The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-14

Eileen SHOOK nGT nedO. Ouc was uOI AOOh- ing quite so bright as when Rags had first come into the overheated, overlighted, over decorated room. But perhaps this was only because he had set her to thinking intently "No, she's never spoken of the Lady in the Moon. Let me thnk-what was her name?"
 'You seem to remember very well-yOu, who mix up all the wrong names with the right faces"
 But saw her today. forgot--I haven't told you of that yet, have I?''
 "No. Where was it?"
 "Wait minute. Strictly speaking, oughtn't to tell you, suppose. All the same I will-for a reason-if you'll promise first not to mention it to Rolls. Never mind why not, but promise, if you, want to know"
 "Of course, want to know. You make me fearfully curious. I'll promise not to breathe word to Petro."
 "She's in the shop-employed there, it seems. We met her in the lift, Ena and l. It was a surprise all round. Ena wasn't overjoyed. No more was the Lady in the Moon. They got rid of each other quickly and skillfully. Afterward Ena button-holed me and sat me down on hard settee in a beastly furnished room like rathskeller, with price-tags on everything, and made me solemnly swear not to split to Rolls."
 "About your meeting Miss Child?"
 Rather! And all the rest of it.
 "What rest?"
 "A lot of rubbish. don't know what she was driving at, I'm hanged if I do.., Ena said Petro mustn't find out where she is. Rather rum-what?''
 "Is this the thing that's made you so grumpy ever since?" s:fes
 well, sometimes I wonder whether-the games worth the candle?", ."
 Eileen had no difficulty in understanding the allusion. ~t
 She's got heaps of good things about her," the girl reminded him, being as loyal as was humanly possible to her hostess.
 Heaps. By jove, Ely, l thought I'd made up my mind. Pm fond of the old place at home, and I'd like to see it done up properly. It isn't as if I'd ever care tup- Kathleen. So what does anything of that sort matter? But don't you get thinking too much about Rolls. There may be some thing in that affair, after all.'
 On that he closed the door, shutting him. self out.
 The morning after their visit to the Hands Ena made an opportunity of speaking to Petro alone for the express purpose of tell ing him, what she did not know was true, and to further her own plans, that Eileen was in love with him. Petro's response was
 "See here, my dear girl. I felt fool when you came in. Now you've made me feel a double-dyed idiot. Kindly go away and dig hole in the ground with your self"
 Ella WeHL put Sn0 IelC that, QeSplLe QlS- couragement, she had already dug tiny, tiny hole in very hard ground, not.for her self, but for a little seed which might per haps send out its shoots later
 It did not precisely do that; but as the ground raked over was Petro's heart, the seed his sister had left made him uncom- fortable. It burned and stung and felt alive, and something had to be done about it, and that night at a dance, when he and Lady Eileen were sitting out the tango, he found himself becoming confidential.
 How it started he was not quite sure, but with some awkwardness she had tried to lead up to the subject, and suddenly Eileen had begun to help him out,
 "I used to think man. would have to know lot about girl," he said, "before he could be sure she was the sort he could fall in love with. I thought love at first sight wouldn't be love at all, but only in- fatuation. Now I see that didn't know what I was talking about. It isn't ques- tion of whether you could love her, You've just got to. Afterward, when you find out what's struck you, maybe, it's too late. Or maybe there'd never been any hope, any how"
 q wonder," said Eileen, eff mans a good judge of why girl does things that she does? Of course, don't know much. But feel he mightn't be. It's so difficult for girls and men to understand each other, roa11y Nouy thnrp'S U1v hr0thar Raps and