Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1925-07-15
And the Gods
Smiled
20. 1925, western Newspaper Union
ELINOR HARDIN sat in her box a
By NARY v. BURTON

lllC olJCI anu iioINlt-h w i'Ni
father prose on and on about the
things prOsers seem to notice most
The Cartwrights were in their box
again-together. The Atoms had re-
turned from the West. Yes, the prima
donna was growing stout-what a life
Her small, high-held head on the
slender throat sWayed like flower as
she bent to listen to him. Her face
was listless and her eyes sonber and
disconnected once they flashed as
she bowed to a large, important-look-
ing man in a box opposite, who smiled
eompIacently as he looked at her, and
made some remark which turned the
faces of the three men with him in her
direction
''There's Chattield speaking from his
box, Elinor. and he's coming over. |
want a word with him before he gets
seated in here Wen be back in
moment" and her father disappeared
through the curtains
EIinor pressed her red lips with her
white teeth and turned suIienly from
the sight of the men opposite. They
were her frends-a boy who lived to
smash his autos and brag about it
another who loafed on his money and
posed as a man-and the other Il eats
paw for Chattield. They We're the
men of her world and they all az
claimed her for what they called
dragging Chatfeld Morgan'-and his
millions.
The curtains of the box parted and
Elinor turned with Indifference to
greet reality in the person of the ro-
tund Chatfield. when she found herself
looking into a pair of keen decp-set
blue eyes. that she had never seen be
fore man had seated himself at
her side, and he returned her amazed
stare with GOODNESS, though the color
mounted to his face.
Miss Hardin" he said, in such
quiet. compelling voice that EIinor
paused as she lifted the bunch of roses
from her lap, preparatory to rising
from her chair for purposes of annihi-
lation, "if you could help a man throw
a lariat at star by letting him talk
to YOU just ten minutes, would you?"
The question was asked her in
simple, natural manner. The keen
eyes smiled ever so little and she got
as far as observing that a square jaw
and a clean-cut mouth went with the
eyes-when something happened, and
before she could help 1t she had
smiled a response.
"What is it," she asked, uncertainty,
and her long lashes swept her cheeks;
she had no intention of being BETRAYED
into another ENHANCEMENT with those
gray bOy-eyes.
This And | want to tell it quickly.
for | can't stand for you to think me
the bounder seem to be-pefhaps am.
| am Winston Craig, have been in the
city three years, and am the agent for
the New York Consolidated Life.
general agent for this whole territory
is to be appointed and from my record
the office is mine, only they seem to
feel that l am pretty young, and from
a southern country town, and lack ex
perience The cranky special agent is
here in the theater with me tonight,
and | laughed and told him | thought
he ought to put me up against some
test in the matter of getting at people;
he answered SeriouSly-he's really a
bounder-that if | could come over
here and get you to talk to me through
the between-acts the appointment was
mine. /"
"Oh, said Elinor as she lifted her
eyes haughtiy, 81 don't think I care
to be the subject of a-business wager.
lone minute more" and again he
used the compelling tone, and now his
eyes were grave. ut wasn't to get the
job for myself that l came. | could
have gone on fighting my own fight
and waiting, but-about the star
there's desperate need for hurry-and
you shall listen to me, for it concerns
you as well as me! He bent forward
and clasped the stem of one of her
roses in his fingers. "Do you remem-
Der a man pulled you free Of that
wreck your car was in on the avenue
just helped you free your skirts. For
three years | have thought about you,
watched for your car. waited at the
alter doors, read where you went to
drink tea, to dine and to dance and
laugh with those others-and-" his |
eyes went to the box where the three
men stood talking with her father
Hers followed his and then came back
to the broad, strong man beside her
whose clothes We're as conventional as
theirs, whose manner as perfect, but
who had in his clean young face a
something that dared to do, some
thing that called.
"And-Y Again she was looking
into his eyes and speaking apparently |
without her own voltion. Again he |
flushed and his eyes observation-disclosures |
it have been tender!y? The color on
her own cheeks matched that on his
and , IiUbt 1oVVnpJ uDOn her She was