Daily Kennebec journal., 1924-03-15

ARCHIE LAvERocK. the "arrant
rover" who IL Through with girls.
in his mid-twenttes! This mood pre-
yaiI, until be rescues v,s.,, E: he
LUCY Joy. good-looking,. piquant,
poised. She has won big. prize in
the "prettfest English girl" contest
and is-a noted fiIm actress. Archie
has merely saved her from some Gin
SEYMOUR, movie man. her admirer.
ERANKIE, Lucy's half-grown IRE
pressible brother. q naval cadet.
THE ADMIRAL. rubicund. choleric old
ofucer. who dotes on Lucy.
MRS. JOY. gay. charming. almost as
youthful ~ her daughter Lucy.
He Meets The Girl
A maid whom there were none. to
And very few to love.
They had never been considered
clever, or even sensible women.
They were, however. wise enough
for one thing. They knew what
must come. Not next month, per-
haps, nor the month after, but not
too long hence. Already 1t was de-
creed which stranger was to console
this hearth broken child for the de-
lection OF her firet love.
That unknown young man was
somewhere in the world at that
moment. At that moment he was
engaged in some everyday act OF his
ife-hunting for his collar-stud,
maybe, or stufiing his special mix
ture down into his pipe, or bending
his head to sniff at the spray of
syringa which some girl was even
then fastening into the buttonhole
Of his Norfolk Jacket.
Whoever he was, whatever he was
doing, however far away, one thing
was certain: Time was bringing
him nearer with every tick OF the
watch on Lucy's bracelet.
This mummie and Auntie knew;
knew also that 1t was no use saying
n word about him yet. Let the child
have her cry out over her arrant ro-
yer who, the wretch was pack
ing up. no doubt. for fresh fields
and pastures new.
Archie Laverock, for the first
three days that he spent in Wales.
was bored beyond sobs.
He had, as have all vividly en-
joying and receptive natures, an i'm
mense capacity for being bored.
SO had the weather, for boring.
Rain had met him with a cool slap
in the face as he crossed the Welsh
border. Rain had been his portion
in this place ever since. Soft,
{, persistent breezes, blowing In from
the coast. bore on their wings
cloud after cloud of wet that
tmoving up to follow the course
Of the river) formed n procession
Of slow specters. gray-clad and
diaphanous, familiar enough to any
Welsh valley dweller. Slate-gray
mist shut out any glimpse of the
mountains; the woods below them
were smOthered In what appeared
to be drifts OF soaking COTTONWOOD.
On the sodden green common, just
outside the village where the rover
had pitched his abode, the rain
had made pools that spread. bright
and ever widening. above the mos
sy turf. around the boulders dark
with wet, around the airplane
wheels of his dwelling.
Airplane wheels? Dwelling?
What dwelling. and why wheels:
Because his present quarters were
tho home most suitable of all to
the Archie-or arrant rover-type.
It's name though not painted on the
front door, was The Navarro"
which is u very special sort of cara
van.
May | describe it,
ON the two pairs of these wheels,
shock absorbers and all. chassis
is fixed. From the chassis rises the
caravan. with it's body OF three ply
wood. painted aluminium gray. its
surprisingly large windows, curtain
ed In green easement cloth, its
Nentilators, It's Pullman roof. You
"a oh In 90 l,lN
the sidos are airplane struts. for
wherever possible. this rowing home
has been constructed out of war ma
terlai. You can draw your stair
Ease in after you: and inside those
walls. cleaning white as the inner
lid of n new water color box, every
thing Is compactness and comfort
the couch (Which you can turn up
against the farther end to make
room for the bridge table for FOUR,
tho delightful little kitchen range
tas built for shewmen of circuses).
the tiny electric light with its own
plant, the cupboard room which any
housewife would envy. the clock set
into the wall above the door. the
small-model gramophone the gener-
ously proportioned kettle. the cock
tail shaker-there lacks nothing
i'rtS ditcf WNitH the Spui VI man
tand of woman. II the truth were
known) has not yearned in dreams
OF an ideal existence.
Comfortable bed, board and roof
but not, oh. not tied down forever
in the same spot. among the same
people Fresh country, il one pleases,
alt around one every day. And fresh
faces!
The sypsy's life: open air and
movement. Plus luxuries OF clean
liness which to the Twentieth Cen
turion are necessity! This. for the
present, was the life Of Archie Lave
rock.
Better even than being forever on
the road in cars for then he had al
ways to return. at night, to the old
address of his camp. 1.-THE Ma
varac" knew no address. Before he
was tired Of one pitch he was OF to
another. Always on the road-to
Somewhere Else. Woodlands, COM
mons. streams. fiat country, hilly
districts Archie had sampled them
all in a day. Tired of the leafy val
ley he could turn to the mountain
lane slotted like q ribbon in between
rock and heath. Even IL his map
showed him that road ledeto no
where in particular. he could try 1t
just the same. For. untrammeled
as he was. his vagrancy had a pur-
pose.
He was testing. for that firm Of
his. under all reasonable conditions,
the newly designed coupling that
linked The Navarro to the small
tractor-car in front of it. And the
reason that this caravan now
rested near this God-forsaken pud-
die Of welsh village was the other
job, the mission which he had de-
scribed to Lucy Joy that evening (not
20 long ago. but seeming ages
since!) at the camp. This village