New Britain herald., 1926-07-17
By Beatrice Burton
Author of Hove Bound" "
 HER MANI

kind of letter that Tony would nave written, either. It was on hotel paper and it began: Hello, Lit- tie Sister"
 It was from Morley Kaufman's fat friend, Bill Erskine!
 Hello, Little Sister," he wrote, I'm coming your way again in about two weeks and so don't want you to make any dates with anybody for the first three days in August. I must gotta see you then"
 It was signed Bill" as If Merry had known him all her life.
 She took one glance at it, and tore it up.
 You didn't find the other letter, did you?" she asked Mons, who was standing, looking at her curi- ously.
 Mons shook her head.
 "No," she answered. But If there was anything important in it, Tony will write again. Won't he?"
 Merry shrugged her shoulders and went upstairs.
 When she came down again. she was holding little white card board box in her hand.
 CHAPTER XXII
 As she sat waiting for Tony Gaines mother in the living room of the Cabot street house, Merry looked around her with wide and curious eyes.
 She had never been in such a beautiful room in all her life. It was wide and cool looking, with it's white woodwork and the white DOCK shelves that rose straight to the ceiling. ,
 The rug at Merry's feet was like q carpet of silver green moss, ana everywhere she looked there were low glass bowls filled with roses. The blue silk curtains at the win dows gave a view of the smooth green lawn at the side of the house.
 Every table in the room was loaded with photographs in silver frames. with silver boxes, and lamps with brilliant silk shades.
 Everything in sight spoke of wealth and luxury and soft living. And. sitting there, Merry felt far ther from Tony Gaines than she ever had, since she had first set eyes on him.
 "Whv, of course, he never meant to marry mel" she thought bitter lv. "Perhaps he did just at flrst' when he was swept off his feet. Rpt afterward-' She shrugged her little shoulders.
 It was perfectly plain to her. all at once. why he had gone away 10 Montana. To get away from her, E-of course! Just as Cassie had cruelty pointed out, he had got himself in too deep" with her. a poor girl working for s10 a week lin a neighborhood beauty parlor.
 And yet" thought Merry, ne gave me this ring the last time l saw him, He must have been serl- ous then" She was looking down at the ring with tear-dimmed eyes when the door of the room opened and Tony's mother came in.
 Merry knew that she was Tonys mother the minute she saw her.
 She had Tony's deep. dark eyes, and his fine straight lips. The proud lift of her head was like the lift of his. and she held out her hand to Merry in the frank, friend ly way that Tony. himself, might have offered his. ..-.
 Merry laid the white cardboard box down on a little table of inlaid wood that stood beside her. She tapped it lightly with her finger tips.
 q came to bring you this" she said in a faltering voice. Its the ring that Tony gave me, Your ring"
 The other woman opened the box : and took the ring from it, looking at 1t for a moment with thoughtful } eyes. before she slipped it on her finger. Then she glanced sharply up al . Merry, and suddenly Merry found herself violently wishing that she had not worn so much rouge and lipstick on her face today. She wished, too, that her nails were not so shiny with pink polish 3 and that her hair was not quite SC r fragrant with Cassie's gardenia } perfume.
 t She felt common and loud and ] cheap in this quiet room with thi' l low-voiced woman whose skin wa: ] free from powder, and whose hand! looked like bits of carved ivory. Don't you want to keep thi' s ring?" Tony's mother was asking l, in that lovely voice of hers 9 Don't you want it, my dear?" . Merry shook her sun-bright head = q think Tony wanted me to return lit to you" she said. "He sent mt l a letter just before he went away ? But it got lost around the hous, before I had a chance to read 1t { I feel sure 1t was about this ring y thought feel sure he wanted mt ] to bring it back to you." ) Under her snow-white pompa dour, Mrs. Gaines eyebrows kni l themselves together in a puzzled { frown.
 Well, of course, if that's wha } you think" she murmured uncer } tainly. Perhaps I'd better asl , Tony when I write to him"
 No, thanks!" Merry cut in brisk , ly, lifting her soft little chir , proudly. She could be proud, too , when she wanted to be!
 She got up to go. "No, indeed? 1 she said. holding out her hand, T got it back safely. I have no use for it now, of course" Tony's mother looked more puzzled than before.
 "Of course, don't know what happened between you and Tony, she began. "The night I came home from Charlottesville, he told