San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-24


Several of the principal actress
es and actors in town had handed
over their parts to understudies
and obeyed the call of the "mas-
teri; songsters of eminence were
as thick as starlings in a cornfield.
Music was provided by three of
the best-known orchestras in town;
the catering was in the hands of
artists.
Outside the rain Kissed and
swished and gathered in pools and
puddles; inside the atmosphere was
tropical; the groves of Ceylon, the
magic pageantry of Malay, the
glories of Florida.
And Marcus Swete himself! If
he lacked stature, there was over
whelming compensation in the
magnetic personality. The great
dance floor might be crowded, but
the eye seemed to pick him out
with unerring instinct; a careless,
sweeping glance would be arrested
by the trim, elegantly-valeted fig
ure that reflected the artistry of
the faithful Brasher.
Stella Anscombe arrived about
ten o'clock and had barely received
the greetings of Lady Ardingly
when Swete reached her side. The
cerise-charmeuse gown was what
he would have chosen for her; the
dark hair waved over the high
forehead which heii the sheen of
a rocks feathers, the eyes were
eloquent of an interest that wasn't
altogether devoid of contempt.
When he spoke to her it seemed
to him that she surveyed him lazily
with the merest suggestion of hau-
teur or condescension in the poise
of the glorious head.
That, he reasoned, would be the
Anscombe arrogance. A challenge
that pleased him nightly. He.was
much too diplomatic to begin with
the usual platitudes of the flat
terer.
81 had almost forgotten that you
promised to favor us with your
company" he said; "but | knew
there was some one missing-some
one who made all the difference"
81 have been looking forward
to this evening"" she said. "The
newspapers have made so much of
it."
"And l suppose you guessed that
| paid the usual advertisement
rates? That's the customary sur
mise, you know"
She only laughed. He might be
as rude as he chose to be that
night: she would tolerate it, for
she had undertaken a mission and
was determined to see it through.
81 don't suppose you wish to
dance at once" he said. 'Let me
take you to a seat where we can
watch the crowd and indulge a
feminine weakness: picking holes
in them. There are some interest
ing characters here tonight"
(They had entered the ballroom
and he was leading the way to a
low-pitched platform, or dias, at
the opposite end of the room to
that which the orchestra occupied).
every interesting characters" he
went on. eff any one other than
Marcus Swete had gathered them
together he would be made an
Ishmael tomorrow"
She sat down in the chair that
he placed in position for her; he
sat beside her with an air of easy
familiarity, as though he had
known her all his life; as though,
indeed, she belonged to him and
ought to be grateful for the fact.
"Any one save Marcus Swete ?"
She arched her eyebrows as if to
chide him for his conceit.
Marcus Swete and his money,
of course" he corrected himself.
81 cherish no foolish illusions on
that score, believe me-"
"Megalomaniaw She was look
ing across the room. "You shouldn't
encourage the notion that money
commands everything and every
body"
ats something more than no
ton, Miss Anscombe," he said,
grimly. "Let me give you an IL
lustration." There was a hard ex-
preston in, his eyes as he fol-
lowed her gaze across the floor.
"You see that lady in purple sit
ting alone over there? She has
been dancing, but her partner has
darted away at the first oppor-
tunity. No doubt, he has heard
whispering"
"She is very beautiful" said
Stella, earnestly, as she marked the
handsome creature now looking in
their direction.
"And as good as she is beauti-
full" said Swete, although some
Of them would like to give her the
cold shoulder. That's Labina, the
great Labina who used to fill the
Opal Theatre nightly few years
ago"
Stella said: "Ohp in a disap-
pointed voice.
"She married Lord Piney," said
Swete, "and divorced him three
months later. Couldn't tolerate the
hound. Neither could anybody
else who knew him. Wonder if
YOU remember the case? Rather
unsavory and, most Of the mud
was flung at her, although she
didn't daeey-vn IL That's Crawford