| Show t nother i t J y r 1 Whirlwind vy TT Story R This ad Read This rs f l. l J E- E II CHAPTER I I. I ids id's real name Dame was wn Ashtoreth Ash tAhe Ashe peculiar f name name name Ashtoreth It 37 even Impress Impre you a as al absurd mother Is IM a romantic an D. D She rends reed a n great many Is and her herself elt a bit 0 lit It Following her daughters daughter b she ahe had strange dreama about II But nt Egypt She talked of ot r ro- ro 11 matron and anti declared that sho been a priestess atM and wora wor- wor iii a ped the moon And ArnI nIl lived In a bI Ie palace and lanced danced before I Cods goda Her Ur husband at the tho feared are for her sanity It fJ Urs I In Ashe laid It all to mya- mya I and insisted upon naming Child lid Ashtoreth after the moon MI Of ot old ok Egypt It was wan to that P pagan papan women I ed Maidens seeking lovers loverL f wives desiring children I Ashe 4 I. I thought It was waa a lovely ly and sometimes begged fa- fa of ot the moon Not that b believed In it at all It was Hf I a harmless little tittle fantasy fL pleased Ped her sentimental nature t hill rally Ashtoreth hates hate herI her I ige name Ie People Ilc are U always h H 3 What it means mean II and sho ho lUona exceedingly embar- embar r ng len en she ehe was wee small the children whom she played called her uh h. h It sounded rather like n a naT nor aT or 01 something gray pray ant and iby by and the tho child hated hate it with bir fastidious little being It not Dot only ugly It was as utterly v Because Ashtoreth to Si as exquisite a girl as ever everlo be lo looks a little like Dolores del el only there thee is III something more about her 1 ar akin has a n sort of ivory hory pal pal- Ier 1 And aha ahe nan hall green gray eyes f Because her cheeks t lorle the effect of ot her full r uth 1 ii startling as 88 scarlet on t f It baa high cheek bones and a aS S lid ad little chin So that her face e curiously heart shaped The Tue 5 I Li accentuated by the way WRy In she he does her hair It is ht lit black hair Parted In the theand and twisted in great coils colls her bet ears arl Ictor Hugo said once of or a thea the- the a cal ical celebrity She Sho is Js not pretty prett a it e Is worse Ashtoreth I Is not realty really She Is rare Different from I girls Ia s 's here ere arc are for tor instance typical typical stenographers jj f typical sportswomen Exactly there are typical wives and W- W chorus girls But Ashtoreth is t so tiO easily ullY classified When Hugo spoke of or tho the dancing girl he ho probably had in mind that o quality known as q sex aph ap- ap h A vulgar expression but In- In s1 ho of or attributes difficult of ot ex ex- ex reulon J Hart the famous financier was ivan extraordinarily impressed 1 the fh first t timo ho he saw lIaw her her and and ll Hart rt was not a susceptible person parson It Was a stormy day ao in January 1 n Ashtoreth summoned summoned b by an anet et buzzer n tn her desk desk glided glided in Into lila his private office to take her dictation from tho famous Mr Ir was wearing a a. black blacke e pe le e swathed about hoe hor hips and caught ht on ono one side by an odd buckle A most unusual buckle A would have noticed it at onee and speculated upon uvon its orl origin fn It happened ho- ho however hoever ever that Ashtoreth had bad made it herself with two t sticks of or sealing wax WIL One of or geen and the other of or gold The Thee e t was of or mottled jade I rQn n the forefinger of or her ler left Jert hand s1 w wore oro a a. scarab set in in- dull gold goldaM old aM abl reaching exactly to tho the first 1 idiot It was wu not really an old ola scarab nor valuable But as ns Ashtoreth Ash Ash- tOr toroth th knew there are very few tew people who know antique s scarabs wh h n the they see seo them Sho ho bo had found the stone stono In a Jewelers Jeweler's Jew jew- eler's elers tray priced among amons various adds and ends at 50 cents The setting letting she sho copied cople l from irom a a. ring inba in n be lia Egyptian room at tho the art mu- mu eum The whole thing cost per- per j ps 5 and looked fabulously rare tad nd costly Ashtoreth th never neer had much mone money to spend on herself But with a meager expenditure she achieved distinction Shoes and tt were her greatest ex ex- Sheer beOr chiffon hose and a scarab In Ins A swathed l crepe frock and b heeled pumps PU Eminently un un- suItable datable of or course for lor business f tar r. r But Ashtoreth A never aspired o 0 be bS be correct She was individual I O er she was clever Other father girls she told her mother torm to style etyle st standards n They fi ir r r their skirts so short you'd kink bulk they were having havin a rOn ron- They TheT use the same samo sort of or and the same kind of face du Their dresses are all aU of a at t ern And their jewelry looks I Jt it had come of off one counter jy even do their hair alike aUke They their finger ln er nails and shave Wt necks The They see the tho same laY i 13 and read the same books r th shrugged ged distastefully l Ind Ive I've no doubt she said it think the same thou thoughts thoughts thoughts-if Ir if 1 t j Abe Ashe had met her daughter o for Cor luncheon She was firing caring at th time Ume a purple vel- vel j coat and sra gray pumps and stock- stock 1 IM Her dr dress ss was flowered chitA chit chit- u j A riot of ot petunias In 1 flaming poppies Her r hat filch she sho held in her ample lap as s a mass of ot healthy cotton vio yb- ls w And her hair hall shingled led smart- smart was dandelion yellow ellow Like arllyn Millers ihler's one season sason As Maizie l Ashe says sas herself Her Herl Herti l ti Is not natural natural natural-it it is p persuaded EKe e is a plump woman with soft rant skin and round blue eyes ens tc lorins i N iii like a bisque dolls doll's scarcely faded Now rin- Y she surveyed sur her daughter ss her beet and string bean ad d. d Maizie would never diet tibet of or orr r r own volition Only when shea she a out with Ashtoreth she Miss Hoity Holty And toying ting with a a. bran muffin observed comfortably that It ua was only natural young folks should be bl I alike Youre too finicky hon honey she counseled counseled Uko like your father You You'd ought to be more like Ike me You'd be a sight happier But Ashtoreth despised conform conform- ity Her skirts were long therein attracting unusual attention to her legs leg slim sUm and lovely She wore black blaek exclusively And Ard felt fell hats hat summer and winter With Witha Uh Uha I a a. bit of ot n a brim when everybody tI else I C thought brims were wre old ta fashioned I She never n used perfume but a Il haunting sachet Bachet instead And rouge she sho abominated Anil tore th loves beautiful things thing with an Instinctive appreciation of color and texture She bought remnant remnants rem rem- nant nants In bargain basements basement Bits of ot Chinese embroidery to relieve the somber black of her frocks Old Old lace And an occasional l length of I lustrous An satin tin heavy a as velvet i She had hd a way or ot wrapping the me ne I stuff about her slender bod body Her I I skirts swathed her hips And she I carried hr herself elt as aM French women do I II I Sh She knows lines JInes And the drama I of clothes And how to drape ma- ma maI I with a hint of or voluptuousness voluptuous- voluptuous I ness hess in tho the cling and aid the swish h of ot I them As 8 Helen of Tro Troy wound her robe and robe and Cleopatra her purple i Kown gown SO own own- so o 4 Ashtoreth draped and gathered 1 A fold lold here hert and another there Revealing tho ho tantalizing i I loveliness 10 of or her soft WH slim body j I Her lIce clothes are clever with a great pretension lon of or modesty modest about them Which Is la how Ashtoreth In her simple crepe came to fascinate the he rich and mighty Hart lIart Exactly as Lady Hamilton in her Grecian robe rebe vamped poor Lord Nelson There Thero were fort forty girls who worked In the outer office of Hart Lee Inc And each ach of ot them coveted the enviable lable task of or taking dictation from their distinguished president A Ashtoreth had worked for the firm less lees than two months montha Her lIer speed was negligible and her ac accuracy accuracy accuracy ac- ac curacy doubtful Yet Tet no one was surprised l when she received the ap ap- ap- ap Ashtoreth opened the door loor ot of Mr Harts Hart's office quietly and closing it Jt behind her stood at his desk He lie was conscious of ot a very faint scent that seemed to creep crep gently about her And ho Ito noticed in a surprising moment how V clear herskin her skin was Pale lale as opals he thought And that was waK astounding because Hollis Hart had dictated to an any number of girls And never thought ht anything at all nil about them Nor was ho a poetic man It was strange too how the name Orchid flashed across his Ills mind Ho lie thought of or It Immediately Immediate 1 as fitting tilting the Ule pale palo girl who waited note book in hand Hollis Hart was the last of oC an eminent family that traced its American lineage back to the first Huguenot settlers Scion of f fame me and fortune as the papers say Rhodes scholar famous sportsman I and und a millionaire man many times over ever Boston at the time was buzzing with the tho story of or his reported en engagement engagement en- en to the tho daughter da of or a u. BritIsh British Brit Brit- ish hili peer Ashtoreth of or course had heard beard the rumors The Tho peer a bit impoverished was said sald to be ex exceedingly exceedingly ex- ex close to tho the throne And tho the daughter daughter before before Hart had taken extended residence In London London Was was seen frequently In the company of or t the e Prince of ot Wales There was a great deal of International international inter Inter- international national gossip But the real status of oC affairs no ono one knew Hart lIart was one of those men privileged as ns they j Nt ay say to pick and choose And thero there were plenty of girls languishing to tobe tobo be bo picked The Tho Sunday supplements told at great length of oC a glamorous widow with celebrated pearls to whom Mr Ir Hart had bal been attentive And the tabloids recited with much detail de detail de- de tail tall tho the agonized love of ot the French I aviatrix who swallowed poison polson on Boston Common It was whispered they said that the poor aviatrix was desperately and unavailingly in lovo with the well-known well Mr Hart Ashtoreth had heard of ot a a. certain beauty glorified by Mr who publicly avowed her hor affection And then there was waR tho the Austrian dancer with the million dollar le legs s soh oh oh Hollis Hart lIart had had his af affairs af- af fairs scores fairs scores of them Ashtoreth drew drea a pencil from the elastic on her note book and raised her green gray eyes eos to her herc cut em- rs' rs face His own O were blue- blue deep leep set And he had a way of narrowing narrowing narrowing nar nar- nar- nar rowing- rowing them Tropical suns ha had tanned his skin It was so brown that It made his eyes seem peculiarly bright His hair was black graying at the temP tem tem- P plea ples Ashtoreth absurdly wondered If tho the En English girl had ever over run her fingers ringers through it She had seen tho the girls girl's picture in tho the papers She was big tig and raw boned with a r. r blown vind-blown British look about her And she wore tweeds tweed Somehow Ashtoreth could not imagine that girl putting her fingers in anybody's anybody's any any- body's hair Hollis Hart was old enough to be Ashtoreth's th's father She was vas 23 theda the da day she went to work In his of or- or fice And Hart at that time must have e been nearly riO CO lIe He was frequently frequently frequently fre fre- fre- fre called the tho most eligible bachelor in America A popular magazine had hud compared him once with the the- Prince of or Wales The press credited him with being beins a Don DonJuan DonJuan DonJuan Juan and never tired of oC printing rumors regarding a a. prospective marriage He lIe took an indolent Interest Inthe In Inthe inthe the bonding business founded b by his grandfather preferring frivolity to gilt-edged gilt securities His secretary a benevolent soul sout devoted to philanthropy set large sums aside e for charitable enter enter- And Hart cheerfully Indorsed in indorsed indorsed in- in them them- all aU Ho ne had bd created a trust the income from which was to insure the perpetuation of ot va various rious philanthropic enterprises And now sl sighed hed Hart when the tho thing was done I canha can I ha have hae e a ROod good time with a clear con con- science He bad when he first saw Ashtoreth Ash Ash- been having hains a good ool time for something like Vent t twenty five f f years I Ever since the death of ot his father c T v h j r i i 1 t t es v. v e bI y j j A I Ie e Th 1 c- c C 4 ft l 1144 t. t y 4 5 j t Hart noticed in a surprising moment how clear cloar her skin was Clear Cleat Cleatas as opals coals he thought an estimable old devoted to righteousness and plain living With fth the exception of two vener- vener ablo aunts Hollis Hart was quite alone in the tho world Th The aunts were maiden ladles ladies easily upset They ate ata like sparrows and wore rusty black Both of or them worried inor mar about a bad end end- for Hol Hol- is whose lavish checks chees they deposIted deposited depos depos- the tho first of or each month At the moment Mr Hart was considering considering considering con con- tho the wisdom of ot a no note noto to to Aunt Meg le A reporter it seemed had asked her for a a. statement re regarding ire re- garding the rumored engagement of her bet nephew to tp Lady or Something other Aunt Meg tremendously c cpu cpu- m- m had written tremulously f for r details I Mr Hart cleared his throat Dic Die Die- his aunts aunt's address and stared DiC 1 savagely at her noto note In his hand A gaSp gasp gasp- T little note like a a. well well- bred lau lati considerably out of breath 1 For or a quarter of a a. c century Aunt c cg had used white linen paper paper pa- pa pa pa- per bordered in black Her handwriting hand hand- writing was cramped and quivering I And she used a fine tIne pen that in inevitably inevitably inevitably in- in spattered when th She dotted her is ls The Tho letter somehow looked hooked like liko Aunt Meg Or stunt Aunt Sarah for that matter The They were exasperatingly alike Hollis Harts Hart's aunts Decent decorous spinsters Once at a garden party they had met a dubiously lovely lady with their nephew v. A charming reck- reck le s girl whom man many men had loved Hollis Hart presented her ber to his aunts s and immediately she proceeded proceeded proceeded pro pro- to envelop them with her her- gracious charm chann They drew td- td gether ether shyly their narrow shoulders shoulders ders tiers touching as they stood facing the tho radiant creature They TheT were uncomfortably ill at case ease And so at loss for words word as to seem even more self-contained self than usual Frigid ld stilted sUIted things in horrid black With the life font dry in their withered withered with with- ered red bodies And Arid their souls parched He wondered wondered vaguely vaguely disturbed at the tho thought thought thought-a lt ht-lt the they were jealous of or the warm soft girl who wilo knew so mucho lovo love AS he watched them he be felt sure of or it And from that day Hollis Hart I believed that all women omen were ar arrayed arrayed ar- ar rayed raed against one ono another The unI un un- un- un I I 1 loved women omen hating the beloved I women And the beloved women despising all the rest Ashtoreth Ashtoreth put her fingers to the violets that bloomed in a n yellow bowl on his desk From her bod body I there emanated the lovely Jovey odor of ot a delicious woman Soft as fiS ts the breath of a night wind whispering And Hollis HoUis Hart in a clairvoyant mo moment mo- mo ment knew that in the |
