Evening star., 1922-04-16


would cause hfra momcntary doubts.
sickeuing sort of suspicion of what
might be expected of an Eisenmuller.
but her physical charm continued po-
tent. If there was any real fly in the
ointment it was rather the gradual
| realizat tion that her family was i'm
possible.
He knew that with Carlotta's beau
| ty he could easily coach her how not to
use the double negative and to sub
s.itute for her ordinary conversa-
! tional style something more reminis-
| cent of Macaulay or Gibbon-and
| that she could get away with it. But
| oh. her aunts. One especially revolt
| ed Obadiah-Miss Lillian Eisenmuller.
| The mere suggestion that Carlotta
| might some day look like that filled
| him with horror, This lady resem-
| bled a very stout black vulture sit
ting upon a crag. There was an in
evitability about her that was hope
lessiy depressing She was short and
square, with a heavy beak, red lips
| and a wig that undulated closely
| around her scalp in blue-black
waves. Obadiah used to dream that
she was sitting with folded wings on
| the foot of his bed.
| Then there was Carlotta's Uncle
Sussman-a different type. He had
| brewery in Newark and came home
| to Hackensaek every night. He re-
| minded Obadiah forcibly OF certain
| German comedians. His one passion
! was the game of "skat,' and the first
| time he spoke Obadiah thought he
| was trying to make light Of him. His
| two large-featured daughters wore
| red coral earrings and were tremen-
| dousIy affectionate with little Car
| lotta. Obadiah contrasted them un
! favorably with the Emersonian spin
sters of the New England village
| from which he came. Occasionally.
when forced to endure their society,
he stammered an ineptitude and they
| were delighted.
! ~ARLOTTA'S father. towever, still
~ seemed distrustful He limited
| darkly that Wall street lawyers were
| usually rakes. and that he. for one,
was glad he was in an honest busi-
ness. Life was not for singing and
| feasting: it was a period of chasten-
| ing and preparation. Eventually he
| bored Obadiah so with his sermoniz-
| ing and his suspicious that only the
latter's difficulty of speech prevented
/, a quarrel.
! But Carlotta would nestle up to
| him in the hall and tell him not to
1 r.; har 70 hor
| he had wheels in his head. He was
an anarchist. anyway. and believed
| the worst about everybody. Of
! course she knew better. and that he
| intended to do the right thing by her
[ She only feared that her lover would
be ashamed of his little Carlotta and
! wouldn't want to introduce her to his
swell friends. This Obadiah, of
! course, vigorously denied.
| Undoubtedly she was as enchant-
ing and delirious a creature as ever
| Three months had failed to abate a
| shade of his delight in her exquisite
| figure, the delicacy of her coloring,
| the charming curves of her cheeks
| and the smoldering flash of her eyes.
yet her lapses in grammar and her
plebeian use Of the colloquial palpa-
bly, Jared upon him. Vainly he tried
to assure himself that these were
! mere trihes-easily remedied by
proper social intercourse and read
! ing. Yet he no longer looked for
ward to his wedding day with the
| same delight. Somewhat of this he
must have unconsciously betrayed in
| his manner, for one Sunday Eisen-
muller. ominously sitting at table,
suddenly announced that the we'd
| ding had better take place at once
| there was no good in all this shilly-
| shallying. Let them be married and
done with it! Carlotta protested
feebly, but there was a thrill in her
voice that found no echo in Obadiah's
heart. He was no quitter-only
Eisenmuller glowered over the NUT
ton at him. Yes. let them be mar.
ried, unless. to be sure. there was
some reason-eh why they should
mott! He glared ferociousfy at oba-
diah, who Indignantly hiurted out
that there was nothing ITO prevent,