Evening star., 1924-05-11

now could be heard, as he believed,
not only throughout the heath but
throughout the boundaries OF the en-
tire parish of Hampstead. He inter-
laced the five fingers of his hand be-
tween the five fingers of the hand Of
the eighth wonder OF the world and
held it palm to palm. Then Edward.
terrified that the humping of his
heart could now be heard at Charing
Cross, and that certainly it would
burst within his breast and suffocate
him unless some thing were done,
stopped and did the only thing that
could possibly avert so disastrous a
calamity. He stopped and stopped
and placed his lips upon the lips Of
the eighth wonder of the world; and
Immediately the duress OF his heart
was stayed and he knew that he
owned the eighth wonder of the world.
and he felt, furthermore, that he
owned the whole Of the round world
whose eighth wonder she was, its
in is.
am a little wrong in saying II was
at this moment that Edward knew he
owned the eighth wonder. because, as
have said, though he knew from
the first moment he set eyes upon
her that Garry was more wonderful
than anything he had seen or inag-
ined, II was not until some time later
that he realized her position in the
wonders of the world. and this real
ization was yet to come. But I knew
IL, as I have told you, all along, and
in reporting moments supreme as was
that in which he placed his lips to
hers get rather fiurried and can
not help anticipating things little,
X r
THEN there was the time-frmly
= affianced now, the blessings Of the
parental Haunts thick about them
and negotiations already in train
for the rental OF a tiny little house
in Clapham Common-the time when
they quarreled This terrible event
took place when Edward was enter
tanning Clarry to an afternoon in the
tea gardens of a riverside hotel at
Hampton Court, and it was because
when Edward. for the purpose of this
expedition, met the eighth wonder of
the world at Waterloo station he
saw upon the head Of the eighth won
der of the world a hat which filled
him with terror and dismay.
am sorry I cannot describe this
hat, but have no aptitude whatever
for fashion-plate stuff. Edward GER
tain1y could not describe it; he had
no words in which to express what
he thought about it. But I have a
profound sympathy with the feelings
of all Edwards in matters like this,
50 I say simply that it was a hat
which attracted attention, and leave
II at that
Far worse became the affair when
they arrived at the tea gardens.
C1arry was by now we'll aware that
something was wrong, but she had
no idea what was wrong; and when
Edward, first very agitatedly and
refused to sit at table in the middle
Of the gardens and insisted upon one
remote and obscure, Clarry also be-
came vexed, and the quarrel, though
not yet Joined, was afoot- Edward
throughout the meal spoke scarcely
a word Obscure though the table
was, 1t appeared to the distorted i'm
agtnation Of Edward to be by far the
most conspicuous of all the tables and
to be, moreover, the one and only
center Of observation OF the occupants
Of all the tables. So distorted and
innalned,' indeed, had the imagination
Of Edward by now become that it ap-
peared to him. not only that the
hundreds of eyes fixed upon him
were accusing him Of responsibility
for the hat, but that in some mystic
rious way the hat was not. in fact.
upon Clarry's head but upon his own
head.
II thought" said Clarry presently,
after an enormous interval, in which
she had twice suggested movement
and twice suffered rebuff thought
we were going in a boat on the
river?
+ 4 +
ITO this and to further interroga-
- ton on the point there were re-
sponded by Edward only some vague,
indistinct mumblings. Clarry receiv-
ed these as long as, and. indeed,
longer than, even an eighth wonder
Of the world can be expected to re-