The Washington herald., 1922-01-16
; Continued from Yesterday.

weekend party, Jeanpe was tho ohc
guest who appeared not to notice it..
she rode with Candy and "hiked"
With North and went motoring with
Jim Farnham. Between times, she
gossiped with Adele Parkinson and
Vera Dayton-or rather listened to
their gossip. her silent. grave-eyed
gaze turning from one to the other
as they discussed, criticised and
otherwise conversationally mauled,
the other guests and even their
host and hostess.
Little spitfire, Mrs. Parkinson
eonfided to Jeanne on one occasion
when Vera Dayton left them to
answer a phone call. II adore egg
ing her on! It's wicked Of me, but
i have so little indulgence in
haughtiness these days!" she sighed.
Jeanne smiled.
You certainly have histrionic
ability. 1 could have taken oath
that you meant all the cutting
things you said about the Forbes
guests"
Adele laughed and stretched
lszily on her comfortable couch.
In playing the social game. my
child. the best adage to follow Is
. the old one about the Romans. II
viii save you from making fatal
mistakes. And / don't mean that
literally; 1 mean It conversationally.
Once you try to defend somebody
to- a girl like Vera Dayton. she
WIN Immediately conceive the idea
that you have some personal mo-
tive, and her ready imagination
will evolve a romance or a scandal
generally they are synonomous-
around you and the object Of your
defense. So / generally go her one
better by rending every human be-
ing, male or female, whose name
she brings up. 1t makes her furi-
Gus sometimes not to have the glory
of adding the fnal touch OF vitriol,
but then she hates me Anyway
Adele shrugged
"Why?" asked Jeanne, frankly Gu
rious-
-Oh. Vic Barstowe, for one thing.
And oh. my dear. what she thinks
about you after the interest he's
shown!" Mrs. Parkinson laughed soft
ly to herself
Jeanne ignored the last and inquired
casually:
lis Mr.. Barstove a suitor of yoursr'
Adele gave a little SHREK.
Heavens, no! I only wish could
admit IL. -. But Vic and I have
always been good friends IN an in
different. passive sort Of way. She
knows I saw a good deal OF him in
woman would jump at the chance
~ nd L.
frankly own that I would, but 1t
looks
She broke OF and regarded Jeanne
specuistivsly. through half-closed
eyes.
1T looks" she continued slowly,
"as though you were going to draw
the plum"
Jeanns's heart leaped and she felt
herself flushing.
How ridiculousr' she scoffed
laughingiy why. L hardly know
Mr. Barstowe, He's been Inice, but
OF course. he's clever firt-Mr.
North told me-"
Adele sat up energetically.
IF you take my advice, you'll In
lterpret in the reverse everything Sell
by North saysi Old gossip He's
worse than Vera Dayton I'll
telI you one thing. IL IL will please
Sourasanity: I never saw Vic Bar
sowe act this way about any girl
before. He's always been the essence
OF goodhumored indifference; he
could be depended on for that merry
smile Of his and a shrus of his big
shouiders-but for the last two days
he's been-impossibleI Sulky. and
srouchy and irritable vic of all
People. Everyone's noticed it. par
ticulariy your little friend, Vera"
Jeanne's pulse was racing.
So? She hadn't lost u that blind
gamble, Indifference was the trick
= after ALL She had been afraid. As
two days passed with Barstowe
avoiding her pointedly beyond a
courtesy greeting when their prox-
unity demanded. her heart had sunk
wit hthe foreboding that she had
gone step too far in her careless
treatment OF him that hrst night of
the Forbes party. But now, IL
Adele Parkinson was hight
rs Miss. Dayton in love with Mr..
Barstowe?' she asked. more to d.
vert the channel Of Adde'S thought
than for real information. Anyone
who wasn't blind could see that the
Dayton girl wore her heart on her
sleeve. -
Mrs. Parkinson nodded, picking
out bon bon from the box at her
elbow
Always has been. Always will
be-unless he marries her They
were raised together. you know"
she explained. "Vera's parents have
country place adjoining the Bar
stoves. They played together as
nIuva
stood by the two families tina,
they'd marry when they grew up
and had had their fling a bit. Bar
stowe, sr., and Vic's mother favor
the. match unusually much for the
doting parents of an only son, who
viii inherit a great fortune. Vera
Dayton courts them disgustinsly,
but they seem fond Of her. Heaven
knows why-except, OF course, she
does come of an excellent family
old Revolutionary stock and all
that-Mother Barstowe Is Insane
about family. The girl Vic marries
Iii it isn't Vera Dayton-will have
to come with a wagon load OF supe-
rior family trees and a genealory
chart a mile long before she'll give
the lodge-keeper the sign to unba,
the gate"
she spoke jestingly. but her eyes
as she regarded her pretty Wis Wis
were grave. II seemed to Jeanne
that they voiced the unspoken ques.
tim: had she such a pedigree &c
offerf
Meanwhile, thinking of.Aunt Emily
aud her father. who had. kept the
village drug store. ana their for
bears who sprang, so far as any
record chronicled. direct from the