASs nc toulO never 1CrEei
| Ida, Of course; but there was nc
! longer any pain in thinking about
her. When they had had that mis-
understanding and quarrel he had
impUlsively sought this consulship
with the desire to retsIiate upon
her by detaChing himself from her
: world and presence.
! He had succeeded thoroughly in
| that. During the twelve months OF
| his life in Coralio no word had
passed between the m. though he had
sometimes heard OF her through the
| dilstory correspondence with the
| few friends 10 whom he still wrote
sun he could not repress a little
thrill Of satisfaction at knowing
that she had not yet married Tolli-
! ver or any one else. But evidently
Tolliver had not yet abandoned
hope.
Well il made no difference to him
now. He had eaten Of the lotus lie
! was happy and content in this land
| of perpetual afternoon. Those old
days OF life in the States seemed like
an irritating dream. He hoped Ids
/ would be as happy as he was The
| climate as balmy as that OF distsn,
Avalon: the fetterless. idyllic round
o. enchanted days; the life among
this indolC1t.- romantic people - &
life full OF music. flowers. and low
laughter; the influence OF the immi.
nent sea and mountains. and tn,
many shapes Of love and magic and
beauty that bloomed in the white
tTopiC nights-with all he wal
I more than content. Also. there va.
Paula Brannigsn.
| CTO be costinuedD
tCoPyuEn 1890. by Wheeler Syndicatel