The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-12-22

Linda herself, tall, broadly built,
pleasant-faced woman with none of
Harriet's own unusual beauty, but
with family resemblance to her
younger sister nevertheless.
"Well. you sweet good childv" she
said warmly. "Fred-heres Harriet
Well, my dear, isn't 1t fortunate that
we We're late We'd hardly COM
menced!"
The remaining members of the fam
lily now streamed forth: Fred Daven-
port, thin. rather gray man of fifty,
with an intelligent face, worried
forehead, and kindly eyes; Julia, a
blonde beauty of twelve; Nanny. a
fat. sweet boy of five, with bib on;
and Pip, serious ten-year-old, with
black hair and faded blue overalls.
Fred was newspaper man, one of
the submerged many, underpaid. over
worked, unheard, yet vaguely gratified
through all the long years by the feel
ing that his groove was not quite the
groove of the Office, the teller's desk,
or the travelling salesman's "beat."
Here in the little suburban town his
opinions gained some little weight
from the fact that he had been ten
years with New York evening paper.
Mrs. Davenport was interested in ev-
erything her sister had to say; knew
the Carriers, and even some Of their
closest friends, by name, and asked
all sorts Of Questions about them.
Later in the evening Fred was at
the piano. 1t was poor piano, and
he was poor player who smoked his
old pipe while he painstakingly
fingered Mendelssohn's "Songs With
out Words" or the score Of 1.-THE
Gelsha." But Linda loved him.
"He will putter away there, per-
fectly content, for an hour" she told
Harriet. "And at ten you'll see him
starting to get Josephine. They're
great chums-she thinks there's no
one in the world like Daddyl"
Harriet's thoughts had wandered.
"How's David?"
Lovely. He always comes to us
for Sunday dinner" Linda said "And
he always asks for youi" she added,
with some significance. David Daven-
port, Fred's somewhat heavy and plod-
ding brother, a successful Brooklyn
dentist, had never made any secret
of his feeling for the beautiful Har-
riet.
II like David" Harriet said, in an
swer to some faint indication of re-
proach in her sisters tone. But i'm
mediately afterward she added, in a
lower voice: Ward Carter has had
Royal Blondin at the house this
week !"
Linda's rocker stopped as If by
shock. There was an electric silence,
When she spoke again it was with
awe and incredulity and something
like terror in her tone.
Royal Blondinl He's in England -
"He was" Harriet said. dryly. Hes
been in New York for two years now"
Linda shuddered.
~ know-I rememberl" she said in
whisper. And she added fervently,
81 hoped he was dead"
$50 did II" Harriet said, simply.
Our meeting was entirely accidental.
He had no idea of finding me; was
as surprised as 1 was" She stopped
lhuSibS VII SOLnc
able thought. "You wouldn't know
him, Linda. He is a perfect freak.
New thought, and poetry. and the oc-
cult, and Tagore and the Russian
novelists,- and the Russian music; he
lectures about them and he has been
extremely successful! He wears pom
gee coats and red ties, and has his
hair long, and-well, you never saw
women act SO about anything or any
bodyl He's having dinner with the
Carriers tonight" To this Linda could
only calculate an amazed:
"Royal Blondinw And as Harriet
merely nodded, in the gloom, she add
ed, vigorously, "Why, he hadn't a
penny! He was always an idiot-he
didn't have enough to eat ten years
agol"
"Well, he has enough to eat now!
Ward told me that he gets three hun
dred dollars for his drawing-room
talks-his interpretive musings he
called them"
"Well. that Mrs. Davenport was
still dazed with astonishment and in
dignation. THAT really" she be-
gan, and stopped, shaking her head.