Evening star., 1923-01-07

stray crumbs of Kindness he had re-
/ ceired from his father, grieved to
surprising extent.
His mother had married again, but
| not by word or sign or deed did she
acknowledge the existence of a son
whose very memory was almost for
| gotten. AS casually as the she wolf
| deserts her young once arrived at the
hunting stage, she had cast him
! adrift and gave him as little thought.
| Nor did Rodney care. His extreme
distrust and dislike of the feminine
sex persisted. Even his education
was guided and influenced by his
prejudice. Coed schools he eschewed
entirely. Parties and gatherings
which had for their purpose the
! bringing together of the sexes he
| stunned absolutely. Not even st.
Anthony of old was more of an
ascetio than young Rodney Thorne
! under the spell of his involuntary
detestation.
But of course IL couldn't last. Just
where and when he met Eulalie
Goreman have never known, but in
| view OF his aversion for women the
| encounter could hardly have been OF
! his seeking. I would not. however,
/ put il beyond Eulalie's conniving, for
young Rodney. with his dark. moody
! good looks. was rather a romantic
! figure. And every girl, you know.
aspires to be the one great love of
some mans life, whether she returns
1t or not.
X X x
TN Rodney Thorne Eulalfe found
i virgin soil to exploit her charms
And she had them-gay, laughing,
reckless. spoiled EulaIie! Nobody
ever possessed the peculiar quality
OF charm to a greater extent than
she. Imperious, generous impulsive,
| she was bit OF high explosive, with
an uncanny power of drawing hearts
to her and then returning. them beat
| ing in the tempo Of friendship in
stead of love. Yet, at that, her gay,
reckless coQuetry was entirely inno-
cent. People never told risque stories
in the hearing OF Eulalie Goreman.
No more did any OF her aspiring
swains attempt fanff1iarities, under
standing well the line OF demarca-
tion between the boldness of an ad-
OI eApcEIeIlCcs one "AE-WcIl, Sno
was Eulalie. There is no comparison
She charmed Rodney Thornes heart
sssuu5zBIq sul pus lILIds snoIulusA
away from him as we'll as the rest,
but to him she was more generous,
giving her own in return. Perhaps II
was the vague unhappiness in his
face that stirred her tenderness in
all it's depths Perhaps his very aloof-
ness represented a challenge. Per.
haps 1t was only the attraction of
opposites. Be that as II may, on a
late April evening she slipped into
the library where her father was
smoking a late cigar and curled up
on his knee, kittenwise.
well, little 'un,"--he gathered her
into his arms observation-disclosures
do you want me to buy for you now?"
Dads" said Eulalie. Rodney and
1 are to be married in June"
No hint of requesting his permis-
sion, you see-just an impudent stat
| ing of the fact.
shining hair a moment. thinking
deeply. Then:
His father and mother" he
began.
But Eulalie laid her roseleaf fingers
across his lips.
"Pouf" she pouted "Tm marrying
Rodney. not his father and mother"
Then she smiled a pretty defiance at
him. I'VE love each other, so we're
going to be happy as happy" she
ended gaily.
Goreman sighed. How explain that
in the days gone by Thorne. sr., had
once loved Rodney's mother. or ex-
plain that love has the strange power
to destroy the well-beloved?
They were married in June with
the usual accompaniment of roses.
frocked clergyman, bridesmaids and
critical friends. And for once Rodney
Thorne's darkly handsome face for
got to be somber. He was very, very
happy. and there's nothing like hap
piness for chasing old brother gloom
away.
That happiness endured for some
months. and then, this being earth
and not paradise, came tiny flaw.
Just why every husband, shared by
certain combination of attractive
qualities. confidently expects his wife
nmediately to eliminate those very
qualities and become the person he
fancies he wants her to be, is one of
the unsolved riddles of the world
And whether he would really delight
In the transformation once accom-
plished is still another riddle.
y
u oDNEY TFiORNE loved Eulalie for
II -. fnS q.
tenderness, for her ohangeable moods.
That other men also had loved that
same sparkling charm was something
he was to realize later. Unconscious
ly, he wished that charm to sparkle
only for him. Marriage, you know,
was to serve as IA sort of extin-
gaisher, to be lifted at will, like the
snuffer on a. candle.
His reasoning was faulty. Marriage
failed TO change Eulalie. She re-
mained as she had been--the same
gay, joyous, vivid, couuettish, entirely
delightful person. And from the min
ute of her appearance at a gathering
men clustered around her like
swarm Of bees, avid for the tinkle
OF her laughter and the flash of her
| eyes. Eulalie loved ft. The breath of
admiration was fame in her blood,
ana not even the first dim strings
Of Jealousy in Rodney troubled her.
Ne more did the resentful mutterings
| OF those. justly indignant matrons
who likewise had expected marriage
to serve as an extinguisher for the
charms OF Eulalie. 1 think, indeed.
she derived an added amount OF hap
piness from the jealousy OF Rodney,
being of that group of women who