The Washington herald., 1922-06-28
Continued from Yesterday.

COuttHhcd from 1eSteFudu.
she's only L." explained Moylan.
But she's as clever, ad has as
much personality and poise and all
that as any woman of the world. I've
been dining there tonight. And a
gorgeous idea came to me. I sug-
gested ii to her. and she's delighted
with il. I'm going to give a little
weekend house party Saturday
after next. Not of my own friends.
but of hers. The crowd as she
calls them. Eight young people.
all in their late teens or early
twenties. It'll be open house. And
Wen all be young together. Not
a stodgy middle-aged house party.
mind you, but chock full OF youth.
TherelI be enormous boxes of
candy in every room. I'll have the
piano tuned and we'll all get
around it and sing the dandy old
kid songs. You know-'Boola-
BOola' and 'Upidee' and The Bull
dog on the Bank and The Little
Old Red Shawl My Mother Wore
and all the rest. Wen have rousIng
cd choruses, l can tell you! And
wen have an old-fashioned straw
ride. too. and"
splendid" she applauded.
And the man was too IMMERSED
in the ways OF mother and child to
recognize in her sweet voice the
tone in which a loving parent
might applaud some wild dream of
her hopeIessly defective youngster.
"And here's the favor l wanted
to ask you" he went on. vastly en-
couraged by her approval. Wont
you come over and chaperon them?
Please do. Mazda. tn be a ire
mendous favor to me. And be-
sides. we'll both be young again. in
their youth. Well all be kids to-
Eether. Wen have a royalty good
time. the whole kid lot of us. Say
you'll come. MAZDA"
Why, yes. Dirck," she made an
swer. steadying catch in her
voice. of course I'll come. I'll
I'll be glad to-"
MAZDA. you're a brickr' he ex-
claimed. laughing with the glad
excitement of a boy. Lord, but
feel twenty years oldf'
For the next ten days the Moylan
homestead was in a state OF tur-
MOL. The big old house was fresh
ened and refurbished. The ancient
piano was tuned. The rare bits of
art and antiquity which Dirck had
taken a true connoisseur's pride in
collecting-all were examined care
fully and placed to best advantage
in the low-ceiled first-fioor rooms.
The tennis courts were rolled
afresh until one might have played
billiards on them. The grounds
were worked over from dawn to
dark.
From the city came boxes and
hampers and parcels. Every good
thing to eat that Dirck's early
memories could supply was COM
Wandered from town. The house
keeper was sent to hire extra SER
wants for the occasion. Music
stores were ransacked for college
sonEbooks and the like. And at
every turn Mazda Layne was help
ing along the great preparations.
Dirck was in an uncontrolled
fever of joyous excitement. He
scarcely recognized himself in this
new frame of mind. And Mazda
knew him not at all in il. But
whereas his Astounding youthful
ness WAS dS SlIbHS Wine VI TAP
ture to his brain. it had an unac-
countably saddening effect on
Maida-
Scarcely a day passed that Dirck.
on some pretext or other. did not
find himself at Thetis' home. The
girls frank worship continued to
amaze and thrill him. 1t went to
his head. And it made him a boy
again.
lie took himself to task for all
this. And to the sanely cautious
half Of his cosmos he made blithe
answer.
ITS true. as YOU say. that she's
10 and I'm 80. But what of that?
There isn't a wrinkle in my face.
] dance better than any of the
young fellows in her crowd. She
says so herself. I'm strong and
active. and with her to keep me
young I ought not to begin grow
ing old for another twenty years.
BY that time she'll be nearly 40.
Old enough to settle down when I
do. II won't be a case of May and
December. It'll be May and-and
August, at worst. She's a wonder
girl. And"
At this point in his meditations
Dirck made a flying trip to New
York and shocked his staid tailor
by a rush order for six suits of
cut and general style affected by
college seniors.
Right proud was Dirck when he