The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1937-11-05
Two > Company
By MARGARET cuIoN HEROIC Y y
EFT CuION HERZOC

Sloe OF the entrance .. NINA drank
it all in.
A slender figure in rose appeared
In the doorway.
Welcome back to Harmony,
Nina" said Hester Semple, quietly,
as her guest alighted. 'It's been q
good many weeks since we've had
the pleasure of a visit from you"
Nina said, Its simply grand to
be here, Hester" but she thought:
What a formal, prepared, little
Speechi" And then she thought:
what a beautyi'' i1r8aae
HeSter's hair was as black, as a
ravens wing. She wore it parted
in the middle and drawn back over
the tops of her ears to a heavy coil
at the nape of her neck. Her eyes
were gray, and quite tragic look
ing when you caught her off her
guard. The rest of the time. the
most you could say for them was
that they were expressionleSs.
They entered the square hall,
which fulfilled the exterior prom
Use of spaciousneSS. Twin stairways
curved upward toward the two
wings. On a long, walnut table, a
pot of early poinsettias bloomed
brightly against the white panelled
walls.
Nina could remember back to
before Carl's marriage. when she
had visited here with daddy. as a
little girl. The long walnut table
had been tangle of crops. hats,
gloves and muddied overcoats in
those pre-Hester days. And there
had been dogs about-all shapes
and sizes; and pipes, and pleasant
smell of saddle soap and leather.
All that was different now. Carl
let Hester do anything she liked
with the house, so long as he had
his horses. Nina and daddy had al
ways thought that If Hester had
had her way, the horses would
have been dispensed with, along
with the mess on the hall table.
Her aversion to horses and all
things pertaining to them amount
ed to mania, almost. Nina Won
dered how she could stand the at
mosphere ). how she could have
chosen to live in it. in the first
place.
Sweet Music For The Maryland
EXXHEN Nina came into the great
w living-room. after she had
bathed and changed into SIM
pie black dinner dress. Hester rose,
punctiliously, and greeted her with
smile :. beautiful smile, re-
vealing even, white teeth-but
about as warming as winter twi-
light.
Not so, Carts hearty welcome.
We'll, by heaven, youngster.
You're sight for sore eyesl Sorry
/ wasn't here this afternoon. but
Close Harmony strained liga-
ment and ! was down seeing to
her."
A big, spare, handsome man
Carl, with a great shock of coarse,
tawny hair. that was turning pre-
maturely gray. and a healthy. rud-
dy complexion. When he talked, he
fairly doomed. People invariably
stopped and listened, when he be-
gan.
1--WE a fine mare for you tomor-
row. youngSter Gray Dawn,
out Of Dawn Cloud. She'll carry
you better than anything you
found down at Warrenton this
autumn. Remember how your ia
ther and old Dawn Cloud used to
get along?"
"Of course do" Nina was a
good horSewoman. In more affluent
days the Staffords had kept saddle
horses at the riding club in town:
and Nina had hunted with her ia
Their in Yorkshire, England-and
in the south. Warrenton and the
Hartford country-and, of course.
here. with Carl Semple. II hear
you're considering Sweet Music
for the Maryland that domi-
neering ANIMAL"
Carl laughed.
"Oh. he has his bad days. but
who hasn't?"
We'll, you know how to handle
him. If anyone does" Nina admit
ted. but Lordl Twenty-Five fences
with that chanee-y jumper!" She
shook her head. She had had occa-
sion to watch Sweet Music when
he was decidedly off pitch.
There's only one Jump on the
whole course that might bother
him-the second. Remember it,
Nina? A stiff post and rail under
trees. -. Trees bother him."
Hester turned awayzIt was i'm
possible to say that She had paled,
for there was never he slightest
vestige Of color in her cheeks. but a
sort of numb look spread over her
features. as it always did. at the
hint OF any accident.
Nina changed the subject.
She didn't want to mention
Richard. or even think of him, but
she hadn't seen the SempleS alone
since her mothers marriage. and
she knew II would seem unnatural
II she didn't speak of it.
So. -. "Now then. you two. what
do you think of my little Honey
stepping out and getting herself
married."
Carl doomed out his opinions for
both of them, as usual. He thought
a lot, apparently, but chiefly that it
was grand thing: and Richard.
having shown keen appreciation
OF horse flesh, was aces with him.
tcopRrigAt. 1897. Margaret Her<ocJ