Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-03-07
THE ARRANT ROVER
Gay Romance of Phianderng Love
BY BERTA RUCK
4nhoy Of "Th Hrong Mr. Right "1hc Snbconsons CoMSp
Mead

, near which he had his quarters,
called out
Beg your pardon. gentlemen;
Mr.. Laverock. Sir, you're wanted on
the telephone"
Right OH" called Archie. Chuck
over that towel. Smith"
He wound 1t for u loincloth about
his waist, and dashed to the tele-
phone in the little office at the side
of the dreSsing-room.
"Hullo?'
"Hullo: is that YOU. Laverock?"
called back Il blithe. half settled
baritone. This is Midshipman JOY
speaking"
".hh, good morning, frankie"
Good morning. l say. old thing,
are YOU up and dressed?"
Rather" retortcd young Lave
rock, twisting his towel. Aren't
YOU"
well. more or less-I say. I've a
| message for you. From my mater.
She says are you by chance free
for lunch?"
"Today?"
Yes; aujourdhui."
'Er-I think So" called back the
Rover with a hasty mental readjust-
ment of his day of rest. There
was to have been tennis with some
friends of Captain Smith near Har-
row; but after all, he had left it
open" Good thing. Yes. am
free. You coming over to look lis
up in our lair as you promised you
would some day."
NO; wilt join us in our sylvan re-
treat instead? My mater hoped you
would. Picnic in the pine woods
just beyond our bungalow. We've
asked the admiral; but mummie
ana auntic and | thought we'd like
somebody of our own ahCm-mental
Caliber and outlook on life, don't
YOU stick it,"
"Oh! Rather. How very kind of
Your"
Goods You'll come. Wen ex-
poet YOU u little before one them, so
that you can lend a hand with cart
ing the viands." called back the
MILDLY, adding. as an after thought
Il say. Lavcrock. shall YOU be able
to get over? Trains perfectly hope
less, of course Have you got q
motorbikc or anything"
Somebody has" the Rover rcas-
sured him. dor somebody" read
"Smith.D "WilI YOU thank Mrs.
JOY most awfully from me and say
l shall love to come? SO long!"
Two hours later found him at the
picnic.
Picnics, as every hostess knows
may be divided into Rags" and
'F'rosts." This of Mrs. joys was
Enthusiastically Il frost. Owing, one
fancies, to the guest of honor and
to the manner in which he spread,
foglike, an atmosphere of ot-enjoy-
ing.
For at q feast in the woods the
Admiral was emphatically not his
iovial, breezy. still young self. He
loathed. for one thing, sitting down
on the ground, knowing how diff
f1cult it would be to get up again
from that slippery smooth terra
Gotta colOred carpet of pine needles.
He could not find comfortable
enough trunk against which to lean:
nor where to put his feet The wind
blew out match after match. as we'll
as making him feel livery. For
what | have mentioned as n fresh
breeze" that tossed the ballooning
white clouds across the blue, that
swayed the pine trees and rippled in
the women's pretty frocks, that was
summed up as this beastly east
wind by the Admiral.
Meals out-of doors. too, he loath-
cd. Insensate mania women seemed
to have for feeding in the open!
TO the Admiral. there was some
thing positively indecent about it
All this, YOU realize. was what he
was thinking: / will put this picnic
only in the terms of the mental