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Show . T JPAG2 F1V2 27; 1928. PROVO EVENING HERALD, THURSDAY, ji 1 CHAPTER I ORCHID'S real name was Ashtoreth Ashtoreth Ashe! HAl Doculiar Harae Ashtoreth., It mav even imnress von . . is absurd. : r Ashtoreth's mother ij' a' romantic woman.' She reads ' a great many, novels, and imagines herself a hit occult. iFollowing her daughter's birth, she had strange dreams ne talked of reincarnation, and de- -. febout ancient nau a pnestess, and worshiped . the oiie mat oeeq jclarea Inoon. And uvea in a marble palace, and danced before ttrange gods. Her husband,-a- t the 'time, feared for her. I . , r ' . . "' anity.. ' : But Mrs,1 Ashe laid it all to mysticism, and insisted unon inaming her child lAshtoreth! after the moon- eoddess of fcld Egypt. ; It was to Ashtoeth that pagan, women prayed Maidens seeking lovers. And wives desiring children Mrs. A6he thought it was a lovely custom, and sometimes jrsred favors herself of the moon. Not that she believed n- it at all. It was merely a harmless' little fantasy, and leased ner senumeniai nature. Naturally Ashtoreth hates her strange name. Pea'ple are ilways asking what it means, "and she finds explanations -v xceedingly.emDarrassing. When she was small, 4hcnchildre'n with whom she played ' called her Ash-asIt sounded rather like a cellar-waor something gray and grubby ; and the child hated it with all her fastidious little being. It was not only ugly. It was utterly incongruous. Because Ashtoreth Ashe is an ex- . . quisite a girLas ever lived. ' . . hair was black, She never used perfume, but a haunting sachet instead. 1 it made his eyes seem peculiarly bright Ilia ' ; " ; '''.' v graying at the temples.And rouge she abominated," V Ashtoreth loves beautiful things with an instinctive apAshtoreth, absurdly, wondered If the English girl Jnd preciation of color and texture. She bought remnants in ever run her fingers through it. She had seen the girl's bargain basements. Bits of Chinese embroidery, to relieve picture in the papers! She. was, big and with a the somber black 'of 'her frocks. 01d lace. And 'an occatweeds. wore n British look about her. And she sional length of lustrous satin, heavy as velvet. ; Somehow Ashtoreth could not imagine that girl putting She had of wrapping the stuff about her slender her fingers, in anybody's hair. body." Her skirts swathedvher hips, And she carried her" Hollis Hart was old enough to be Ashtoreth's f atheri She ' self a French women do. was 23 the' day she went to work an his? of fief . And Hart, She knows lines.. And the drama of clothes. And how at that time, must have been nearlv 50. He was frequently to drape materials, with a" hint, of voluptuousness inthe Called- "the most eligible bachelor" in Americar A popular 'cling and the 'swish of them. As Helen of Troy wound her Kftfl enmnared him once with the Prince of Wales. robe and Cleopatra her purple gown-s- o Ashtoreth. arapea The press credited him with being a Don Juan, and jnever and gathered. A fold here, and another there. Revealing tired oLprinting rumors regarding a prospective marriage. the tanalizing loyeliness of her soft, slim body. the bonding business He took an indolent interest-i-n frivolity to gilt-- : Her clothes are clejver.with a. great pretension of mod- - bounded by his grandfather, preferring ' securities. in is her simple edged hqw Ashtoreth, esty akout them. Which , ; crepe, came to fascinate the rich and mighty Hollis Hart. His secretary, a benevolent son devoted to phiranthropy. robe, vamped Exactly as Lady Hamilton, in her "Grecian pot laree sums aside for charitable enterprises. And Hart ' ..... : ' poor Lord Nelson. cheerfully endorsed them all. lie had created a trust, the insure .the perpetuation of There were 40 girls who worked in the oyter office of income from which was-t- a clairvoyant moment, knew that in the pitiless conflict of women, Aunt Meg- and Aunt- Sarah would be arrayed J him. . Because this before stood who the girl against was soft and beautiful It seemed, then, indelicate to ask, her to transcribe such a letter as he had proposed dictating ' to Aunt Meg. 'y ...:,'....,:..7 7 to him for stood' there She begin. Very quiet! jr, t ; , waiting without self consciousness. Her fingers now were on- her' ' note book. And the green stone on her forefinger gleamed, nf like a baleful scarab, across the desk at Hollis Hart. ' "Your ring?' he exclaimed involuntarily. "What a gor- : . , y geous thing. May I see it?" . Unsmiling, she extended her hand. Her lingers, long and white, made him think of dropping'petals. "I am intensely interested," he explained,' "in archaeol- -' in the amulets of the Egyptians." ; ..,'.';'' ogy, and partftularly ' ' " - -- girli ::. raw-bane- d, wind-blow- ' ' : .: , - . h. iff y, it . 41 ; . i 1 1 . - "; - . 3 - :7 . She looks a little like Dolores-de- l Rio, only there is some . thing more, mysterious about her. r. Her skin has a sort of ivory pallor. And she has gray- green eyes, and vivid lips. Because her. cheeks are color-ess the effect of her full, red mouth is startling as scarlet ' ' on old ivory. a pointed little chin. So The effect is that her face, seems curiously accentuated by the way in which she does her hair. It is straight black hair. Parted in the middle, and twisted in great coils over her ears. " goddess of ijqypt" She flushed ,''r:7 "It is a beautiful name," he added hastily;. "Very beauti- - d. ; , f ul. .... will you Well, now, MissAshe, ....". please. He dicated Victor Hugo said once of a theatrical celebrity: 'fehe is v. t not pretty she is worse." Now, Ashtoreth is not really pretty. She is rare. Differ : . ent from other girls. There are, for instance, typical debutantes, typical ste nographers, and. typical sportswomen.- Exactly as there are typical wives and typical chorus girls. But Ashtoreth is not so easily classified. ; When Hueo spoke of the dancing girl, he probably Had in mind that seductive qaality known as sex appeal. A vulgar expression, but inclusive of attributes difficult "of expression. . v LI "Yes?,r :;:' ..... was noncommittal; 7 Ashtoreth politely he hazarded. "Itis not an antique setting?" i w 11 11 . i ji ' t a rainer i.n - no, sne 1,01a mm. copy, 1 minx.-- f uui j sketchcd' it my3eif fronva talisman of the Graeco-Roma- n . .. '.; period." v" ' have worn if "Then Cleopatra," he remarked, smiling, "may " ' ' ' . ; the original." : : ';' "' Ashtoreth looked on her ring with quiet humor; "Oh, yes," she said. "She wore it on her thumb the night ;i she had herself delivered to Ceasar in a bale of rags." , 7' -- .t Hollis Hart chuckled. '; "I've no doubt," he said, "that Caesar complimented the- - V; r.n-- i queen upon her taste." Glancing sharply at his new stenographer, he wondered who she wasr A society girl, probobly, taking !a fling at - 'i ' business. Interested in antiquities, too. r 'I'm sorry," he murmured aDolotreticallv "but I liave1'" quite forgotten your name. "Miss Ashe," she told him. "Ashtoreth Ashe! s Ashtoreth44ie-cricd- . "Whv Ashtoreth waa the mhnn s-v; - heart-shape- 1 - -- ; ' " -- y ",.,. , quietly.-.- ' take a letter v . Half a dozen, business communica- tions. 4 "Leave them," he instructed, "on Mr. Higgiris! desk. I in after luncheon. That is alL Thank you,' shall not-b- -- . ... e . MissAshe." FORTY pairs of curious eyes watched Ashtoreth to her: desk. They noticed her heightened color and exchanged, ' . - : glances. ' sW was wondering what sort of an impression she had: made. Wondering if Mr. Hart knew her for a poor girl. An scarab. An ignoramus, pre? impostor, with a tending to a familiarity with things of which she knew She pondered dis ..',,! Cleopatra and antiquities. nothing. tractedly. Could Mr. Hart have guessed how little she really knew of Egypt's queen? Only that men called her ... the Serpent of the Nile, and that she vamped Caesar from a pile of carpets ? And killed herself with an asp ? .... ; 1 , "I'll get a book at the library," vowed Ashtoreth .,t ? '.. And taking her mother's market list from her, bag, she ' ""4 penciled a memo at the bottom: "find out about Cleopatra' s . , make-belie- ve - HALLIS IIART. the4mousifinancier," was extraordinar ily impressed the first time he saw her and Hollis Hart . was not a susceptible person. It was a stormy day in January when Ashtoreth summoned by an electric buzzer on her desk glided into his private office, to take her first dictation from the fantous ! . Mr. Hart. J. Ashtoreth wa3 wearing a black black crepe, swathed about her hips afld caught on one side by an odd buckle A most unusual buckle. A collector would have noticed it at once, and speculated upon its origin. It happened, however, that ARMm-f.thad made it herself, with two sticks of sealing wnvv- - Ormnf creen. and the other of gold. The effect was J . . of mottled jade. On the forefinger of her left hand she wore a scarab, set . in dull gold, and reaching exactly to th first joint. It was not really an old scarab, nor valuable. But, as Ashtoreth knew, there are very few people v;ho know antique scarabs when they see them. in a stone jeweler's tray, priced, among She had four.d the e setting she copied various odds and ends, at 50 cents.' from a ring in the Egyptian room at the Art Museum. The whole thing cost perhaps $5, and looked .fabulously ' rare : and costly. ... Ashtoreth never had much money to spend on herself. Butrwith a meager expenditure she achieved considerable distinction. Shoes and stockings were' hergreatest extravagance. Sheer chiffon hose, and a scarab ring. A swathed crepe irock.-an- d high heeled pumps- ,- Eminently unsuitable! business wear. But Ashtoreth never aspired for course, to be correct ,, She was individual. Moreover, she was clever i "Other girls," she told her mother, "conform to style standards. They wear their skirts so short you'd think They use the samesort they were having a competition, kind-o- f face powder. Their same the and of perfume, dresses are all of a pattern. And their jewelry looks as if do their hair alike. if had come off one counter. They even shave-their necks. and varnish-the- ir nails, finger They books" same and the read same movies, They see the - ' Sf"i - I-t- m - it ' rt' ' '4- i - I . and scarabs." , , j The library was next the chain grocery ctore. ' She would; stop there on her way home. Maybe Mr. Hart would say ; something more about Egypt tomorrow. Then she would be able, if circumstances permitted, to throw in another r. observation or two" Carelessly, of course. . That night Ashtoreth read while her mother went to the ; movies. When Mrs. Ashe came home, she made herself J a pot of tea and cut some cake. She .was one of. those ' women who like a little "snack of something" before bed time. While she ate, she chatted of Greta Garboand John ' ' Gilbert. There was nobody K she remarked romantically,,,', ", made love like John Gilbert', especially to, Greta Garbo.-i- ' Finally she went to bed, smothering yawns with her pink,"'"" 1 1 h ... ! Ashtoreth shrugged distastefully. "And I've no doubt," she said, "they think the same . . .; thoughts if any.'1 1 ; 3p ' MRS. ASHE had met her daughter downtown for luncheon. She was wearing, at the time, a purple velvet coat, and gray pumps and stockings. Her dress .was f lowered chiffon. A riot of apoplectic petunias and flaming poppies. of Her hat, which she held in her ample lap, was a masswas And her hair, shingled smartly, healthy cotton violets. dandelion yellow. Like Marilyn Miller's, "one season As Maizie Ashe fiays herself: her hair is not natural it ' '"V. is persuaded. J ", - She is' a plump woman, with soft fragrant skin, and round blue eyes. Her coloring is like a bisque doll's, and. ' - scarcely faded. 1 and beet her across her daughter Now she surveyed ; ; "' L"j' . " : , -- strmgJ)eaiiJaladMaMcuMldjeye with she ate Ashtoreth.) out, retorted she amiably. Hoity-toity"Miss observed comfortably And, toying with a bran muffin; should be alike. folks natural young was only that is like your counseled she "You're too fiiiick, honey," father.' You'd ought to be more like me, You d be a sight ' But Ashtoreth despised conformity. Her s her legs, slim and thereby attracting unusual attention to And felt hats, summer and SheLwore black exclusively when everybody else thought winter. With a bit of a brim, volition.' Only when ," brims were. d.. ..'. 2 J , Hart not iccdTn a surprising moment how clear her skin was. "Pale as opals," he thought. Hart, Lee, Inc. And each of them coveted the enviable task of taking dictation from their distinguished president. Ashtoreth had worked for the firm less'than two months. Her speed was negligible, and her accuracy doubtful. Yet no one was surprised when she- received the appointment. various philanthropic enterprises. "And now," sighed Hollis Hart, when the thing "I can have a good time with a clear conscience." He had, when he first saw Ashtoreth, been having a good time for something like 25. years. Ever since the death of his father, an estimable old fogey devoted, to righteousness and plain living. aunts, Hollis H?rt With the, exception of was quite alone in the world. The aunts wc - - was-done-, - ASHTORETH opened the door of Mr. Hart's-officly, and closing it behind her, stood at his desk. HewasLXonsQusojLwraiii And he noticed, in two-venerabl- quiet- e r-- Mm . r. l at-he- ollia well-bre- , self-contain- It well-know- the-belove- ar ' ' ? from the elastic on her note J ASHTORETH put her fingers to the violets that bloom- her gray.green eyes to her e.mpioyer's of a he had And in ed way set. were yellow bowl on his desk. From 'her body there em- own blue aeep ; nnateda the face. His ' , lovelv odor of a delicious woman. Soft as the narrowing them. waV brown so skin.' that..', his of It tanned breath; night wind whispering, And Hollis Hart, in Tropical suns had . To"-ead- I ' - . AndnsmartrHlecided Ashtoreth, putting'out the light, IadieseiisilyupsetIhey Jite like sparrows, andwrt rtiy black. Both of them worried inordinately about ,u ' bad ."like the stenographer who vamps the millionaire bosst.i a surprising creep gently about, her. end" for Hollis whoso lavish checks they deposited the moment, how clear her skin was. ' : first of each month. "Pale as opals," he thought. Y'j dicAt the moment Mr., Hart Was considering the wisdom of had Hart Hollis because was And that astounding, note to Aunt Meg. A reporter, it seemed, had asked her a tated to any number of 'girls. And never thought anything statement a for man. regarding the rumored engagement of her a was he Nor them. poetic at all about Aunt Meg, tremento across Lady Somcthing-orr-otheIt was strange, too, how the name "Orchid" flashed pale-gir- nephew for details. had tremulously, written, concerned, the dously as of it immediately, fitting his mind. He thought aunt's address, " Dictated ' his cleared throat. Mr. Hart his ' who waited, note btyk in hand. rnote A gasping-litt- le traced-itand stared st savagely that eminent an of family Hart was the last out of breath. d a like considerably note, lady American leinage back to the first Huguenot settlers. linen used had white Aunt of a a For Meg Rhodes century quarter the as papers say. "Scion of fame, and fortune," was HerJbkck. in bordered handwriting cramped a millionaire many times paper, scholar, famous sportsmen,' and and .quivering. And she used a fine pen that inevitably ' over. his the with spattered when she dotted Jier fs. The letter, somehow was buzzing time; story'jf Bostonrat'the like Aunt Meg. Or Aunt Sarah, for that matter. ; .looked a British of peer. reported engagement to the7 daughter were a They exasperatingly alike, Hollis Hart's aunts. De Ashtoreth, of course, had heard the rumors. The peer, decorous to close scent, the. bo spinsters. exceedingly bit improverished, was said to a at Once party,' they had met a dubiously lovely taken garden had Hart Hollis before And the throne. daughter A charming, reckless girl whom Itheir with nephew. seen the. in lady frequently extended residence in London wa.v ' loved. men had many Wales. of Prince the eompany of Hollis Hart presented her to his aunts, and immediately There was a great deal of international gossip. But the she of one those proceeded to envelop them with her gracious charjn. was Hart knew. one no affairs of real status Aod there choose. They drew together shyly, their narrow shoulders touching, men privileged, as they say, to pick and as they stood facing the radiant creature. They were un:. to be picked. were plenty.of girls languishing of a comfortably ill at ease. And so at less for words, as to glamorThe Sunday suppliments told at great length than usual. Frigid, stilted seem even more had Hart Mr. whom to celebrated. pcarlsY ous widow with font dry in their with black. theiife With in horrid much delailT things been attentive7 "And the tabloids recited, with souls And their bodie." ered parched. whoBwalowed aviatrix French of the the agpnizedjqye distarbed atIhthought if they was whispered, they saidT "poison on Boston Common. soft girl who knew so touch of the of warm, were in and jealous was unavailingly, desperately that the poor aviatrix he felt sure of it. watched he love. As them, n Mr. Hart lovo with the Hart believed that all women Hollis that from day, And, a. by certain beauty, glorified Ashtoreth "had heard of another1. The unloved women one were And then arrayed against Mr. Ziegfeld, who publicly avowed her affection. beloved women de- the And women. million-dollthe hating with legs there was the Austrian dancer rest. all the ftpising oh, Hollis. Hart had had hia affairs scores of them. ' plump palms. ' When she was asleep, Ashtoreth tiptoed, quietly back to , living-roothe until the flat grew icy cold, and dawn put gray figures whitely against the window panes.""' ' At six a. m7Ashtdreth knew that Cleopatra was immoral not because she was a great queen but because she was bcuueuve, use a pruiessionai Deauiy. - Caesar was the richest and the most influential man she.4-kneso she vamped him. He died. : And Antony became s. old Egypt's sugar daddy. Geo forgot Caesar, and started- to--running around with Antony. Just like day."'. ,. ..... ; Gold-digge- rs ; . . ? Smiling drowsily, Ashtoreth suddled under her flowered puff. And slept, to dream of Hollis Hart, in a robe of. ' : . .. Tyrian purple, with laurel in his hair. "Ashtoreth Ashe !" said her mother at breakfast "Look at those circles under your eyes. 1 thought I heard you up after I' went to bed. Reading, I bet. .Well, you're a t perfect sight that's all I've got to say." But Ashtoreth, studying her eyes in the mirror over the . . kitchen sink, decided that dark bhadows were languor.ously interesting. And a bit vampy, besides". j She had resolved, if Cleopatra came up again that dayy-"--- to inform Mr. Hart that the celebrated siren, in. her eyes, And Ashtoreth, for reawas no better than a sons bestnown to herself, had a distinct aversion to . . -- - gold-digg- gold-digge- 'r - er. ' v " v ', 7. .. . rs, .'.- .: '. . THE electric buzzer on her desk hummed softly. And ; Ashtoreth, slipping a pencil beneath the elastic on her note ' booki entered Mr. Hart's office. ' ' ; Ashe." Miss , "Ah, good morning, . : 7 He greeted her shortly. "1'ye something here I'd like to show you. A letter morning mail. Most astonishing, upon my, word. I'd1, ' '' like you, please, to read it" )' V hand took outstretched Ashtoreth from his Astonished, a sheet of purple parchment,, scrawled with green ink. Wafting the perfume if imported paper. , ' v, ; (To Be Continued) ' . - j " ; in-t- he p : . From whom was the mysterious letter? And why did t ask his new stenographer the rich aqd famous to read it?- "An amazing letter reproduced in full in- the . ., : next installment. Mr.-Har- - - t |