The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1926-09-14

as though making swift mental
| calculation. Ter poise had returned.
| to her: even at the first she had not
| been frightened. although undeniably
| startled
Constance was not so pretty as her
fiftecn-ycarold sister: that would
have been difficult. for Alice was
pretty beyond all reason. None the
less. the young chatelaine of the
Brooke mansion presented to the
world a countenance of which only
the most exacting could make COM
plant. IT was the kind that photo
graphs with mysterious effect, be-
cause 1t held something more than
mere comeliness. something elusive
yet discarnible. something that. for
want of more successful descrip.
ton. Is usually called character.
John w Brooke always insisted
that Constance was her mother, over
again. Yet sometimes ne saw him.
self in the straightforward glance of
her gray eyes. and others saw it, too
Mr.. Hedge did not see 1t. because he
had never beheld John W. Brooke.
Nevertheless. he saw enough to con.
vince him that he had made no mis-
take in addressing himself chiefly to
the young woman who stood before
him
Certainly: we will dine" said Con.
stance abruptly.
She led the way from the library.
down the broad hall and into a spa.
cious room that lay on the opposite
side of the house. Alice followed her
closely, then Billy. Mr.. Hedge
brought up in the rear. making swift
note of his surroundings and occa-
sionally frowning slightly.
The dining-room In the Brooke
mansion was all that Fifth Avenue
dining room should be. 1t was almost
a banquet hall. Mr.. Brooke had
panelcd 1t in a walnut. because he
could easily afford to: he had placed
no check upon his architect, either
in this or any other apartment under
his roof
Tho family table. always employed
when there were no guests. seemed
absurdly small In the great room. 1t
was not placed IN the center. but
drawn close to an open fireplace.
wherein few logs of high-priced
driftWood were burning With strange
flo mes of green and blue and yellow
1t was quite a long walk to the
table. and the procession moved IN
single file Mr. Hedges active glance
Hitting from side to side. Even
Horace. the butler from his place
behind Constance chair. could dis
Germ that the stranger was complete
iy dt las lie neither hurried nor
loitered he did NOT carry his hands
IN his pockets. nor rub his nose fur
lively. nor straighten his tie. He
moved as nonchalantIy toward the
table as John w Brooke himself
My fathers char said Con.
stance with a pref gesture
Mr. II.'dse seated himself TN It
You may serve dinner Horace
murmured Constance
Yes. Miss Brooke" and Horace,
wrenching his glance from the face
of the stranger disappeared on his
errand
There was nalf a minute of silence.
broken only by an embarrassed
cough from Billy Then Mr. Hedge
spoke
Now that we've all plunged In
the water isn't so cold. after all. Is
IT."
The three Brookes looked at him
sharply and with obviously surprised
faces Constance and her brother
exchanged fleeting glances Alice
pursed her lips The observation had
sounded rather human, quite differ
ent from the Hedge of the library
He was smiling too.
You see. he continued easily.
the first shock was not in the fact
that | arrived on the scene. but IN
the fact that your father didn't
Constance was not wholly sure OF
this.
Il can readily understand your sur,
prise. said Mr. Hedge 1t Is en-
tlrely natural We are all more or
less creatures of surprise But sur.
Drises are not necessarily unpleasant
or attended by any unfortunate con.
sequences
Constance made d note OF the fact
that the stranger thought well Of
himself
I'm simply your fathers agent for
{. short time. I've no doubt IN the
world that you will all cake Keen
interest in the experiment. as soon
as the nature Of 1t is clear to yOr.'
NEXT CHAPTER, The FIRST lesS
son In efficiency.