The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-04-06

& should W. much lfEs Il ~ NIna5s
sake. ant you init yoursslkl r.
ne tone denied the words Harriet
knew what she was expected "a ID.
I'm b delighted to helpl ~ ~ said,
nfelessly. IA lot of women ana chill
dren.' she reflected, s.and nobody
drinking ten anyway. this weather Fl
Nina was duly dressed Tor the ten
party the next day, and went to show
herself 10 her mother while Harriet
dressed. The young girl looked her
best In hlmy white with Its severely
plain ruf1es, and with d wide white
hat on her thick, smoothly dressed
hair. Miss Field, too, although she
was very pale today, looked simply
gorgeous" All Isabelle expressed tt,
when she saw them Off Ii the car,
although Harriet's gown was not new,
and the little lowered hat she had
crushed down upon her splendid hair,
had been Isabelle's own a season ago
Harriet was Id no holiday mood she
felt herself Ia a false position; this
Was to be n Of the times when she
paid high for all the beauty and lux
ury OF her life. u I
"Here we areI' Nina gave q star
tied glance at the lawns and gardens
Of the Jay mansion already dotted
with awnings and chairs, and sprinkled
with the bright gowns Of the first
arrivals. They were early, and their
hostess, Q handsome, heavily built
woman with corsets like armorplate
under her exquisite gown, and q
blonde bang covering her forehead,
came forward with her daughter to
meet them. Francesca was as slight
as q willow, with d demurely dropped
little head and d honeyed little self
possessed manner.
Every decent of you, Miss Fieldr"
breathed Mrs. Jay, in a voice like that
OF 3 horn. "You girls run along now
people will be comm at any minute.
I'm going to take Miss Field to the
table. Three hundred people comin',"'
she confided as Harriet followed her
across the lawn, and to the rather
quiet corner Of the awninged porch
where the tea table stood. "TIl leave
you here, and you just ask for anything
you need" e. l'@
The matron melted away; Harriet
looked after her bread, ~retreating
back indifferently. She would have
loaned Harriet any amount Of money,
the girl reflected, smoldering, she
would have shown her genuine friend
ship and generosity in a crisis. But
she would not introduce people to
Harriet this afternoon, and In a day
or two she would send Harriet . bit
Of lace, or q dainty waist, as q delicate
reminder that the courtesy had been
q business one, after all. ID.
Presently the sun came out for Far
riet In the arrival Of q tall, swiftly
moving, dark-eyed woman some ten
years Older, than she was herself
Mary Putnam, one of the real friends
the girl had gained In the last four
years. Young Mrs. Putnam, Harriet
used to think, with a little natural
jealousy under her admiration, had
everything. She was not pretty, but
hers was q distinguished appearance
and a lovely face; she had the self
possessed manne Of q woman whose
whole life has been given to the social
arts; she had a clever, kindly, silent
husband who adored her; her home,
her garden, her clubs and her chart
ties, and finally she had her nursery,
where Billy and Betty were rioting
through an ideal childhood.
ssHarriet-you dear childI"s said the
rich and pleased voice, as Mary's fine
hand crossed the tea table for q wei
coming touch. But how nice to find
you here! I've just been trying to
think how long it Is since I've seen
you" =.
"Not since the day you lunched with
Mrs. Carter, and that was almost two
weeks ago l"'zs !
Mrs. Putnam settled herself in the
neighboring chair. zs
"I'm chaperoning little Lettuce Gra-
ham for a week." she began, In the
delightful voice upon which Harriet
had modelled her own. "But Lettuce
Is trying her little arts upon Ward
Carter. Dear boy, thatI" Il
ward? He is. a dear" Harriet
said, innocently. .
mo blushingT Mary Putnam asked,
with a smiling look. The color came
into Harriet's lovely face, and the
smoky blue eyes widened innocently.
"Blushing-for Wardf" she asked.
Mrs. Putnam stirred her tea thought
fully. ~ &.
II didn't know" she said. you're
young, and you know him well, and
you're-well, you have appearance, 40
L werel Ward has fine stuf In him,
and also. I think, he 10 beginning to
care. It would be an engagement that
would please the Carriers, / imagine"
The word engagement brought .
hlmy vision before Harriet's eyes. born
Of the fragrance and sunshine Of the
summer. She saw a ring, laughter
end congratulations, dinner parties
md ieceptions sdopping ii slittering
Fifth avenue. ss@
"A boy In Wards position may do
much worse than marry q lovely and
sensible woman" Mrs. Putnam said.
We'll, It just occurred to me. r. -
your affair, Of course. But looking
back b sees how much Just the
well, the lack Of q tiny push has
meant In ones life II
aAnd this ID the push?' Harriet said.