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Show Ithe houseof a thousand CANDLES By MEREDITH NICHOLSON AolW el "THE MAIN CHANCE," ZEIDA UAMERON." Elc. ' Copjrrlitht I0O5 bj llolibe-Jlenlil Co. CHAPTER XIV. Continued. 'Stoddard had loft mo to go to tlio other end of tho platform to speak to aomo of tho Htudonts, I followed Pickering Pick-ering rather reluctantly to whoro tho companions of Ills travels wero pacing to nnd fro In tho crisp morning air. As soon ns Pickering had got mo well undor way In conversation with 'Taylor, ho excused himself hurriedly nnd wont off, ns I assumed, to ho sure tho station agent had received orders for attaching tho prlvnto car to tho Chicago- oxprcas, Taylor proved to ho ia supercilious person, I hcllovo thoy .call lilm Chilly Hilly nt tho Metropolitan Metropoli-tan club, and our efforts to convorso woro pathetically unfruitful. Tho two Iladlos stood by, making no conceal-mcnt conceal-mcnt of tholr Impatience. Tholr oyes were upon tho girls from St. Agathn's on tho othor platform, whom thoy I could boo beyond mo. I had Jumped tho conversation from Indiana farm I values to tho recont disorders In nul- arla, which intorcsted mo moro, when V Mrs,. Taylor, Ignoring mo, spoko nb- ruptly to hor sister, p "Thnt's sho tho ono In tho gray coat, talking to tho clergyman. Sho carao a moment ago In tho carriage" "Tho ono with tho umbrella? 1 thought you said" .Mrs. Taylor glanced nt hor Bister warnlngly, nnd they both looked nt mo. Then thoy dotnehed themselves nnd moved nway. Thcro was somo ono on tho farther platform whom they wished to see nnd Taylor, not under-Btandlng under-Btandlng their manouvcr ho was really real-ly anxious, I think, not to bo left nlono with mo started down tho platform nfter them, I following. Mrs. Taylor nnd her sister walked to tho end of tho platform nnd looked across, n biscuit bis-cuit .toss nway, to whoro Stoddard stood talking to tho girl I had already heard described ns wearing n gray coat and corrylng nn umhrolln. Tho girl In grny crossed tho track quickly and addressed tho two womon cordially. Taylor's back was to hor nnd ho was growing eloquent in a mild well-bred way over tho dullness of our etatcsmcn in not seeing tho ndvan-tngos ndvan-tngos that would accruo to tho United BtatcB In fostering our shipping Industry. Indus-try. His wife, her slstor and tho girl In gray woro so near that I could hear .plainly what thoy woro saying. They woro reforrlng apparently to tho girl's :rofusal of an Invitation to accompany thorn to California. "So you can't go It's too bad I Wo 'had liopod that when you really saw us on tho way you would rolcnt," Bald "Mrs. Taylor. "But thoro aro many reasons; nnd tibovo nil Sister Thorosa nocds mo." It wns tho voi'co of Olivia, a llttto lower, n llttlo moro restrained than I had known it; but undeniably it was sho.. "But think of tho roso gardens that nro waiting for us out there!" said tho othor lady. Thoy woro showing her tho doforenco that oldorly womon always al-ways havo for pretty girls. "Alas, nnd again ulas!" exclaimed Olivia. "Pleaso don't mako it harder for nio than necessary, nut I gavo my promlso a year ngo to spend these holidays In Cincinnati." Sho ignored mo wholly and after shaking hands with tho ladles returned to tho othor platform. I wondered whother she wns overlooking Taylor on purpose to cut mo. Taylor was still at his lecturo on tho needs of our American merchant ma-rlno ma-rlno whon Plckorlng passod hurrlodly, crossed tho track and began speaking earnestly to tho girl In gray. "Tho American (lag should command the Boas. What wo need is not moro battleships but moro freight car-Wore car-Wore " Taylor was saying. I nut I was watching Olivia Gladys Armstrong. In a long skirt, with hor hair caught up undor a gray toquo that matchod her coat porfectly, sho was not my Olivia of tho tamo'-shanter, who had pursued tho rabbit; nor yet tho unsophisticated school girl, who had suffered my Idiotic babblo; nor, ugain, tho dreamy rapt organist of tho chapel. Sho was a grown woman with nt least 20 summers to hor credit, and thoro was about hor an air of knowing tho world, and of not being nt all u Bl person ono would mako foolish speech- os to, Sho spoko to Pickering gravely. Onco sho smiled dolofully nnd shook hor head, and I vaguely strove to io-member io-member whoro I had seen that look In hor oyes boforo. Hor gold beads, which I had onco carried In my pocket, HT woro clasped tight about tho closo col- tar of hor dress; nnd I was glad, vory B' glad, that I had over touched anything that belonged to hor. Who was Olivia Gladys Armstrong and what was Arthur PIckoring's bust-1 Hi nous with her? And what was it sho El had Bald to mo that evening whon I HJ had found her playing on tho chapol HJ organ? So much happonod that day HJ that I bad almost forgotten, and, In- K4 deed, I had trloa u forget that I made a fool of myself for the edlllcatlon of Km an amusing llttlo school girl. "Then KAV you prefer to Ignore tho first tlfiio I Kw ovor saw you," she ' id said; but if I hnd thought of It nt nil It had boon with righteous Bclf-contcmpt. Or, I may havo Haltered my vanity with tho rellcction that she hud eyed mo her hero, perhaps with wistful admiration admira-tion across tho wall. Meanwhllo tho Chicago express roared Into Annandalo nnd tho prlvnto car was nttachod. Taylor watched tho trainmen with tho cool Interest of a man for whom tho proceeding had no novelty, whllo ho continued to dl-lato dl-lato upon tho nation's commorclnl opportunities. op-portunities. I turned porforco, and walked with him 'back toward tho station, sta-tion, whoro Mrs. Taylor nnd her slstor woro tnlklng to tho conductor. Pickering canio running across tho j platform with Boveral telegrams In his j hand. "I'm nwfully sorry, Glcnarnr, that our stop's so short," and PlckorIng:s fnco woro n worried look ns ho nd-dressed nd-dressed mo, his eyes on tho conductor. "How far do you go?" I asked. "California. Wo havo largo Interests out there nnd I havo to attend somo stockholders' meetings in Colorndo In January." "Ah, you business men! You business busi-ness men!" I said reproachfully. I wished to call hiin n blackguard then and thcro, and It w.ib on my tonguo to , do so, but I concluded that to wnlt until ho hnd shown his hand fully was tho hotter game. Tho ladles entered tho car and I shook hands with Tnylor, who threatened threat-ened to send mo his pamphlet on Tho Needs of Amorlcnn Shipping when ho got back to Now York. "It's too bad sho wouldn't go with us. Poor girl I this must bo a dreary holo for hor," ho said to Pickering, who helped him upon tho platform of tho car with what scorned to bo unnecessary un-necessary precipitation. "You llttlo know us," I declared, for Pickering's bonoflt. "Llfo In Annnn-dalo Annnn-dalo Is nothing if not exciting. Tho people horo aro indlfforont marksmen or thoro'd bo murdors galoio." "Mr. Glonarm Is n good deal of a wag," oxplalned Plckorlng, hastily swinging hlmsolf aboard as tho train started. "Yes; it's my humor that keops mo allvo," I responded, und tnklng off my hot I saluted Arthur Plckorlng with my broadest salaam. CHAPTER XV. I Make an Engagement. Tho south bound train was now duo In ton minutes. A fow studouts had hoarded tho Chicago train, but n greater number still wnltod on tho farthor platform. Tho girl In gray waB surrounded by half a dozen atu-donts, atu-donts, all talking animatedly. As I wnlkod toward thorn I could not Jus tify my stupidity In mlstnklng a Bchool girl of 15 or 1C for n grown woman; but it wns tho tain o'-sliantor, tho short skirt, tho youthful Joy in 1 tho outdoor world that had disguised ; her as effectually no ItoBallnd to tho oyos of Orlando. Sho was probably n toachor qulto likely tho teacher of iuubIc, I argued, who had amused herself her-self at my expense It had seemed tho easiest thing In i tho world to approach hor with an J npology or n fnrowcll, hut thoso fow I Inches added to hor skirt and that pretty grny toquo substituted for tho j tain-o-shantor set up a barrlor that j did not ylold at nil ns I drow noaror. At tho last niomont, ns I crossed tho track nnd stopped upon tho othor platform, plat-form, it occurred to mo that whllo I might havo Bonio claim upon tho attention at-tention of Olivia Gladys Armstrong, a wayward school girl of athletic tastos, 1 had nono whatovor upon a porson whom it wnB propor to address as I Miss Armstrong who was, I folt Buro, qulto capable of snubbing mo it snubbing snub-bing foil In with hor inood. Sho glanced toward mo and bowed Instantly, and hor young companions wlthdrow to a conservative distance I will say this for tho students at St. Agatha's, Annandalo; Tholr mannors aro boyond criticism, and an affablo discretion is ono ot their most kdmlra-ble kdmlra-ble tralta. "I didn't know they over grew up so fast In a day nnil a night!" I was glad I romombcrcd tho number num-ber of bcuds In hor chain; tho Item scorned at onco to tccomo Important. "It's tho nlr, I ftiipposo. It's praised by excellent critics," she laughed. "But vou nro soing to an nmplor ether, a dlvlnor a!r. You hnvo attained at-tained tho beatific stato and nt onco tako flight. If thoy confer perfection llko nn ncadomlo degrco nt St. Agatha's, Ag-atha's, then " I had novor folt so stupidly helpless In my llfo. Thoro wero n thousand things I wished to say to hor; thoro woro countless questions I wished to nsk; but hor calmness nnd polso woro disconcerting. Her eyes met mlno easily; tholr nzuro depths puzzled mo. Sho was almost, but not quite, somo lino I hnd seou before, and It was not my woodland Olivia. Hor oyes, tho sofo curvo of her check, tho light In hor hnlr but tho memory of another time, nnothor placo, another girl, lured only to bafllo me Sho laughed a llttlo murmuring laugh. "I'll novor tell it you won't," sho said. "Hut I don't sco how that helps mo with you?" "It cortalnly does not! That is a much moro serious matter, Mr. Glen-arm." Glen-arm." "And tho worst of It Is that I haven't a slnglo thing to say for myself. my-self. It wasn't tho not knowing that was so uttorly dull" "Cortalnly not! It was talking that ridiculous twaddlo. It was trying to Eas flirt with a silly school girl. What will do for IB is tomdwhat vacuous for" Sho paused abruptly, colored and laughod. "I nm 27!" "And I am JuBt tho usual ago," sho said. "Ages don't count, but tlmo Is Important. Im-portant. Thoro nro many things I wish you would toll mo you who hold tho koy of tho gato of mystory." "Then you'll hnvo to pick tho lock I" Sho laughed lightly. Tho sombor Sisters patrolling tho platform with tholr charges heeded us llttlo. "I had no Idoa you know Arthur Pickering whon you woro Just Olivia in tho tam-o'-shnntcr." "Maybo you think ho wouldn't havo carod for my acquaintance ns Olivia in tho tamo'-sliantor. Men nro vory qucorl" "Hut Arthur Plckorlng Is an old frlond of mlno." "So ho told mo." "Wo woro neighbors In our youth." "I boliovo I havo honrd him montlon , it." "And wo did our prop school to-gothor, to-gothor, nnd then parted!" "You toll oxactly tho samo story, so It must bo true Ho wont to collogo and you wont to Tech." "And you know him ?" I bogan, my curiosity thoroughly nrousod. "Not at collogo , any moro than I know you at Tech." "Tho train's coming," I said earnestly, earn-estly, "and I wish you would toll mo whon I shall seo you again!" "Hoforo wo part for over?" Thoro was a mlschlovous hint of tho Olivia in short skirts In hor tono. "Pleaso don't suggest It! Our times havo been strnngo nnd fow. Thero wns that first night whon you callod to mo from tho lake" "How Impertinent! How daro you romombor that?" "And thoro was tho snow storm and at tho chapol porch last night Nolth-or Nolth-or you nor I had tho slightest huulnoss thoro. Hut you spoko as though you understood what you must hnvo heard, and you say you know Arthur Plckorlng. Plckor-lng. It is Important fur ma to know I havo a right to know Jusi what you meant by that warning." noal distress showed in her faco for on Instant Tho agent and his helpers rushod tho last baggago down the platform as tho rails hummed tholr warning ot tho approaching train. (TO BIS CONTINUED.) |