Show By THOMAS 07 I i A ROMANTIC DAY I In BLACK AND WHITE 1 j i 1 Why ore you lauRhlng asked Elsa us we entered the picture gallery 1 It seems a little Incongruous I answered an-swered i What site demanded i That this rent place should belong I to such a small person anjl I that she should live in it alone Dont you think It would he rather nice she cried abruptly as she stood before the portrait of a lady JC George IIs reign if I women wore powder nowadays Every generat t rOil has its own method I meth-od of disguising nature I suggested Elsa raised a pair of merry eyes Do you intend to insinuate that r mine I hnvc known It far too long to feel I tho slightest doubt I answered with a glance at her yellow headMen head-Men she orlcd looked more gallant gal-lant InIhose days I Anyhow they were + more inclined lo gallantry 1 admitted Still said Elsa wllh a sigh I believe that lift had more of ro munce 7 What do you mean by romance I could tell you better who is unromantic un-romantic she retorted Wfll I suggested your own tx jpcrlonc1 has I boon romantIc enough III 1 thought f must be dreaming she tttld when J hoard that Uncle itch aid had left ovcrylhing to meA me-A veritable fairy talc But sliir I Only requiring1 tho Prince to complete I com-plete he i fable I answered I fool certain she exclaimed with suspicious cmbiiirnssmcnt that there I was more romance in I those days Everybody says hilt chivalry is lend How long she added leading the way along the gallery is At since you went broad i 1 c Four years r ald Oh dear cried Elsa with a sigh How quickly the time passes I ITaf sIt it scorned very short s-It has simply flown she answered I But she said a moment later as she stooped to Inspect a small Dutch interior inte-rior I n vcr c cite understood why you left England Didnt you7 Elsa turned her back to the picture and stared up into my face solemnly shaking her head No suspicion entered your mind I nsked I am not of a suspicious nature But s tll1 Jlott could It when you didnt toll mo1 she demanded Isnt a good deal of a womans 1 knowledge supposed to be intuitive I suggested 1 suppose 1 was scarcely a woman Hue murmured low I old arc you now Twentyone Yet T fancied that t you had some Idea Flea Rook her head again perhaps with a little less determination Why did you go To seek the root of all evil ° Oh then I ought to hope you didnt find It she exclaimed Well I said 1 didnt So your voyage was wasted I seem to be a complete failure T confessed Oh but how can you possibly tell she asked with a serious expression I daresay I laughed a little grimly You cant possibly tell whether you I have won or lost until the game is I finished said Elsa Anyhow 1 retorted the first hand Is played out How horribly mercenary you must he she exclaimed a few moments Liter t Mercenary You must bo very fond of money to spend four years looking for it cried IIlsa and she began to take off her loNlllf were white this Mimmer afternoon It uisnt exactly money Then she demanded what was It I happened to be fond of someone CMOh Oh she cried with a laugh inow I am br iniiing to understand Uoivt you think that Is I a sweet face she died rather I ImpctuouKly the next instant In-stant as she held out her rluht hand 1 with ihc while gloves hanging from it toward a O retire a few yards away I lmailm you understood fouL r jyoirs MRO I answered Did von have aa vcixhard time asked Elsa Oh well It was pretty rough now and then I suppose you found it rather 1 I rather onely right away from everybody she suggested Of course I explained there was IKnvavd Howard > I had known him at the varsity T continued and we were both In the stoernco You traveled in the steerage crlel Elsa with an expression of something like horror Vhy nUIl 4 When I remember you In all your jrlory jrloryMany a belter chap was there I said Howard amongst them AVo ihummcd together agreed lo pool our funds and go shares until we had I made our fortunes Rut you you didnt No I answered we certainly did not > j notDid Did he come home with you iskoil t Elsa lies dead poor chap I said and Elsa remained silent a few minutes as we walked slowly along the gallery ex iminhjir a picture now and then by the way wayDid he die on the way home she asked quietly V Away up country iifAustralia Then she said why did you return re-turn Nostalgia I answered 1 You fret and growl and get sick with everything Yon long for the old places and the old people Only lIlethe old people asked ElsuThe The people you have known all your life i They need not all be so very old said Elsa But I continued I am not certain I I should have returned If I had known If you had known what Of the changes which the last two months have brought about Elsa came to tin abrupt standstill facing me with unmistakable Indignation Indigna-tion Do yon Intend to suggest that I have changed she demanded 1 wonder whether you remember the night I saw you last Of course I remember she answered an-swered You were beautiful then You know that is not what I meant she cried Non you are more beautiful still Perhaps that is due to line feathers she suggested with the faintest of smiles Perhaps But nho exclaimed throwing out her hands with the white gloves In the right they are nothing They do not count at all It was Impossible to resist a glance around the gallery with Its collection of treasures from all parts of the world You say the rale nothing I asked whether you thought T had changed she insisted I myself How can I judge you In that Intimate Inti-mate wayP You have purely known me Intimately Intimate-ly you have known me for years r will take your word for It that yon havent 1 answered but I still Elsas lace looked grave But then she suggested > If you didnt lake the trouble to Sled out what I roalli was before lOil I never doubted what you were What she demanded wIth a quick upward glance But before I could hove explained even If I would she added imperiously Tell me about your friend You would have liked old Howard I said Was he ill very long she asked He broke down soon after we landed land-ed ff But didnt i hs get any better tf Not much H was a tedious business busi-ness for the fellow And for you Oh veil Didnt his illness rather handicap you t Elsa suggested I daresay S 11 lda little Who tarsal him You must understand we were miles away from everywhere and everyone Then It was you There was no one else Still she cried I suppose he wasnt ill the whole time No but lie was never quite well T explained Of course he had his better bet-ter periods I You might have taken him to some town have got him off your hands T might i Wiry dldnL jout site I demanded never ne-ver cly n 1 A WEEKLY PROBLEM I I T I > r I ° J r F L S 4 z Iii 1J m r + 1 I ffl 1 I Y 1 y Mrs I Asklt What ID this Chinese problem I rend about so often In the paper 1 I I Mr Asklt TVhelhor or not youllsret your laundry at the end of the w it J You see we had pooled our funds and taken a cattle run and stocked It and besides Harold was everlastingly hoping for bettor times I Then said Elsa it was really his Illness which prevented your succcns Anyhow I returned we had agreed to chum x But askod Klsri do rouIlo you think It was quite fair Old HOWllrd would have done the samp by me I wasnt thinking of Mr Howard Of whom then Why of the girl you left behind you said Elsa t I dont think I ever passed a day without thinking of her 1 protested Was it quite fair to her Fair You had left her walling for you cried Elsa Bul then you sec she didnt know reminded 1 her 0 r course answered Elsa with a smile How stupid of me You you were forgetting I suggested sug-gested v o Yes 11 was forgetting she murmured mur-mured and Item face grew grave again In my case I said It would have been Impossible to leave Howard In the lurch So you stayed Why es And did the most of the work There was no one else to do It 4111 when he was 111 you nursed him Im afraid the poor chap had rather a rough time of it I said Well you lcuowt cried Elsa I think you always were a little rough Not like the Johnnies in the picture over tit IJtI t suggested as we reached tin end of the gallery and turned retracing re-tracing our steps along the other side How do you like this one she asked The picture on the right IsntIt supposed to be a tournament tourna-ment 1 Inquired You see the woman with the fair hair cried Elsa I In a curiously nervous ner-vous volco It is something like your own color I remarked na we stood a yard apart gazing at the large painting 0 but her hair Is fairer than mine said Elsa looking first at the canvas then turning her blue eyes quite anx I iouly to mine I fIr dont see must difference I assured as-sured her j She appears to have chosen the tall knight for her companion she suggested sug-gested Lucky beggar I answered Do you think he Is lucky asked Elsa and she held up her white gloves by the wrists In her right hand ind struck the palm of her left with their lingers Immensely Why In some way she suggests yourself I answered Do you notice anything Inappropriate Inappropri-ate she demanded Inappropriate InIn the picture Nothing whatever Dont you think Vic exclaimed as she turned her eyes toward It that It would have been preferble If I the knight had chosen the lady After all I said it wouldnt have made much difference Youyou really think It wouldnt cried Elsa brightening In the most extraordinary ex-traordinary fashion It seems to amount to very much the same thug Why of course she answered and her clear laugh rang through the gal lery Especially If the chap got killed 01 why should ynu take such a diurnal diu-rnal view cried Elsu For my part she added J feel convinced they married mar-ried And lived happily ever afterward 7 I wonder she said quietly whether wheth-er you can tell me something I What I asked It appears perfectly certain that she I has chosen him I Not a doubt about ItI agreed How did she let him know that he that he was chosen 1 asked Elsa lookIng look-Ing up into my face It may sound a little unromantic 0 well she cried with a curious timber in her voice we quite decided that romance and chivalry were dead Quite I replied I Well how did she let him know I imagine It was a prearranged i thing Still she insisted there must have I been oome way of announcing i O well I said I suppose she shied a glove at him or something And as I spoke Elsa raised her right hand and the next Instant one of the white gloves fell upon my Bhoiilder At first it seemed to be an accident but her I face all gaiety and smiles one minute grew grave and tearful the next and I then I understood Black and White |