The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-04-01
THE BETTER MAN
 By MAY CHRISTIE Copyright 1921 the Mcclure Newspaper syndcate)
By MAY CHRISTIE
XCVI-BACK TO REALITY

sympathetic as she told the pair that she had been busy at the telephone all the time, and only this very mo- ment free to join them-which was fib. but one that the recording angel doubtless would forgive. On the second morning following that enchanted night Glyn and his borrowed car awaited Dolly and Ca mille at the front entrance of the Royal hotel at Durban. IL was a dewy, sparkling morning. full of sunshine.
 Mrs. Mortimer was in high good humor for the car belonged to one of her husbands friends in Pieter- martzburg, who was a rich and | charming widower who would lunch her well, and who was giving a din- ner in her honor, to winch all the big wigs" of the town had been in- vited.
 Moreover, two of the Durban men twho had been particularly attentive i to coduettish Dolly) had wired she widower to say that. with Mrs Mortimer's kind permission, they were coming too.
 "f foud better sit in front, Camille l and I shall sit behind and see that MT. sawyers and Colonel seidenbuug behave themselves" Ofticious as usual, Dolly was yet arch.
 Camille climbed into the seat be- l side the driver, well pleased with that scheme. and the Durban men ar . ranged themselves, one on each siae of the gay grass widow Cwhoss grass -widowhood would end so soon alasD and off they went. | Writing in her diary afterwards, l Camille could find no words in which n hA
 run. 1t was 70 miles of unadulter- ated loveliness!
 1 Skirting the edge of Zululand, the winding road for the most part being l in Natal, the scenery was at one place reminiscent of Killarney, further on it was all Scottish. and further still the cosy little orchards looked like I Francei
 There never was such green iandscape in the world, not even Ire | land after months of raini" yolun- teered Dolly from the back seat, for l getting to be coquettish in her aston 1 lshment at the beauty of the scene. | And look at those pale green trees 1 a-hlaze with big scarlet blossomsi Someone tell me what they're called," one of the Durban men replied:
 Those are the flamboyant trees that every traveller raves about. ASttyf dTSH tneyt Almost likA Christmas decorationw Then glanc- Ing over to the right of the road. toward the distant coast-llne, he added:
 There are lots of pythons. too, Huge, sleepy fellows. Dyou admire them, Mrs. Mortimer?'
 Dolly gave startled squeal.
 Ugh! Squeeze you to death. and then swallow you alive, don't they?''
 That's real Trishism" They ali laughed.
 Camille, later on, did have real python pointed out to her by Glyn. whose eyes were. trained from long years on the veldt to detect all liy- ing creatures.
 Over there! That eoiled-up thing with the brownish- -speckIed skin. summing himself on that rock. about 200 yards from the road. He's boa constrictor and If he stretched himself, you'd see he was eight feet long" w
 She shuddered, but in the security or the speeding car. the feeling passed. and happiness and a complete attunement with the world enwrap- ped her once again
 For beside her, so close that their arms touched with a little thrill Iiko electricity. was the man to whom sne mad given the whole love of her heart.
 Monday--McetinE the Zulu Nnidenx,