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Show "short story of the day THE CHARMS OF MYSTERY. Edith gazod at herself thoughtfully in her looking glass and told her face exactly what she thought of it. "Me, my dear," she said, "I could not honestly hon-estly call you pretty. Your complexion is very fair; you have a good chin and mouth, your nose Is Grecian, your eyes they're very aggravating eyes. I have known them to look very nice, violet depths and all that sort of thing, but you may as well know the truth they can look, very wishy-washy at times. "And your hair Is nondescript, and you don't do It very well, either. They say girls' characters take after their hair, but I shall never believe I'm a nondescript character never. In fact, I'm of opinion I am very interesting and original, and I've a beautiful sense of humor that has saved me many a heartache, by the way. Yet the fact remains that both you and I are unappreciated. unap-preciated. "No; I have an idea. It's our Interesting Inter-esting manner and original Intellect that will have to pull us through, after all. We will not remain unappreciated." It was at a well-known riverside boarding-house under the management ot a highly respectable and middle-aged middle-aged man ifid his wife Mr. and Mrs. Kussell. The guests comprised one or two of the usual elderly spinsters, a gouty Major, a buxom widow and her "Net tak condiments?' said the en-glne?r. en-glne?r. "Really." said the Major, "most unwise. un-wise. Your health, you know" "Salt Is a necessary of life," urged one of the average young men. "How can you like things so tasteless?" taste-less?" asked one of 'the spinsters. "Perhaps I have an unspoiled palate," said the mouth, wickedly, with a smile. Miss Rowland did not come down to dinner nor breakfast next morning and when she next appeared she was fully-dressed fully-dressed in dust cloak and gossamer veil and started out for a walk. This sort of thing went on for nearly a week, and curiosity had reached a fearful pitch. The men all seemed crazy and overwhelmed over-whelmed her with attentions, and the women drew their own conclusions. "Some cheap actress as likely as not, my dear," said the buxom widow. "Depend upon It," said another spinster, spin-ster, "things are not at all straightforward. straightfor-ward. A wolf in Lheep's clothing. Why, she may be a burglar!" Now, it came to pass that Mrs. Russell, Rus-sell, kindly soul, had promised the ladles la-dles to Investigate Miss Rowland and, if all was not as it should be, to give her notice. With those good intentions she knocked at Miss Rowland.'s door one morning. She was kept waiting about two minutes and when admitted Miss Rowland's head and face were enveloped envel-oped In a large shawl. After she had gone Miss Rowland took her head out of the shawl and examined ex-amined her face In the mirror. two daughters, an engineer and one or two average young men. It had been a wet day, so guests. Instead In-stead of going on the river, were lounging loung-ing about the hall smoking and gossiping. gossip-ing. Presently a little excitement was caused by the advent of a new arrival. A young woman of medium height, slender, and dressed In a long fawn dust coat, which reached to the ground, a smart deerstalker red hat and a very thick gossamer veil entirely hiding her face, stepped Into the hall. When Mrs. Hussell came forward to receive her he spoke In a quiet, pretty voice, but did not lift her veil. It was the custom of the house for people to lunch In their hatsand outdoor out-door clothes If they wanted to, so when Miss Rowland (that was the new arrival's ar-rival's name) came down still In the dust cloak and thick veil, there was no surprise, only disappointment. She turned the veil Just above her mouth, a very pretty mouth and chin, at the engineer, the gouty Major and the few average young men promptly decided. The engineer opened the conversation. conversa-tion. "Can I pass you the salt and pepper?" pep-per?" he asked, in his most persuasive tones. "Thank you. no; I don't take condiments," condi-ments," said the mouth. "You're getting yourself into a nice pickle. Miss." she said. "We'd better drop our Joke, eh, little face? But I think th spinsters should be punished, don't you?" That night the spinster who had surmised sur-mised that Miss Rowland was a "poisoner" "pois-oner" and ether disreputable things heard a knock at her bedroom door Just when she was In the act of taking off her last stocking, and thinking It was the maid with her hut water bottle, called out: "Come In!" She was absolutely petrified to see a figure In a long red silk dressing gown, with a black lace mantilla hiding the entire head, come Into the room. It was never exactly known what transpired, but the spinster went Into hysterics and told a Jumbled story next morning about how "that veiled woman" wo-man" had stood dramatically In the middle of the room, muttering In sepulchral sepul-chral tones something about seeing "rivers of blood" and "gore-stained acres" for "wallowers in calumny." and had pointed a finger at her. calling upon up-on Nemesis to do his work! And the veiled lady left that morning, morn-ing, and the engineer found he had to go to town on business that day, too. And the next year the engineer took his wife, a nice, amiable young woman, with a pretty mouth and chin, but rather nondescript balr and eyes, to stay at the Riverside boarding-house. but he never told any one how this mischievous little humorist of a girl had tried the charm of mystery as a mean of gaining that appreciation which her Intellect, if not her appearance, appear-ance, deserved. |