Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-03-03

Archie Laverock. the Arrant Rover,
through with girls, is motoring IN
the country when his attention Is at
tracted by the extraordinary conduct
of a couple on a motorcycle. The man,
after railing at the good-looking girl.
literally chucks her out of the side
car. Archie offers the fair damsel
lift in his car.
He next realized that the girl
herself had a question to ask.
She turned to him the little head,
blue as that of a kingfisher. in the
close. concealing hat. Still demure-
ly but with an odd touch of some
thing in her voice that he could
not place, she demanded, What did
YOU think of it,"
He took his eyes from the evenly
rolling-o out ribbon of the road ahead.
Vivid as 4 rain washed pink car
nation, her small face against blue
clouds of tulle: but he. disconnected
by the suddenness OF her question,
had even yet not seen her except as
a human being III some unexplained
mess" At a loss for the moment.
he marked time by repeating bland
Iy, Think of it?''
She nodded. She sounded, now,
self possessed.
Yes: L mean, what did you think
was happening? When you saw
Arthur Seymour fling me out of that
car on to the road just now?
Weren't you surprised"
"Surprised-I should rather think
I"
Yes; | saw you were frightfully
angry: sweet of you. l suppose any
decent sort of man would have
BEEN" she took up quickly; her
soft voice had Il ''twittering quality
row. like that of some small dis
turbed bird. 1T must have looked
rather-ghastly To come upon it
suddenly like that. What did you
make of it? You saw a girl like
me-if you noticed what L was like
at ALL"
Here Archie Laverock did for the
first time glance at this stranger
from the point. of view OF what she
was like to look at.
She was pretty. BY Jove, she
was more than pretty in her bril-
liantly blond style. Not a curl
showing now she sat with
hands to the veil that she was read
justing. y riOtouS wisp of it blew
across her face and chin. Above
the veil, below the brim of the
'tiSbuN, tllc bluGSl eyes liza
Archie Laverock had ever seem
These were frineed by lashes long,
curly, and black. Too black.
y pity thought young Laverock, that
this wonderfully pretty little creature
had SO overdonc the makeup.
Like most men of his day, he had
absolutely no objection to "a touch
of the black and pink the cream
and c2rmine, which Il woman puts
ON" in the same spirit as she
stitches the wildly colored satin
flower to her hat. Either is to
adorn, not TO deceive. Further he
was educated up to realizing that
with a. certain type of French hat
or OF vivid evening gown, the wear
@r must accentuate her own color
ing, or put out" the whole look of
what she wears. and become in
artistic, incnngruous, too con-
spicuous. The love OF any kind
of beauty (Whcther of art or naturcl
pfeSupposeS gift for the apropoS:
or, the right thing at the right
time and place. But never gossamer
silk stockings. say. with golf kit,
The woman who had taught young
LaN@rock so much tshe went out Of
his story long before We begin it,
would have shuddercd at the
thought OF doing up ones exclusives
III threes' with thick black bead
OF mastlc at the end of each trio.
before .Coins: for Il spin in the coun-
thy Why had this girl done that?
All wrong. ALL
Here Il fresh toss of the breeze
sent that end of tulIe across his own
face. bringing him a faint watt of
scent. Different from the all-per-
meatIng perfume of that afternoon.
from the breath of myriad grow
ing things tyounS grasses. Young
,eecil lei-NeS, young uncurling
hrackcr -Ironds) that. mingling with
the prevailing, the unceasing sigh
oil her pine-woods. makes the es-
sencc of Surrey in spring. This
ether scent he could have named,
having once sent huge bottle of
it as thank offering to V. A, u.
giil, who had nursed him.
1t was Mysterieuse Appropriate
enough to this other girl,
She caught the veil back. tied il
under her little egg Snapped chin.
Perfect. that pink oval of her
Jaw: the whole lower part of her
lace eXquisitedly chiseled and de-
fined. Too defined. Here again
she'd overdone it. Her short upper
lip had lite curve violently eyag-
Serated with sticky pigment of a
peculiarly dark browny-red, with
when was acCentuated also the
shell-like detail of her nostlils. Yet,
for all that, the authentic prettiness
of her, the fresh youth. We're things
to hit n man between he eyes-or
to the heart.
Archie Layerock was thus bit ana
at that moment
Down he went like a nine-pin to
this so-far namelcss young woman.
her whole being surrounded bv n
puzzle, as was her face by the mist
OF cornilower blue that she had ait
last folded to lie firm and fiat
above her eyes, against her checks.
In that headdreSs she looked a fair
ana. subtle SphinX-g girl indeed and
he was her captive as much as he
had ever been that of any woman.
He, as it often happens, did not
Know this was the case until LATER
-ah, much later on.
Meantime her voice persisted in
MS ear. Yes, l. want to know eN-
actiy what you thought was hap
penlng just now? 1t might have
looked like several things. mightu't
it, She seemed to put the words
into the mouth Of the young man
at the wheel. For instance. did
you see me as one OF those girls
VINO stay at country houses and
who play bridge recklessly and lose
ana simply have to have money TO
meet their debts of honor and get