Evening star., 1936-01-19
January I9. 1880

house. and the tall white columns we're moon
beams in marble Green walls of venerable
bOX-woOd shouldered high among velvet trees.
and moon-tinged lawn soped down to the
moon-whipped waters OF a wide river. Thrust
out into the streaming fire and emphasizing
It's restless brillianCe was a little, dark pier.
and made fast to it small boat with sails
folded like a moths closed wings
After Mrs Sisbee had taken Valerie in her
arms and welcomed the prodigal to the upper
earth from wherever she had hidden herself
Valerie slipped into Philips arms for dance.
She revelled in everything dubbed with
laughter, nodded, cried "Hello hello. hellorr
to the radiant faces of old friends floating past
and calling to her why hello Why. where'ye
you beena Why, darling, Why Val! how sweet
to see you!'
Then. Just to prove that she was still on
earth, she saw her boss Hexter Floyd She
read in his eyes little signs that he was
going to ask her to dance. and she steered
Philip away from Floyd's side of the room.
resolved to escape him and his possessive
eyes. Yet she had not even noticed - she
would hardly have resented = the even greed
Ter stare that followed her with equal tenacty
the stare of young Neal Douglas. whose none
too-recent dinner coat was quite out of place
among the long tails and white ties
Old Titus Clifford had brought him. Clifford
was another of the outsiders who had been
dragged to- Washington by the crisis In his
own field gold mining Clifford was a
genius, but in Washington a hopeless outsider
He had noted that when he called for in
formation the first answer was usually,
Douglas will know about that If he doesn't
know it, he'll know how to find it out
Finally Clifford sent for this know all. expect
ing to see somebody crawl out of hole
looking like Father Time But Douglas turned
out to bea young man with an unusual combi-
nation of curiosity and memory. His head was
a cyclopaedia of useful information. Clifford
took liking to him, grew fond of him, began
to lean on him instead of his own secretary
Young Douglas knew how Clifford ought to
answer invitations; what ones he had to aC-
Cept; what ones he could safely lie out Of;
what Clifford ought to wear for what occasion.
He wrote the best speeches Clifford ever de
livered, and ghosted him fine article for a
big magazine. But his salary was fixed by
regulations and Clifford could not legally in
crease it. though he paid him little extra
from his own pocket for personal Jobs when he
could do SO without hurting the young mans
pride.
When Mrs. Sisbee invited Clifford to her
house, and Douglas told him he had to CO. he
was afraid and begged Douglas to chaperon
him; then promptly vanished among old
cronics at the bar. leaving young Dougla,
marooned in sea OF young women he did not
know and dared not accost
So Douglas slipped out to the veranda and
leaned against pillar. to bask in the moon
light and inhale and exhale the aromatic air
and his own smoke. BY and by he saw Valerie
come out of the hou1e like a sneak thief. He
never dreamed that she was another clerk and
fugitive from her boss. Douglas wished that
he dared speak to her. for she idled among the
trees like dryad.
There was another woman on the lawn
whom neither Douglas nor Valerie had no.
ticed She was down by the river walking her
dog This was old Mrs Bowman Tozer, hei-
nously rich and Mrs Sisbee's favorite house
guest Her dog had told her he wanted to 90
out. He was funny, fuzzy dog, a silly eyed
Sealyham. and had brought into her life an
endless amount of entertainment after all her
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