The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1923-11-09
CHAPTER ilI-contInued.
ANY special poet?"

ANY special poet?'
well, she seemed to like my stuff.
You never read my sonnet-sequence
on spring, did you?"
mo. What other poets did she like
besides you?"
"Tennyson principally" said Eus-
/ tace Hignett with a reminiscent
CULVER in his voice. "The hours we
have spent together reading the Tdylls
Of the King!"
1.-THE which Of what?" inquired Sam,
taking a pencil from his pocket and
/ shooting out cuff.
"The Idylls Of the King My good
man, know you have soul which
would be considered inadequate by
a common earthworm, but you have
surely heard of Tennyson's Idylls of
the KingY"
'sOh, thosel Why, my dear old chap;
Tennyson's 'Idylls Of the King' Well.
I should say! Have / heard Of Ten
nyson's Idylls Of the King?' Well,
really! ! suppose you haven't copy
with you on board by any chance"
There Is a copy in my kit-bag.
The very one we used to read together.
Take 1t and keep 1t or throw II over
BOARD. ] don't want to see it again."
Sam prospected among the shirts,
collars and trousers In the bag and
presently came upon morocco-bound
volume. He laid 1t beside him on the
lounge.
Little by little. bit by Bit" he said
i am beginning to form a sort of pic
ture Of this girl. this-what was her
name again? Bennett-this Miss Ben
nett. You have wonderful knack Of
description. You make her seem so
real and vivid. Tell me some more
about her. She wasn't keen on golf, by
any chance, / supposeY"
II believe she did play. The subject
came up once and she seemed rather
enthusiastic. Why?"
well, I'd much sooner talk to girl
about golf than poetry"
You are hardly likely to be in a
position to talk to Wilhelmina Bennett
about either, should imagine"
No. there's that, of course. / was
thinking of girls in general. Some girls
bar golf, and then it's rather difficult
TO know how to start conversation.
But, tell me, were there any topics
which got on Miss Benefits nerves, If
you know what I mean? 1t seems to
me that at one time or another you
may have said something that offended
her. mean, 1t seems curious that she
should have broken off the engagement
II you had never disagreed or quar-
relied about anything"
Well, Of course, there was always
the matter Of that dog of hers. She
had dog, you know, snappy brute
Of a Pekingese. If there was ever any
shadow Of disagreement between us, it
had to do with that dog. made rather
q point of 1t that would not have it
about the home after we were mar
ried."'
II see!" said Sam. He shot his cuff
once more and wrote on 1t: "Dog-cOn-
ciliate." "Yes. of course. that must
have wounded her."
Not half so much as he wounded
me! He pinned me by the ankle the
day before we-Wilhelmina and l.
mean-were to have been married. It
Is some satisfaction to me in my
j broken state to remember that I got
home on the little beast with consider
able ejuiciness and lifted him clean
over the Chesterfield"
Sam shook his head reprovingly.
You shouldn't have. done that |" he
said He extended his cuff and added
the words ''Vitally important" to what
Me had just written. 1T was probably
! that which decided her."
well, ! hate dogs" said Eustace
ignett ENORMOUSLY. II remember
ilhelmina once getting quite an
yncyed with me because refused to