Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-17


Lyndall in disreputable riding.
breaches with smudge Oh he. IA... -.
ing nose. The riding breeches, once
white and yet to be paid for. had been
fashioned by a celebrated London
tailor who would have Wept could lie
have seen them now. Eve remained
unperturbed: even a glimpse of her
nose would not have upset her unduly
Therefore It was we'll she could not
see herself as others saw her-mean-
ing in particular he who. having been
born a Sylvester and chrStened Treve-
Ivan, had preferred. for personal rea-
sons, to rechristen himself Bill Smith.
1t was the smudge on Ewes lyrical
nose that finished Bill. He was wres-
tling with a wholly unacCountable but
almost Irresistible desire to kiss 1t.
Go into reverse. old top-go into re-
verse" he was advising himself.
No ope-not even Eve-Could have
guessed that. She was bored almost
TO extinction. She hated machinery
with that honest hate which is bred In
most women. Nevertheless, aside from
The fact that Bill was as his Creator
had made hlm--which was very well
indeed-there was several million per
fectly good reasons why she should
play the part of an admiring audience
while he worked on her coupe.
The coupe was what is known as
second hand. Ewes mother had paid
5000 for it-$50 down and the other
$50 promised at some future date.
Ever since Eve could remember pur
chases had been made in this way
Their mail was always full of duns
Some had just please remit" on them.
Others spoke mildly of Accounts
long overdue" They bore foreign
stamps and postmarks. Berlin, Paris
No oil
the capitals of Europe and their envi-
rons. for Eve and her mother had
lived abroad through many years.
This flood of mail WAS impressive. 1t
gave Eve and her mother Cachet wher-
ever they went. All OF which Eve
found amusing.
Eve was 20 and exquisite. No other
word described her so we'll. Even
those who recognized her as her
mothers daughter flesh OF her flesh
and philosophy OF her philosophy
granted her right to the adjective
She had the loveliest speaking voice
imaginable, akin in quality TO the
carlllons of Liege, and her manners
when she chose. could be sweet and
shy and incredibly alluring.
This is what her mother had worked
and hoped for through the long lean
years.
Il am crossing in May" she had
written an old friend in New York
'and l bring pearl of great price
with me. Wait until you see her"
EYES mother had not added that the
pearl was for sale. But that was what
she meant. Eve was TO marry for
the greatest and only enduring thing
in the world-money. That was what
they returned for.
Nov it was September and Ewes
mother wished It were June again.
In June Eve had been a novelty and
a sensation. She might have married
any Of several eligibles then. But
these had been young men, Ewes CO.
tempories and, as such, still dependent
on their father She had millions in
prospect, but Ewes mother wanted
millions at once. An older man, that
meant.
There had been older men who ad-
uired Eve. But they had been wary.
Ewes mother did not realize that her
maneuverings seemed cold-blooded.
The Summer which had netted her
nothing save disillusiou had been
costly.
They must, she told Eve, retrench.
This suggested some obscure little
inn. In Massachusetts hill town she
had found what she sought. Sugar
Loaf Inn it was called. and to it in
September they had retreated.
The proprietor Of the inn also Sc
cured a saddlehorse for Eve. She
rode beautifully and fearlessly. And
SO the days passed, all alike. until he
who preferred to call himself Bill
Smith appeared on the scene.
No entrance could have been less
dramatic than his He drove up to
the inn one afternoon in a rattIe-trap
fiVyer, out of which he stepped, with
1.-the grace, to confer with the pro
prietOr. He was hatIess and attired
chiefly in khaki and he looked as if he
needed a bath. AS indeed he did
This. however, was purely temporal
and not his normal condition. He was,
so the proprietor explained to Ewes
mother. working in a garage down in
the village.
In the life of Ewes mother nothing
could have been Of less interest than
young men who worked in garages.
If the proprietor had not been burst
ing with information, he would have
been sQuelched by the glance she gave
him. Instead:
You'd never think, to look at him,
that he was worth millions, would
you?"
Worth millions?" she echoed.
But you said he worked in a ga
rage"
Partners with Red Ames. a local
boy that started a garage down by
the monument last July" the propri-
etor had reafiirmed. "They were sort
of buddies in the war, l guess. They
We're both aviators and this chap that
was just here was"
What makes you think he's worth
millions?" she cut in.
Why, he came to see me about his
income tax. I'm a notary public and
he had to swear to some papers. He
told me that his real name wasn't Bill
Smith but Trevelyn Sylvester and
But why should he change his
Nance" Ewes mother had protested,
bewildered
We'll he said he'd come up to help
Ames and that If people had an idea
he had money they'd think he was
cracked, working around ga
rage
Ewes mother had certainly gotten
that impression.
Why should he work-when he
could loan money just as well?"
He said that he liked to mess
around machinery better than any
thing else"
To that the proprietor had added,
with tardy conjunction:
He asked me not TO mention this to
anybody, so perhaps you'd better not
say l did. But l thought you might
be interested"
x X X
EFE'S mother had been-how much
he never dreamed.
Eve, returning from ride, had been
greeted with:
W mere have you been all this
tlme? And before she had recovered
from the SlIrnrise of that. .,Yn,, Lnnrr