The Bozeman courier., 1927-07-15

capered when Miles Straker told him that
tomorrow he had promised himself-h
! the professor did not mind--a whole day
in the glass furnaces in his company.
There was so much that he, Miles Strak-
er, had to learn from him, Josiah Blount.
Victor Gabrielli was little out of the
picture, but not completely. He had
caught and held Straker's attention for
a good moment on the subject Of baths
and food.
1--WE have a pumping system" Straker
said. ''But I expect you'd rather have
something to eat first and bath and
siesta afterwards"
Alison Morrow was the only one left
As far as she knew Miles Straker hadn't
even seen her. In giving her the firm,
crisp hand-clasp which he bestowed up
on all Of them he had kept up his warm
reception of Prof. Blount.
/ With Miles Straker, Alison's dreams
came to a standstill. She had never even
dreamed of Straker. He was complete
stranger to her.
Nor was she sure about the pretentious
marble steps and the double row OF royal
palIes, nor the Greco-Italian seats scat
tered along the way. They were not at
all familiar.
One had to think, and think, and
think-what might possibly be true, Or
much more likely-untrue. The confusion
in Alison's brain was melancholy, not
glorious.
She stood apart from this flustrious
gathering imperSonal as all good secre-
taries should be, holding to her portable
typewriter and waiting for instructions
as to what to do and how to dispose OF
herself.
All the time her subdued attention
was on Miles Straker. She saw the sheer
beauty Of him, the strength Of limb and
picturesque carelessness of open-throated
shirt and welI-worn riding breeches; she
saw, too the quick intelligence of those
gray eyes, even as Blair had seen.
But there was more to Miles Straker
than beauty and intelligence; so very
much more that it was not at all sur
prising that his personality had reached
out, and out, and out from this wilder
, ness until in the end it might reason
ably gather unto itself the whole pc
culiar world of thought.
w.
It was Gabrielli who told Alison about
the scandal in Miles Straker's family.
Gabrieln had got details from the young
J er Whirtie and, with few reservations
due to her youth and sex, passed them
on to Alison.
tits ruined Straker's life" Gabrielle
) said complacently. Hes taken vow
never to look at woman, so it must be
a bit of blow to him to have you here
{ OF course, old Duplessus doesn't count as
! a woman, really"
s "Just because his father eloped with
another mans wife!" Alison exclaimed
= dismally. She thought it a narrow
minded reason for such an inhuman VOW
''It was the rotten way they did IL,
Gabrielli replied. Nobody dreamed they
f had the least intention Of running away
s together. Old Straker fixed it. up to &c
s to Fort Myers that day on business anc
! the woman pretended she was going OF
8 visit to her sister; even sent trunk OF
: ahead the day before. They had to wall
4 a couple Of miles through the woods tt
meet the stage, she taking that poor lit
- tie kid Of hers with her, and then-f yol
. = please it. Anything nigh
I have happened to the child. It's luck.
! for them they didn't have a murder OF
= = their conscience. Whirtie says that Mile
= : Straker has fits Of getting quite quee
= : over it at times. He was only hfteel
: when it happened
" Alison's eyes filed with tears and sh
i sighed.
''I know" GabrielI said with mourn
. full resignation, you're crazy about hin
. like everybody else. There hasn't been
y dogs chance for me since we struck thi
= lonesome hole. Thank heaven, I can stil
q live for my art! But you can't say he
> looked at you yet, can you?"
Alison flushed and replied with prope
= Indignation. Why, she demanded, shoul
q q Miles Straker look at her? She WASH
- here to be looked at, anyway, and M
q Gabrieli would kindly attend to his ow
- affairs, if he possessed any Of even trtfiin
= Importance.
~ a ''I don't blame you for getting ma
~ about it, observed the irrepresSible on
d. eff was pretty girl it would make m
wild to be snubbed like that"
Alison got up and left him.
le 1t was too bitterly true. They ha
been at Blue River for two weeks no
n n and their host had. seemed all that Will
Is to be completely unaware Of Alison MOI
as rows existence. From the moment hC
p name was mentioned and he ha
8 acknowledged the introduction he ha
lost all consciousness Of her.
Ce He had not housed his guests in b
own bungalow, but in a separate builC
as ing and another Of the barnlike stru'
~ lures was used as a dining hall Il
le Straker, his visitors, and his workme
.; Something of his despised fathers con
So munity idea had been retained in tn
common feeding and assembly hall. T
as employed about a dozen men, irreSpectt'
~ ~ of the Negroes, who, OF course, had the
u; own quarters.
Id The Whirties, father and son, lived
ne little cabin by. themselves with an al
p cient gourd vine trellised over the doc
way, which Alison accepted as part
10 the whole impossible situation. Each di
that passed drew her a little closer in
u an old intimacy with these surrounding
ng 1t was as though she were blind, feel1l
.e- herself about familiar room and I'm
er- ing everything in its right place. 81
was left alone a great deal, Tor Mil
,a- Straker-whatever his attitude iowa
~ her-had displayed charming enInus
Il asm for the society Of the nlustrto
Ioo three of their party and had even i
~ ~ cluded Gabrielle in the numerous inv
a. tations to the holy Of holies, his ov
Say bungalow. 1t was true, appartnely, tn
20 20 Madame DuplessuS was not taboo wi
ID him as were the more youthful and 8
- - tractive Of her sex.
80 - Alison had been left out complete
ost t 1Iu Ioo4i 9S S,,o1t,,,oS.. 80, ~
. excursions he arranged for their ent'
- tainment, it was as Gabrieni had
III pointedly remarked, that Miles Stral
behaved as though he were quite u
aware Of Alison Mcrrow's very existen
I'LL Alison, however, was very much aw;
of his. Madame Duplessus, sentimen
with that deadly clutch upon sentime
which only the middle forties can {
perience, gaily announced herself as
ing hopelessly in love with him. In