The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1936-05-04
Chapter SO.
LECTURE.

LEU OhEs
THE brother and sister dined
l. alone that night; Phina was in
bed. after the excitement of lease
signing.
"Oh, l love New York! It's a
magic city," Iris said. She crossed
the room and leaned out the win.
dows. 1.-THE tall buildings, the sky
line with all those starred gray
heights against it, and the dull-rose
glow in the sky behind"
81 know" said Owen gently. 81
hope it will meyer look like just
Park Avenue to you"
"Oh. you talk like Uncle Will.
You ought to be back in our hermit
age, l believe you'd like that" Iris
said, half teasing, half annoyed.
I'VE were cast wrong. You don't
really like the pleasures and pal
aces; you would have been happier
than | with Uncle Will and Father
and Aunt Ella. Maybe you'd have
been a real artist"
well. | had Mother till l was
twelve, you know. She was the
sweet@ thing-gay and impulsive
and affectionate; not a bit like
Phina."
wonder what she'd have thought
about this exciting world of yours. &"
yours, my child" said Owen, a
little cynically. You happen to be
the family passport to smart society.
Oh. any unmarried man not too i'll
hammered can spend his night in all
the best stag-lines; but. you see,
was selfish enough Cor Phina con-
siders it selfish) to prefer Sigrid.
You like the roadhouses and the
dinner-parties and the victories
over such as Georgia"
81 do like going places and seeing
things. So would you if you had
been brought up without money.
and under a system of obedience
and seclusion which dated from
Aunt Elias girlhood."
$50 far, so good. But l wouldn't
stay so late at the Chateau next
time. Georgia can get away with
that sort of thing better than you
can. And, little sister. watch your
step-Georgia is a clever girl"
He was not looking at her as he
spoke.
"Oh, Owen" she poured out her
explanation And thought Georgia
had done it. till found Phina and
Camilla thought | did,"
"Georgia's line was. of course.
that you had" said her brother.
She thought he looked relieved.
she ought to know. it was her own
habit last winter. There's nothing
Georgia doesn't do. understand.
But you have to be her kind to do
It,"
WAS it very serious?"
He patted her. "Nothing's serious
these days"
but. oh. how gorgeous"
DUT Iris reflected that Mrs. Nor
~ gan understood. or P a
wouldn't be leasing the Woodlands
Mrs. Morgan was her kind OF per
son. And when she was driving
down in Allan's completely repaired
low-slung cleaning dark-blue car
with Allan as easy and amused and
casual as ever by her side. life was
all exciting.
Wen take the grounds first" he
said. as they finally drove through
a pair of wrought-iron gates. Little
girls from id-Victoria always pre-
fer the simple pleasures of a gar
den. don't they?"
''If you keep on teasing me about
being from mid-Victoria I'll be
driven to a terrible effort to be
modern. And I'll do it badly. And
then you won't like me any more.
she said. laughing.
Then I'll certainly stop. for you
do this superlatively we'll. And
here's the first garden. Beautiful"
He stopped the car and they got
out. moving through a tall barrier
of forsythia bushes. They turned
down through a bridlepath. 1t wound
through parklike green for perhaps
a quarter of a mile. went through
a delicate small woodland. and end
ed at another wrought-iron gate
single and low.
Allan opened it for her and stood
back as she passed between the
high hedges. She stood. slim and
tall and starry-eyed with the excite
ment OF what she saw about her
her coat blown back by the spring
wind, her face flushed and rapt.
Tall Towering trees stood about
as in an orchard close. But crocuses
and snowdrops thrust up along the
borders of the paths: masses oi
rosebushes would be covered with
red and pink flowers lat"r, =