The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1923-12-21
CHAPTER Iv-continued.

Beatrice contented herself with
single sip at her glass; then carried 1
over to her father. II ought to have
done this, last time" she admitted
confidentially, and he squeezed hel
arm In approval. But when Margaret
took cigarette she helped herself te
one also. Shed had a fortnight Of as
slduous practice and decided she could
safely venture. He laughed at this BIT
of bravado, but didn't seem displeased
She felt II was good beginning; her
fathers darling and the complete hos
tess were the two fronts she wished
to present. double warning to tres
passers.
And as the evening advanced she
gained confidence that she was sue
ceedlng with both. She sat very
straight, In the high-backed armchair
which faced her fathers, and felt her
self satisfactorily In the part. (The
movies have their uses, after all. She'd
learned a lot from Pauline Frederick
and Elsie Ferguson.) Arson fortified
her somehow; 1t was the first time
she'd felt him clearly as an ally. But
the great thing was her fathers look.
Something came into It, whenever he
turned 1t upon her, that quickened her
heartbeat. AS long as he went on
looking at her like that she was in no
danger from anybody.
Their hour In the drawing-room
after dinner was really rather jolly,
and one of her few conversational ven
lures, made In the course of II, proved
distinct success. Miss Craven had
been admIring the big Sorolla. when
Beatrice asked, did you ever hear OF
a painter named Carmichael Blair7"
They'd all heard of him, 1t seemed.
He'd had show. only few months
earlier, at the Institute. But why had
she asked?
Some of his pictures are little like
that, l think" she said. "They-sort
of sing. just like that does"
In that moment she decided that,
without reserve, she liked Henry
Craven, Just for the way his face light
ed up over that remark. you're per-
fectly right" he told her; there's a
real resemblance In just that quality"
He added, "Blair lived out in Califor-
MIA for while, didn't hep
She nodded. "He tried to teach me
TO paint once But wasn't much good
at It." She had the satisfaction of |
feeling that she'd said that exactly |
right.
So the evening summed up to real |
success. Her comments on their |
guests, after they'd gone, were en-
thusiastic; genuine. as they concerned |
Henry, and so nearly in the same tone |
as they concerned Margaret that she
didn't believe her father could tell the
difference.
her, a week later. didn't 90 Off as well.
and she came home from 1t depressed,
vaguely resentful, and with her first
Of the woman's design upon
her father wide-awake again.
Margaret's fiat had been a shock to
her. She'd assumed that these people
were rich. She wondered, uneasily, IL
her father had been taken in. Beatrice
was the first of the guests to arrive,
and during those first few minutes
while they were alone she had the un-
comfortable sense of being under ex-
on trial-to have it decided
she would do The questions
themselves were friendly enough. How
did she amuse herself during the long
hours her father spent at the office?
margaret knew how long they were,
because of her brother.) Had she any
rouble finding, her way about? Had
she been shopping? Margaret would
20 with her If she liked almost any
lay, and show her where-well, the
light sort Of things were to be found.
)ne could waste lot Of time-as
we'll as a lot Of money-in strange
,lty making all those discoveries for
oneself. No, there was no harm in the
luestions-only the girls answers
seemed. always, somehow, to give her
AWAY.
The arrival OF the other guests didn't
improve matters either. There were
'nly two Of them Git wasn't a party,