Mexico weekly ledger., 1921-12-29

1t would be fun" to have Miss Field
pour. Nina leaped obedlently up the
steps, with a Topping Of thick braids
and the scrape Of sturdy shoes, and
the sweet summer world was In silence
again.
Isabelle sat on, stroking the hound.
her soul filed with perplexity. An
thongs eloquent back gave her sudden
understanding of his fury. "Ah, please.
Tony" she pleaded, "what car l dor"
Nothing" he answered, suddenly
plant. Nothing, of course" And
he turned to her a boyish face stern
with pain. "0f course you can do
nothing, Cherie. I'm not such a-such
a fool his voice broke angrily-
that / can't see thatl Come on. we'll
go up and have tea-with the Bel
lamys. And I'M be going tonight.
I'll say good-by to you now-and per-
haps you'll be good enough to make
my good-bys to the others"
The youthfulness Of It did not. rob
1t Of real dignity, Isabelle. wretched.
ly mounting the steps beside him. felt
her heart contract with real pain. He
would 60 await would all be over
and forgotten In q few weeks-and
yet, how she ionged to comfort him,
to make him happy againi
She looked obliquely at his set face,
and what she saw there made her
feel ashamed. e.
On the. bright level Of the upper ter
race tea was merrily In progress. Miss
Field had duly come down to preside.
and all was well. Isabelle. as she
dropped into Q chair, gave q sigh Of re-
lief; everyone was amused and abb
sorbed and happy. Everyone. that Ia,
except the magnificent and sharp-eyed
old lady who sat. regally throned,
near her, and favored her Immediately
with q dissatisfied look. Old Madame
Carter had her own good reasons for
being angry, and she spared any
n available from participation in her
mood.
She was remarkably handsome, even
at se~venty-1ve; with a crown of pulled
white hair, gold-rimmed eyeglasses,
and an erect and finely preserved fig
ure. Her voice was theatrically deep
and clear, and her manner vigorous
and impressive.
swell, my dear, your friends were
naturally wondering what important
matter kept their hostess away from
her guests" she began. Isabelle
shrugged and smiled carelessly, with
an Indifferent glance at the group.
Harriet is managing very nicely"
she said, contentedly, as Tony, with a
somber face and averted eyes, brought
her her tea.
"S0 Ward seems to think" observed
Wards grandmother with acidity. Isa-
belle laughed ~indifferently. Her son.
slender ahd tall, and with something
Of her own eagerness and FIRE In his
sunburned young face. was beside Miss
Field, who talked to him In q quiet
aside while she busied herself with
cups and spoons.
Perfectly safe there!" Isabelle
said. ~
II should hope so !" old Madame Car.
ter remarked pOintedly.. IA least II
there's any Of our blood In his veins
but, Of course, he's all Slocum. They
used to say Of my Aunt Georgina that
she never married because the only
man she ever loved was beneath her
socially"
Isabelle knew all about Aunt Georg-
ina, and she looked YEARLY away. ''The
{ Beilamys are coming In for awhile"
she observed. with deliberate irrelev-
ance, land / hope they'll bring their
Swami-or whatever he is, with them.
He must be a queer creature"
He's not a Swami, he's an artist
Tony said, drawn into a casual cOnver-
sation much against his will. 'Blon-
din-Pve met him. / can't bear him,
he makes me sick !"
He relapsed into gloomy silence, and
Isabelle put into her laugh something
affectionate and soothing.
HE evidently lives by his Wits" she
suggested, (which is something you
have never had to dol"
Tony scowled again. It was part
of his charm for her that he was the
spoiled darling Of fortune. Handsome
and young, and with no family ties to
restrain him, he had recently come
into his own enormous fortune. His
-o. ,ri4h sawxyavfo h1u rnndv Chonl
book, his easy French, and his unruf'
fed self-coniidence in any imaginable
contingency, coupled with his youth
had strong attraction for a woman
conscious Of the financial restrictions
Of her own early years and the limita.
tons Of her public-school education.
why don't you go to the club ant
dress now, and come back and dine
with us?" she said, in an undertone.
do you want meT' he asked
sulkily.
'Tm asking your I
For answer he stood up, and smiled
wistfully down upon her, with q hest
fancy she knew well how to interpre
in his, eyes. He had been longing 81
thirstily for just that permission, ant
she had been yearning SO to give 1t
Happiness came back into both theil
hearts as he turned to go, and sh,
gave him just. a quick touch Of a warn
little hand In farewell.
Other guests had come in. and Mis-,
Field was extremely busy, and Ward
helping her officially, vas busy, too
'Funs to have you down here r he said
! In her ear.
Harriet Field had an aside with
j maid regarding hot water. Then. sh,
gave Ward an indulgent. an oider-sis