The Holly chieftain., 1923-03-08
Copyright BY Little Brown and Company


more openly by word and look than
he had ever done before In her pres
ence. She was the more surprised at
his doing this now, because she knew
that Donald must have received from
her father the same instructions as
had been given herself to learn what
ever was possible of Eaton's former
position in life.
Before Eaton's entrance into her
life she had supposed that some time,
as matter of course, she was going
to marry Donald. In spite of this, she
had never thought Of herself as apart
from her father; when she thought Of
marrying, 1t had been always with the
idea that her duty to her husband
must be secondary to that to her
father; she knew now that she had
accepted Donald Avery not because
he had become necessary to her but
because he had seemed essential to
her father and her marrying Donald
would permit her life to 60 on much
as 1t was.
Donald had social position and a
certain amount Of wealth and power !;
now suddenly she was feeling that he
had nothing but these things, that his
own unconscious admission was that
to be worth while he must have them,
that to retain and increase them was
his only object In life. She had the
feeling that these were the only things
he would fight for; but that for these
hn Atrhf Pot hor ho
could-but, IT, he must, unfairly, des-
picably.
She had finished dinner, but she hes
itated to rise and leave the men
alone; after-dinner cigars and the flc-
tion of the masculine conversation
about the table were insisted on by
Blatchford. As she delayed, looking
across the table at Eaton, his eyes
met hers; reassured, she rose at once
the three rose with her and stood
while she went out. She went up
stairs and looked in upon her father
he wanted nothing, and after con-
versation with him as short as she
could make It, she came down again.
No further disagreement between the
two men, apparently, had happened
after she left the table. Avery now
was not visible. Eaton and Blatchford
| were In the music-room. With re.
pugnance against her fathers orders
which she had never felt before. she
began to carry out the instructions
her father had given her.
She noticed that Eaton was familiar
with almost everything she had liked
which had been written or was cur.
rent up to five years before; all later
music was strange to him. To this
extent he had been of her world
plainly, up to five years before; then
he had gone out of 1t.
She realized this only as something
which she was to report to her father
yet she felt keener, more personal
interest in 1t than that. Harriet San.
tome knew enough Of the world to
know that few men break completely
all social connections without some
link Of either fact or memory still
holding them, and that this link most
| often is a woman.
Toward ten o'clock Eaton excused
himself and went to his rooms. She
| sat for time, Idly talking with
Blatchford; then, as servant passed
through the hall and she mistook mo-
mentarily his footsteps for those OF
Avery, she got up suddenly and went
upstairs. 1t was only after reaching
her rooms that she appreciated that
the meaning Of this action was that
she shrank from seeing Avery again
that night. But she had been In her
rooms only few minutes when her