Daily Kennebec journal., 1924-04-08

By BERTA RUCE

now no IooAeu xoSWaro 70 =
quarter-pas AZ. tomorrow. sss
the dark -curled American to whom
he had practically declared al
legiance? Was there no eagerness
toward the golden Northerner? With
which, which, did he most want to
have lunch?
Surprises were In store for young
Laverock when, at the hour of
dejeuner next day. he presented him.
self at that over-flled fiower-vase OF
q villa.
For once no babble of voices and
| laughter resounded from balcony or
lawn. There was not the gleam Of
a single tennis tricot amidst the
| bunting. From the lawn where that
imitation fox-terrier was amicably
posed beside those imitation hares.
Beethoven head and the professional
| draperies Of the Mamma -in. Charge;
| alone.
She held a hand out OF her now-
ing angel sleeve. How do YOU do,
Mr.. Laverock?" she greeted him in
| a faultless English. II am so glad
to see you; 1t will be kind Of you to
| cheer my solitude. You know all my
young people had arranged to go off
on one Of their expeditions: con-
sequently shall have you all to my
| self"
But how delightful for me-" mur-
INJURED Archie Laverock, polite
No Jennie. then, after all his plans
| Of what he was to tell her? No
Selma? No, none Of them, not one
! OF the girls at all? Lunch a duck
with Madame herself? With mann
ma" who had been a Tower of
| Silence ever since the first day that
he and Stick-It had called at the
villa! Social intercourse between
Mamma and the two Englishmen
| had stopped at polite gestures on
their part, and. on hers, a stately ac-
| quiescence. Archie had harbored the
word of any language but her native
Danish-if that
But now hero she was; talking
English not only quite SO well as
Archie himself. but with consider
| ably more fluency than he Gin his
astonishmenD could, for the moment,
| master.
"Will you come in? I have had
| the luncheon table set so close to the
| window that we are practically out
Of doors and under the trees" she
said. She led the way into the
polished, ny-tabled salle-a -man-
ger now so oddly empty, and echoing
| only to the feet of the little French
| maid who waited-@upon the oldest
Of all the many lunches of which
Archie Laverock had ever partaken
with a feminine vis-a-vis.
1t was we'll served. exquisitely
| cooked: a meal of salads and omelets
and unfamiliar fish dishes that the
young man appreciated. e But at
once the certainty came to him.
| "She asked me UP here on purpose
| to talk to me alone about some-
thing; now what is 1T?
She began with the opening of any
woman used to the conversation Of
men. Tell me about yourself, Mr..
| Laverock--" but without leaving
| the hiatus of embarrassment that
too often follows. She went on with
| quick, intelligent questions as to
what had been his wont during the
war. and where his home was-no
actual home? well. that was not
nowadays looked upon as quite the
! tragedy that it had been? -
? The Rover, over his admirable cole,
suggested that a fellow did feel the
times. Even nowadays.
you've no mother, Them? the
Dane lady said, syinpathetically.
He shook his head. No, he sighed
beginning to feel more at ease and
in FORM. Sisters! He'd always
thought that must be such q wonder
fui companionship. Actually the
only way in which a man gets the
Point of view and the stimulus and
the comradship of the other sex
without any-any bother Of compli-
catlonS and things creeping In.
A Mamma's Quixxing
Il wonder il you'd care two sous
about that comradship. young Eng
ishman," remarked Mamma with
some dryness-and instantly switch
off to the subject of nationality:
began. without troubling Archie for
his opinion, to talk types.
Il ought to have little cut-and-
dried theory, If any one should, of
qualities in nationality" she de-
clared. always in my pensions 1
nave had to study these children of
The cleverest, in a way. with her
racial logic she has the reputation
for seeing everything. But-she
sees only facts. She thinks facts
are everything. They are not. as
you know. - sSome more cider TO
Monsieur. Simone."
Archie drank cider. listened quite
amusedly. but was it to discuss these
distractions that he had been In.
vted by this extraordinary hostess
who looked like Robins statue OF
book?
She went on. "Then, the Amer
lean women---'
Archie looked up.
sometimes I wonder" Mamma
said, IF the American--beautifuI
ana intelligent and soignee as she II
lis merely q gesture?"
.."What" demanded Archie quickly.
can you mean by a woman being
a gesture7"
"Ah. one cannot really ReneraIize.
when one says American one has
to think, first, Is 1t Latin -Ane. .uu.
or Tentonic-American, or South
american American, or Anglo. Sag
on stock American"
Eh--surely lots OF American vo.
men,. said the young man with his
mind now full Of one. '1ots Of Amer
ican women one meets might be
Engiishwomen rather extra we'll
turned out?"
with a difference" took I'M
Mamma. Now the Enxjishwomop
at her best is wonderful. Cay spirits |
when there is most need AMI least |
cause for gayety! Dosged principles,
AS for work. knew your Ensiish
war nurses. Any woman can work |