The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1939-07-06

And he was interested.
conscious of his attitude of conde-
scension. He was much attracted,
but he knew, of course, that his in
terest in her would be great thing
for the little girl.
And he was interested. A queer
thing had happened to him-a thing
which clashed with all his theories,
broke down the logic of his pre-
vious arguments. He had fallen in
love with little Jane Barnes, at first
sight if you please-like a crude boy.
And he wanted her for his wife. It
was an almost unbelievable situa-
ton. There had been SO many won-
en- he might have married. Lowell
er women than Jane, wittier, more
distinguished, richer-of more as
sured social standing. He could
have had the pick of them, yet not
one of them had he wanted. Here
was little Jane Barnes, bobbed hair,
boyish, slender, quaint in her cheap
clothes, and he could see no one
else at the head of his table, no one
else by his side in the big car, no
one else to share the glamorous
days of honeymoon, and the life
which was to follow.
And SO when young Baldwin had
telephoned of Ediths plans, there
had leaped into Towne's mind the
realization of his opportunity. He
would see Jane among his house
hold gods. And he would see her
alone. He had sent Briggs in time
to have her there before the others
| arrived.
And now Fate had played further
into his hands. ''I've had another
message from Edith" he told her
"we'n have to eat dinner without
them. The fog caught them south
| of Alexandria, and they went into q
ditch. They will eat at the nearest
hotel while the car is being fixed
up"
"Baldy's car always breaks al
| psychological moments" said Jane
''If it hadn't broken down on the
bridge, he wouldn't have found your
! niece"
"And I wouldn't have known you
he was smiling at her. "Who
would ever have believed that SO
much hung on so little"
And now Waldron, the brtler, an.
nounced dinner-and Jane entering
the dining-room felt dwarfed by the
Gargantuan tables, the high-backed
ecclesiastical chairs, the tall silver
candlesticks with their orange can
dies.
''Your color" Towne told her.
"You see / remembered your knit.
ting"
'I'm crazy about brilliant woods, -
said Jane; "some day I am going
to open shop and sell them"
But he knew that she would not
open shop. "You were like some
lovely bird-an oriole, perhaps, with
your orange and black"
She smiled at him with her chin
tilted in her bird-like way. She was
| really having the time of her life.
| She was thrilled and fascinated by
the beauty of her surroundings, and
gradually Frederick began to take
on something of the fascination.
After dinner they sat in the grea,
drawing-room-a portentous place
with low-hung crystal chandeliers
| pale rugs-pale walls-with one cor
ner redeemed from the general
chilliness by a fireplace of yellow
| Italian marble, and a huge screen
of peacock feathers in a mahogany
| frame.
81 call this room the Ice Pal
/ ace," Frederick told her. .Mother
furnished it in the early eighties
and she would never change it. AND
now | rather hate to have it diff.
ferent. / warmed this corner with
the fireplace and the screen. Edith
always sits in the library on the
other side of the hall, but Mother
and I had our coffee here, and
| prefer TO continue the old custom. >
James eyes opened wide. "Don't
you and your niece drink your cof
fee together?"
Usually, but there have beer
times" he laughed as he said it
when each of US has sat on oppo
site sides of the hall in lonely state. =
Jane laughed too. 'Baldy and
do things like that"
They finished their coffee and he
smoked cigar Edith and Baldy
telephoned that the thing was more
serious than they had anticipated
That perhaps he had better senc
Briggs.
| SO that means I'm going to have
| you to myself for an hour longer,
Frederick told Jane. II hope yol
are as happy in the prospect as
am.o