Evening star., 1923-03-28

/ passed him by with sober air and
Genie Armitage. he learned of the
| sale of Alicia Mohun's pearls over
| the counter of Tiffany's for consid-
cradle sum. which possibly explained
| John ChicheSter'S air of preoccupa-
! tion. "Demi-John" was not a person
who cared to admit a failure in any
| thing, though the end of his hopes
with regard to Cherry must have
! been revealed to him very soon after
! Cherry's visit to Sangree's rooms. His
| manner puzzled Sangree, though 1t
! did not annoy him. He imagined at
! first that Alicia Mohun had told John
| Chichester of the nature of Cherry
! curious friendship for Sangree, but
! that did not seem to explain Joan
| ChicheSter'S air of restraint, when
was evident when they were in the
| same room-an air which had some
of the milder qualities of reprobatlon.
At first he had been inclined to
think this one of the needs OF ms
| own financial misfortune, for chi
chester was sufficient worldly to ap-
praise his associates by an assess
ment of their financial value in the
social scheme. But later Sangree re-
vised this opinion, and it seemed to
him that her mother would have been
the last person to whom Cherry
would have confided the secret of her
visit to his rooms or the nature or
the conversation which had been Its
object But he knew as well as
though Cherry had told him that
John Chichester had definitely been
given his dismissal, and he suspected
that the sale of Mrs. Mohun's pearls
had provided the opportunity for
rather satisfactory conclusion 10 that
affair.
John Chichester's friendship had
been unimportant to Sangree. MS
condolences unsought, and it made no
possible difference to him that the
elder man had decided not to con-
tinue his amiable advances, but his
snubs were SO pointed now that
Sangree could not resist the impress
sion that some influence of which he
was unaware was behind this rather
mystifying change of demeanor.
But. whatever its cause, Sangree
regarded it with the good-natured
lose. If never before. John Chi
chester now belonged to a phase of
life which Sangree relinquished with
little regret His dues at the Olym-
plan We're paid until the end of the
year, and, since he could no longer
afford the luxuries. his resignation
would take effect at that time, when
he would adapt himself to the situation
now demanded by his slender means.
Sangree had taken his new point
of view with singular calm. Those of
his new acquaintances who chose to
follow him into social exile could do
so If they liked. but he cherished few
hopes of them. His position was
quite different from that of Cherry,
who must. if he knew the world,
begin very soon to feel the stings of
benefits forgot. He knew that she
was to suffer acutely, if she had not
already done so, in her alienation
from those who had once been her
intimates. But it now appeared that
once having come to decision
Cherry had performed her duty to
herself and her family with a pre-
cision and dispatch which counted
rot upon the opinion of the world.
cred, had been made less difficult of
accomplishment by strength from an
unexpected source. which came to her
with all the gentleness of aid from
Heavier itself. After the talk with
her mother which had resulted in a
renewal of their quarrel, it seemed
scarcely possible for her to fight her
battle alone; but having made her
decision, she did not recant, though
an alternative to yielding to her
mothers insistant threats and tears.
1t had been a dreadful morning and
she sat in her fathers room thinking
Of the last disturbing interview. that
she had with her mother James
Mohun was upright near her in his
Morris chair, where he now spent
most of the day in the sunlight by
the window overlooking the street |
She thought that he was doing. but
some impulse made her turn to look
at him. His gaze was fixed on her
q calm. untroub1cd look-.like that
of a. child which had just awakened,b
as she expressed it. He almost SEEM
ed like somebody that she didn't