The Monmouth inquirer., 1924-05-08
No Relief in Sight
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Cling friends were finally slowed away
, on the Pullman and Ledeson had
escaped from their staccato thanks
and their parting reminders and mes
sages and general feminine exclama-
lions he heaved his first relieved
breath for two weeks which was the
length of their visit.
One would not brutally say that
Ledeson hated women-merely that
no particular woman had impressed
him with the marvellous charms OK
the sex as a whole. The efferveseing
kind were a particular trial to him.
and these two had been especially
effervescent. The two weeks had In
deed been nightmare.
Just as a reward of merit and a
bracer Ledeson decided to take the
day off and go out to his golf club. A
whole day tramping the sod, entirely
free from the blight of woman's
presence. appealed to him as the Ill
innate joy.
Then just as he tried to walk thru
the first car to the smoker Mrs. Wick
etts called him.
"Oh! Are you going out to the club,
too?". she chortled. "How perfectly
lovely! So are we! Stella, dear; let
me present Mr.. Ledesons My cousin
Miss Geddit, Mr.. Ledeson. Stella has
never played golf, and was bound
she should have chance to learn
even If the club is deserted at this
season. That's why I'm 5000 glad we
met you-you know all about golf! ]
can sit on the veranda and crochet
while you and Stella roam the links!"
Mrs. Wicketts beamed upon her vic
tim. Cousin Stella, too, beamed upon
him. She was a young thing and
Ledeson saw in his first Mortified
glance that she was even more efer-
yescent than the two who had just
been removed from the scene by a
Pullman car.
How perfectly lovely!" echoed
Cousin Stella. "Im simply crazy to
play golf! Can learn in one after
noon? learned a perfectly dreadful
embroidery stitch in only two hours
the other day-and I'm splendid GRO
quet player down home!"
Ledeson violently twisted his coun-
tenance into the polite smile that had
been so badly overworked of late.
] What he really wanted to do was to
| seize Cousin Stella by the yellow
curls on the back Of her head and
give her neck one swift, compre-
hensive twist. Centuries Of conven-
tional ancestors, however, enabled
him to say hoarsely that he would be
| delighted to teach Miss Geddit.
It was worse, much worse, than he
could have dreamed. He had never
known that girl could be quite so
idioticalIy awful. The polite smile
was SO firmly glued to his face that
it would have stayed even had an old
college chum tried to borrow money
from him. In a daze of misery Led
son walked from the station to the
club with Cousin Stella trotting along
| beside him chattering every inch of
the way, and Mrs. Wicketts beaming
placidly. Bitterness surged in his
heart as he secured clubs and joined
his tormentors. Cousin Stella clapped
her hands babyishly.
eOh. are these what you play with?"
she, burbled. "How much does it count
when you hit the ball? Why don't
they make them bigger? My good
ness! Isn't there a net to play over
o. anything?"
Like a man going to execution,
Ledeson stalked to the first tee. With
sigh he turned to give his first in
structions. Then he stopped.
Cousin Stella was making a neat
little mound of sand and placing her
ball upon 1t. Then in a calm, cool,
businesslike way she stepped back,
screwed up her eyes and swung her
club twice. There was crack which
sent the white sphere hurting mar
yelous 200 yards. She turned her In
nocent blue eyes upon Ledeson and
there was deep silence. Then in
strang1ed way he seemed to be trying
10 say SOmSLHIuSs
Cousin Stella crumpled over her
stick in spasm of hysterical laugh
ter. az couldn't help It," she gasped.
"No human girl could if she'd seen
that look of rage and horror on your
face when Mrs. Wicketts thrust me
upon you! She didn't know that we've
a golf club down home and that I've
won six cups! Now I'll go and Gro
Chef with Mrs. Wicketts and leave
you in peacei"
Indeed you won't!" Ledeson ex-
ploded. 1t had dawned upon him that
Cousin Stella was really a wonderful
exception to all other girls. You're
going to play golf with me all after
noon for your sinsi"
49,