The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-07-23
WIN STAYS AWHILE.
Chapter IL.


I had not meant to call After all,
it was 10 o'clock. late enough by the
standards of time and conduct in the
little village. Butt could not ex-
plain the impulse. There he was, his
tall figure a silhouette against the
light of Parker's window. There was
something SO wistful in his attitude
Il do not, or did not, quite know
what it was.
He turned instantly at the sound
of my voice and came to the chairs
under the trees.
Il supposed you were safely in bed"
he remarked. Doesn't the dragon
Parker carry you off as soon as the
last guest leaves-and sometimes be-
fore? She has looked daggers at me
when / have stayed too late"
Parker has a detective story, a
regular melodrama; she will read all
night, or until she has finished" /
answered, laughing little. "Parker's
one weakness is melodrama- She
revels in blood and gore"
Il know. Why do you suppose that
gentle amiable soul so dotes upon
descriptions of her fellow beings
chopped into bits, or beautiful ladies
falling off cliffs?
that's why. She has never had
an adventure herself She has never
known anything more thrilling than
to see Tad Barker pulled out of the
river last summer And then they
found the water was so shallow he
was standing up, so he could not have
drowned. We all want to be the
things we are not, or to have the
thing we never can possess, so we
take out our desire by reading about
it."
IT am sure Parker, as a nurse. would
not revel in seeing bodies chopped
into small bits"
mo, and she would not want to be
thrown over a cliff by an enraged
william or tied to the railroad tracks
with the express due in 10 minutes,
because she would not reveal the Sc
cret of her fathers papers! She
merely never has had thrill in her
life and she wants one. Reading
thrills is less intense than living them,
80 she has to make up for it by
reading. :"
Very thrifty thrills!" Winthrop fin
ished for me, and we laughed,
Then the talk dropped. 1t was cool
and dark and wonderful under the
trees and the perfume from the flow
ers and the clear freshness of the air
from the hills made d marvellous
combination.
Winthrop leaned back in an arm
chair and lit a cigarette. For an IN
slant in the flash of the match flame,
his face was illuminated against the
dark background of the night he
was not handsome; his features were
too irregular for that. But his nam
was thick and his eyes were Wloe
and intelligent, his mouth was flrm
he carried himself well Properly
dressed. Win could pass anywhere
After a time he spoke.
How wise you are after all, Con
stance. You pretend to be so lgnor
ant. You go about making eVeryone
teach you something. and all the Time
you know great deal more aDou'
life and characters than we 90 lou
have had a much broader experience.
Il have met lot OF odd people
and a lot of different kinds of people
and I have travelled little, l salu
But l am badly educated and oon
know anything useful at all.
You think sewing and cooking AM
garden WOrk are uSclui. tHAhA NS'
are the least essential things to kno"
You let my own darling mother pat
ronize you by teaching you plscui
making. You let your own mouse
keeper lord it over you because yot
can't sew. You pretend to the glrE
around here that you don't know any
thing. They really are beginning u
think that you are dear httle i
noramus. Yet you can talk french
and they can't even master Engllsn
Listen to the slang they use! fo'
can"
win. don't list all my virtues ant
vices" | laughed and pulled my III
coat closer. II will list them for you
i Constance Bennett, being IN IN
twentieth year of my age ana IN
right mind, do hereby declare that
can play a good game of golf, a poo
one of tennis, that can drive hors
and a car, ride at horseshows, wea
foolishly expensive dresses. spen
money as fast as | have 1t given |
me. dance well, chatter polite notf
ings to young men who chatter poht
nothings to me
We began to laugh at my nonsense
Win took it up again.
You can talk French and make
try at some other languages as vel
and sing in Italian. You play Tn
piana and you know lot about musl
good music such as we hear only 0