Evening star., 1922-04-16

and was introduced to her father. a
redfaced, thick-set person with a
black Assyrian beard and severely
melancholy exterior. Obadiah learn
ed that he did fiourishing livery
business. and when trade was light
dabbled bit in funerals. Assisted
by the influence of the wax flowers
encased in glass which decorated the
front parlor, he succeeded in i'm
pressing his guest with the serious
ness of existence and the truth of
the axiom that in the midst of life
we are in death. Moreover, he made
it plain that he distrusted obadiah.
Young men from the city were to be
regarded with suspicion. He inti-
mated darkly that he knew the
world and the ways thereof. Obadiah
assured him stammeringly that his
intentions were honorable, while
CarIotta blushed and cast down her
eyes. Then Eisenmuller sighed. ex-
tended a huge. hairy. blue-nailed
hand, and. muttering something about
business, left them together.
Somehow it was only moment be-
fore Obadiah found himself holding
Carlottas short-f fingered hand. with
Then he drew her-resisting. of
course-to where he sat and put his
long arm around her waist.
"Oh, Mr.. Terwilliger" she pouted.
"I don't think you ought to act so!
Remember, I haven't got any mother.
Her words seemed charged with
superhuman pathos to him. He want
ed to tell her that he would be
mother to her, but he thought II
would sound rather odd.
II know. darling! Simply trust
me-"
Suddenly she began to weep. He
was very much distressed. Should
he offer her his handkerchief? 1t
was a point on which he seemed to
be unprepared. He squeezed her
tighter.
"Don't you love me? she sobbed
inconsequentially.
"I-of course-I do.' he asserted. He
really thought he did.
ooh! OH" she choked, burying her
face in his shoulder. ''Oh, Mr.. Ter
will"
"CalI me Obadiah" he ordered her
ruthlessIy.
"o-o-o-bad-ia -iah" she murmured
Obadiah felt proud.
IT was such a wonderful thing to
sit there in that stuffy, hot. little
room across from the wax flowers
with his arm around Carlotta and
smell the sweet scent of her hair and
feel her heart throbbing against his
waistcoat that he almost forgot to
kiss her Perhaps he would have
neglected to do so had she not gradu-
ally stopped sobbing and raised her
lips to his He wondered at his own
ease, his sure, firm attack in this new
field of activity. He thought, poor
Obadiah, that he was doing it all. and
he rather fancied his style. He even
experienced momentary regret that
he had waited so long before adven-
turing into the realm OF love. If he
had such winning way with Car
lotta-It was the duck suddenly real
izing that he was a swan. 1t came
upon him with d. sort OF delicious
pain that, after all, she was not con-
descending to him-that he was really
a rather distinguished, rather desfr-
able person. He permitted himself
to look down at her-not critically
hut with a clear r-sightGdfless born OF
the new confidence which her own
,, isld;ng had inspired. By the Lord
Harry, she was lovely! Not exactly
classy, perhaps, but there was no
denying her beauty.
And then, as he studied the upturn-
ed face he caught for an inf1nitesimal
norton of a second mere sugges-
tion for her father in it-and his
heart almost stopped. Was he doing
anything foolish? Was he. Obadiah
Terwilliger. the scion of a cultured
house, about to mingle his blue blood
with a coarse strain? Perhaps she
saw something in his expression of
what was fitting across his mind;
perhaps the woman's instinct was
conscious of a lowering of the emo
tional temperature. In another in
slant she had drawn down his face
to hers and her lips had closed upon
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