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Show , . II". m &m $y-M)It . WASHED AWAY. . 'BY SARA B. ROSE. ;-l' and Miss Hyde stood still and clung ervously to It: i ' "I never Invited her to ride at all." she heard Ruy exclaim earnestly. ."Molly has beeo telling roe the ridlcu- , lous reports she has Bet going. There's . no truth In them." Gussie In her vexation pulled very hard upon the rope, and down It came upon her. that patent waterfall that the enterprising- proprietors of the Summit . house had In reserve for any distinguished distin-guished guest who might, visit them. It was a small rivulet Just between 1 the "Donkey's Ears" that had a ten- " dency to dry up in summer. It was so arranged that by pulling upon that rope the dam which held the waters could be raised, and Gussie Hyde had raised It,' Down came the deluge, drenching her from head to foot. and. literally washing wash-ing her away from her shelter Into the bed of the now racing rivulet. She spluttered and screamed In her fright, until Ruy and Fay came rushing to the rescue; and by the time they had dragsrod her out of the water and set I her up to dry. It is to be hoped that - some of her deceptive arts, as well as T her hopes, had been effectually washed ? away. . Ruy Delevan was driving easily along the smooth pavement which led to the Summit house, andall the loungers at that fashionable resort knew that Fay Clarke expected to drive with him that mornjug. , . She was at that Identical moment seated In one of the willow arm-chairs upon the veranda, clad in a saft white veiling, trimmed at every available point with crossed laces of Indigo silk and buttons. A double cape of Indigo surah draped her shoulders, a. hat. of indigo lace straw, laden with a bewildering, bewild-ering, mass of Indigo gauze and tea roses, shaded the glory of her Titian hair, while her white fingers encased in indigo silk, gloves, toyed with the pearl handle of her white sunshade. Fay was the beauty of the house, and Ruy Delevan and herself were conceded con-ceded to be the nicest engaged couple In the mountains that summer. But tme Iova is never allowed to run smooth, they say. Gussie Hyde did not mean that it should in this case,- at any rate. Therefore. Just before Ruy reached the hotel steps, a little figure in gray, with a hunting knife, silver whistle nd field glass pendant from her belt, ran' out from under a tree and cried out with a girlish laugh: "Mr. Delevan, Mr. Delevan, take me in! I want to try the speed of your horse." Ruy paused a moment and glanced toward the hotel veranda Fay was not to be seen from that point and Gussie had actually climbed into the cart, taken ta-ken the reins from his hands, and was driving off with him, willy-nilly. Ruy did not know exactly how to conduct con-duct himself, while the sprite - by his side was so vivaciously unconscious of any wrongdoing; that he could not but smile at her sallies and overlook her boldness. He had to maneuver somewhat, It may be surmised, to get the reins back' into his own hands' again, but when he did so he at once drove back to the hotel, ho-tel, intending1 to drop Miss Gussie and apologize to Fay. Alaa for the plans of mice and men! Miss Clark was at that moment .coquet-tishly .coquet-tishly attired In cap and habit.' In the act of mounting Lon Fuller's chestnut, while the. youthful Mr Fuller was gazing gaz-ing deliriously up at her as he assumed the last graceful pose possible before vaulting upon the back of the mate of the chestnut. , Then was the vendetta declared. -Ruy made no further effort to dispossess dis-possess Miss Gussie, who was as charmingly charm-ingly sweet and. Interesting as art could make her, while he became so intensely admiring that he did not even see Miss Clark and Mr. Fuller when they met down in the valley, and the latter bowed most politely. It was rumored all over the hotel in no time that Miss Clark and Mr. Delevan Dele-van had broken entirely and all the boarders and cottagers were disputing whether Fay Clark was really angUng for Lon Fuller's millions, or whether It was as Gussie Hyde declared, that Ruy Delevan had fallen Instantaneously and desperately In love with her. This latter version was a silencing blow to Fay, albeit she could hardly believe that Ruy, who had times without with-out number declared that he adored her, should have fallen a victim to that artful little Gussie Hyde. Ruy was nearly insane ever the turn, things had taken, but there was that insignificant little Lon Fuller desperation! despera-tion! No woman could of course asrire to his notice who would even converse with a puppy like that! Miss Hyde j was delighted, and to make things doubly sure she talked about Ruy all the time. '; "It was a case of love at first sight," she repeated, with as soft a sentimental sigh as she could assume, while her black eyes beamed with grateful vanity. "On your rart, no doubt." drawled esthetic Miss Preston, who was Fay Clark's friend. Miss Gussie Hyde's temper was not exactly proof against the "darts and slings of outrageous fortune." "Pooh! I guess nobody cares what you have to say. Molly Preston." she retaliated retali-ated sharply. "You haven't a cent in the world, and I have hearl It said that your grandmother was a a mulatto" It Is not to be wondered at that Miss Preston's friends went ofT Into convulsions convul-sions of laughter over this happy retort, considering the fact that Miss Preston and Mr. Delevan were brother and sister, sis-ter, only Molly Preston had taken her uncle's name upon the death of her father, when she had become an Inmate of her uncle's house. Miss Hyde was happily unconscious of this, and so she could not think how-it how-it happened that that afternoon, when everybody set out to climb one or both of the rocky points known as the "Donkey's "Don-key's Ears." that Ruy Delevan walked beside Ml?s Mo'.ly Preston, and that they both glanced mischievously at her and laughed as they all set out together. to-gether. Lon Fuller and Fay Clark were Just ahead of the rest of the company, and the awful thought came to Gussie Hyde, as she stuck her Alper.Ftock firmly firm-ly into the ground that they were all making fun of her together. At first fhe had thought it truly deplorable de-plorable that 6he was left without an escort: but 6he now began to rejoice at .this; she would now be entirely free to hide herself In some handy nook and listen to the conversation of Miss Preston Pres-ton and, Ruy Delevan. But how was this? Before they had reached the top Miss Preston had borne Mr. Fuller triumphantly away from Miss Clark, and Mr. Delevan had slipped Into Mr. Fuller's vacant place by Fay's side. To Gusrie's delights If delighted she could be under the circumstances Ruy drew his rather.reluctant companion Into In-to an unfrequented nook, where it was easy for Gussie to conceal herself near them. It was a slimy, damp place; a rope hung dangling down tha mountain-side. |