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Show ' ( A NOTABLE SHORT STORY I BY A FAMOUS WRITER HSASTS AMD CLUBS. By Marta Undeey. It aaa Marrla Belknap who burr nr Kit to th. auprior labia and Ulkail to ma whlla I conaumad edIMes thai meant pteeeitt ov and futuie deetrurllnn. Maraa Is Mlaa Vlrelrils Tslbol s nine, tin Invaded J'leaeurevlll. last aulun.a with adtaived Idaaa. Hha l young. IV lelle and arlletl,-. la Mlaa Marrla. and-mar and-mar hravrn roraiva tha blaailinMiar ut-taranor ut-taranor rha ha tha manner f na wlrf awara panla. II nar lrn mv rnil -dravor lo avoid tlilnklnl of Tainu ahrn I aaa bar. and I remind nurVf lht mv t rat-aunt. Hrlacllla, tauflil air that la-dira' la-dira' frrl ara plnnad to ilia r.lao r llirli drarrra. but It la all In valll. I ara Mar-i Mar-i la and I think panta. (a tha nlalit of tl.a raatltal hrr li.ml-auma. li.ml-auma. bovlrli fnra aora a look of ivri prracrlptton. Tain Kaoott waa out In rront of tha atnra talking to Marrla and finding Imaginary kuncturaa In tha lira of hrr wharl. Tha Irlrphona hall rang. "Kaoott aaama lo hava gona draf 6ut thrra," growled old Hartrrti. "Colonal. Will rou anawar tha talaphuna?" I look tha Innorant rriar In rnr hand, but tha nevt Inatant almoal drore4 It. tor Mlaa Virginia rol'a biaatlang In iav aar. "Tnni, a that you?M 'Yea." 1 anawarad trulhlallv, "How do you prunounra A-ni-ph-l-c ty-vn-l-T' I told ber. "Ami. Tom. wait a minute: liow do j'ou pronounra A-l-r-tn-a-e-o-n-l-U-a-eT ' I mumbled anmathlna. "I can't hear yon, Hpeak louder, and Tom, ara you thare?" "Tea." "I in aeltlna erv nerrout. Tom. f0 "Hut you don't approve of clubi," aald MIhb Vlriclnla "I would never allow my wlfa to be-kma: be-kma: to one," aald 1 (Irmly. Oh.!" beaan Mlaa Vlralnla. There waa a cautlmia (outfall In tha lu.ll. We looked up. Myra waa atandlna In the doorway aoftty rlapplntf her hamie. dom and ahe arkad wrarllv: "ea nothing avar Impfien In Pleaa-urevllla Pleaa-urevllla but featlvala and rtraa?" "Nothing." I anawared promptly. "That It whr 1 llva hera: I .nloy both faatlvala and Urea." "Well." aald Marrla. "1 hala tha fea-inala. fea-inala. but i admit that I do rnjor tha m fi." "fv dear voting lady." I raid. "I are Viiu ara full of aurplua energy. How will ou axpand tt In Pieaaurrvllle?" "I'm aura I don't know." aald Marrla. Tnla pUra la alaep, aound aalaep." it la beautirullv altualed," I ventured. "It la." admllled Marrla, "and yat the, people, aurroundrd by alt thl natural nat-ural baaiity. ara dead to art." "Remember." I aald gently, "they lark wiial you bad both by tnharilaju-a and environment. Tour father'a famuui taeta of tha antluua aoulpturaa " "Ah. you hava earn aome of them! broke In Mama, her fare alight with n-thualaam n-thualaam "Foot, dear papa! Ha Itvad aral nird In tba aervlta of art." "Have you guy of hi worker" I aaked. "Only ona plana, lha 'Marble Faun.' H. loved It ao much that ha navar could ttiake 00 bl. mind to aell It, and, of oouree. I ahall never part wllh It." "And you hava It with you her. In PleeaurevilleT" I aaked la aurprtae. "Tee. and would you believe It, Aunt Virginia haa modeetly placed It behind portiere In an aJove In th drawing mom. Poor Aunt Virginia! fha I nope, leaelv old faahlond. ttut f am going to riihit 11 at tha rink meeting whaa our auhe4 la Orak Art." for Marrla had recently einanded anm of bar aurplij .nergv In tha organ tea t Ion of woman' rlub. It ociHirred to ma ttiat Ml Virginia' view of rlub Ufa might ba of Intereel, and ao whlla I aarorted bar Itome from tba featlval (Marrla and voung Tom Ka-'otl Ka-'otl being far ahead nf net I learned that Mr. Brown waa praeldent bet a Mae Mar-ola Mar-ola aald he had "anarutlva anility and pre r ore": that Mr. Taylor, tba wlfa of tha Methodlat pre crier, waa treasurer, bacauae ah. waa ao "conarlantloua" t that Mlaa Kllnt waa Moratory becauaa ah. . , rote poetry, and that Mlaa Whit Bet -i Had parliamentary dlaputaa bat a oea alia had atudlrd law. i "And what oa Marrla dor" I taked ; "bha make all the mollona" waa tha , ha Iv reply. ! "I don I tindaraUnd aiartly what w ara dlng." ah added honratly. "but." ' lowering bar voice .a we approached 1 Marrla and Tom (landing In tha colonial '.doorway. "I don't let Marrla know It. I wonder,' aba went on anftlv and Irrelevantly, Irrel-evantly, "I wander If Tom tflacott I aa eetlmable young man. Ha Clark at th drug atora. doean't ba?" "lie la good hoy," I aald onrdlally, 1 "but he', young. Tom la very young. "Ho I Marrla," alghed Mia Virginia. Pleaauravtlla wa not natural that winter. A feverlrh gptrtt of unreal noa- von think you rciulil run around line (or Juat live minute and go over the namea wllh ma again?" "To ba aura I could," aald 1. "Von ara a dear boy!" gently. "Thank yon." warmly. "And hurry. Tom; the rlub and ln 1 will be her In a quarter of an hour! Hha w dreaaed In gray, wa dear Mlaa Virginia, and aha aaa atan.llna tiv a table on ahl.-li wra bowla of purple-and purple-and while Ilia.-. "It waa I at lh telephone. n-nounred n-nounred boldlv. "ao I oaina around. "Von!" gaaprd Mia Virginia. "Oh. Colonel rV-ott!' ,.. "Why nolT" I demanded. Mlaa Virginia Vir-ginia wa almoet weeping " ..wnywhv did I let Marrla "-d me to loin thl ilub and gat Into all llua '"'JU kkM r.ign. I " Virginia ahook bar bead dejectedly "I oughtn I to be a .coward, and ought to keep myeelf Ik tha Una 4f progreaa, Marrla ay- - "Lin of nddlellt kal" aald I. Ml Virginia voir dropped I m I'm afraid I do let Mar. la manage me. but ahe la ao up -to data and I am M honeleeely old laahloned. - Hhera ar. no f.hlon we and ao true ga th old laaluona. aald I '"'Im'w think o. rolor Ml- Vlr-gtnla Vlr-gtnla brightened vtalbly. "And no ladla ao perfect a th old faahlonad ladlea. and remember. I continued con-tinued gallantly-for I felt very mr,g. "old faehloned ro.g ar th aweewau Mlaa Virginia." . . . , . .... Th oonveraatlnn had reached thl thrilling dim when thera cama liPoti tha prtng ir a aound a of tllna. cbal- U"W.bclrb?'ratrl.lm.d Ml- Virgin WheraT" I aaked appi;enlvely. "At th front door, whlat-erad Ml VI Anil? "lf yoo don't wl.h to rui, tha gauntlet. olotwl, youmlglit ..ui tha lid door." and -ah. lnt hf"J lo lha left, than turned to th hallway to meat bar uata. ,, . -.h,.h I aaw two pair, of portiere. W hlrn covered tha doorf There wa 00 time to aak for th. enemy wa. phalans of chair Prao ", .E! pair 0 porll.rea. I darted batweap ina oTn.ralV to coma Into violent oolU.lo with aom.thln. cold. hard. waa lha Marbla faun. Thera waai lootn lor both of ua but none to epare. 1 'pu't the .tSttaTagalnat tba wall. It pedestal, and mopped my okuamy "chatter, chattar. ohattw. tla. ruatla Uka lh. wavaa of a rall .... th petticoat. Sowed Into tha room. Myra Oalt with her roving, wicked ayea, lid and Marcta. haedaom. UU'al War-ela War-ela brought up the rear. Through the large meah. of tiara, f could command an tnaiv. ileVTof tha room. Ml. Virginia .vi-dVnTlr .vi-dVnTlr thoSght that J had -ca4 . for aid th. prealdent. "and at the concluaion of her reading Mine Hclkpap will draw aalde tha portiere hefurn the. alcove uud allow ua a cast of tliat maaterpler. of I'raKlteln., tha Marbla Kaun " I knew then how a criminal feel, before be-fore eieculion, and my laat hop. deaerted m. when Mlaa Virginia got up hurriedly and left lh room. Mlaa White read on and on. and I hoped b. would go on forever. Hut at length he concluded her paper In a bum of femlnln eloquence. at art -la approached the alcove; her hand waa on tha curtain, fetha turned and nauaed. " will aak you nrst," aha aald, "to put yourarlf In harmony with tha Oreclan apprertatlon of phyalcal perfection. perfec-tion. Thla curtain oonceala their Ideal of manly beauty, grace and mirth. Note tha eaay poetura of tha figure and tha playful .xpreeelon of tha feature." "I cloaed my yea and wa hoping to awoon when a wild about of "Fire! Klre! Klrel" amoi. th air. It aaa poor, feeble minded Billy Inepirlng ahoul. "Fir! Klra!" rapimled lh. ahrtll trahl. voIcm of the club. Praato! Change! Th. ladle, arising a one, aped through the door out of th garden and up the atrec-t In Billy' wake. Manv voice, took up tha cry, the belt clanged wildly, and even my own leg! twitched to n out and running. Not a petticoat wa. In eight. 1 eprang out of th. alcove and nearly upset Mia Virginia entering. "Where IS Itr" I y.Iled. "What?" "Tha firs." "Nowhere," ahe aald faintly, a h aank feebly Into the neareet chair. "Nowhere, my dear lady; what do you meant" Hha laughed hysterically. "Oh. don't you understand, colonel? I told Billy lo cry 'Ktret' and I pointed to the distillery amok, a mile away." "You did thla for m.T" t cried. "For ua." ah. aald. "You know f had a paper to read, colonel." "Hut you thought of ma?" aald t t rook her hand. "There waa a bylaw pasaad this afternoon.'' after-noon.'' 1 said earnestly. "But la Jest," said Mia. Virginia has- "'Nev.r mind that," said 1. "Lst us carry It Into effect." ah. looked eulet and composes. ' J " .e war. wandering to my sat of por-"res por-"res and a wicked gta. Played en her I feature. Waa h thinking of th Marbla Faun, or had ha seen me? I we. glad when a sharp Tap of the gavel brought alienee. Mlaa Flint took advantage of It and called th roll. Thera waa Mr. Brown, tha prea Idant. Yea, sh had presence. Thera wa no doubt or It. After tha reading of tha minutes, Mar. cla roee and addreaaad tha chair. "Madam Prealdent,'' aha aald and paused. Bllrnos, Mrs. Brows fanned unconcernedly. uncon-cernedly. Mrs. White leaned toward Mrs. Brown and whispered nervously, "Heoog-nlsa "Heoog-nlsa bar." "I recognise Marrla." calmly reported the hitherto undlspuUd leader of Pleas-urevlll. Pleas-urevlll. society. , Miss Whits coughed apologetically "fall her Mlaa Belknap." she prompted. Being formally recognised. Marcu, pro-ceded; pro-ceded; "1 move we devote fifteen mln "'"l aertthemcTlon7' aald Mlsa Waits, than haatlly mumbled something In tba ear of Mra. Brown. Thereupon that bar. raaeed lady obadlantly chanted: "All of you who are In favor of this motion say aye." Tha ava. had It. ' At thl. Juncture Mlaa WhH. whispered to Mrs. Brown again, and Mrs. Brown somewhat automatically auggaated that Marcta should take tha chair, whloh sh. .seed th. feminine port to of th. town. Th.y. lha ladlea. Mocked to themaelvee and aeeuraad dlatant and superior (nan. Bars. In the early part ef March Mlaa Vlr- glnis looked at me wistfully, but said gbthlng. In tha latter part of March young Tom Racotl surprised ms with ao afternoon call. After e few desultory remarks, ha aald awkaanlly; "Wonderful people, tba ancient an-cient OreekS, colonel!" "Wonderful." I agreed. "Athletic, warlike, and all that" "Yea," I allowed. "Great In aculpture and Elgin marble mar-ble and Parthenon, and such things:1' "go I've heard." aald 1. "Hang II, colonel!" burst forth Tom I flnsllv, "I'm no good st sidling up to Utilise. Have you got any books en en. ; clent OreeceT" "Any number of them." I said. Torn cheered vlalbly. "Thank heaven!'' ha ejaculated. "Mia. Vlrglnla'a got a paper to write about the ancient Greeka, and aba won't aak Marrla to help her, I and shs keeps popping gueettone at ni. until I feel perforated. I want to stsnd In with her wall you sea. aba la Marcta. Mar-cta. aunt, colonel, and" j "Not another word, my boy, tb. books , are yours." 1 April I waa a beautiful day, too beau-1 beau-1 tlful to spend In the drug store, yet t there I w-ss that memorable afternoon Idly watching while old Marlon tilled a did with uapoloua nlacrtty. Mtu Whit. nroM to uUt th ffoor, but Myrm 0lt lrdr toad It. Th club looktxl xottikd and tptrhen1v. ' Madame) Chairman," 9M Myr. brlak-ly, brlak-ly, "I mot tlsfxt th folk1nr bylaw b Mjtd; No man on pain of death ihall b prMnt at lh aitlnn of th Woman'! Wo-man'! Club of llaurvlll." (Did hr ya turn to my portirT Mfn upport of thla bylaw ah continued, "1 call your atUntton to th facatloua ptaaaan-trla ptaaaan-trla at our ina cunnt imonc certain cer-tain of our mala aviuaintanca." "Haa anyone anything to aay aalnt th motion T' aak ad Maicla. ucourain- iy. Th mn that f know.' aald Mlaa Whit, lauahlnirly, "would b mora apt to run away front th club than " -Not at ail.' tntaruptad Myra. 'Tou don't know anything about man. Horn of th man of thla town would ao far aa to atoop to aurraptttloua maajui to at-land at-land on of our mtlna." Did ah touch th alactrlo button that oorrtrolUd th mafhlnary of ronvaraatlonT Everybody ban to talk violently. Babel, Badlem. No word nan daaorlba It. Tha Mathodlat praachar'a wlfa aroao and. In an act la ted voir, called ut, "Madam Chairman' "Mra. Taylor ha th floor.' aald Mar ola. Th air waa think with aya' and "noea," and Marcta pounded vigorously before (ettlnv a quiet moment In whloh to xnlln titat th drill waa all In fun. and that Mra. Taylor could not make a motion because a not bar motion waa b. (ore th hotiae. "Whoa motionT What motion? cried tyTral membera, "Ml k Oalt'a motion. Will Mlaa Oalt give hr motion avaln?'' Mtea Oalt naitta hrr motion airaln: Xo man oa pain of death may be preaent at the n tee 1 1 n s of t h Woman' CI ub uf Pleaaurevllle." Mra. Taylor (atltl tremWtnr Bnt X In-a.at In-a.at that preacher ought to b xpctd to com to everything. Mr. Ttrown And aurly our huabanda. Mra, Oray And our sons. Mlaa Flint tfliwhlhg and amlttng I move an amendment that tha word 'lin-marrled" 'lin-marrled" may te Inaerted before th word man. and th word "matrimony' b ub-atltuted ub-atltuted for "death. "Better and better, cried Vyr In unholy un-holy gle. "1 accept th amendment.' Th motion aa amended wa uprlor loualy carreld. By thla time th warm aprtiig weather and th Informal dlacuaston had ao heated the room that Mia Virginia, pink and breath!, requeated Marcla to open th aide door, "But H ta looked. Aunt Virginia."1 aald Marcla. "I knew th chair would hav to be placed avalnat tt, ao I locked It thl morning." -DArkftd! x claimed Mia Virginia. Bh looked from on pair of portiere to the other, then to th high, old faahlonad wlndowa. finally bar gas cama baok to th curtains that arreened mv palpitating aelf. "Lrxed!" aald Mlaa Virginia again, mechanically. Meanwhile. Marcla had moved about ofeenlng wlndowa.- and the club now aet-tUl aet-tUl down to rrmitar bualnra. "Mla Whit will now read a paper on 'Th dreclan Art of th Third J,rVod. " |