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Show g manded, climbing Into bed and settling himself on his pillow. Mary began It bravely enough. But the reference to Paul was too much for her. Before she reached the Chocolate Choco-late Cat she found she could not go on. "I'm afraid I can't finish The Sugar' Plum Tree' tonight, darling," she said abruptly, bending over to kiss him; and In spite of her, some hot tears fell down on his face. Then she fled from the room. Moses lay for a long time wide-eyed wide-eyed and pondering. He loved Mary as he loved no one else in the world, and Mary, plainly, was very unhappy. He tried to think of recent misdeeds that he himself had committed, but his slate was fairly clean. Then he remembered that once before, early In the summer, he had caught her crying, cry-ing, and when he had pressed her, she had said she was worried over Paul. Mary never mentioned Paul now still that might be the trouble, just the same. It was too bad that Mary should cry over him, particularly when he deserved It so little, but if no one else would comfort her Moses would. He sought about In his mind for the quickest and best means to this end. Moses always slept with a small Canton-flannel dog named Spotty, to which he had been devoted from Infancy. In-fancy. It had gone through numerous vicissitudes. More than once It had fallen In the brook, but Mary had always al-ways fished It out, and dried It In the oven. And one night he had ripped It open and devoured most of Its lining an experiment which had proved very disastrous to both. But Spotty still survived. Moses made a sudden resolve. re-solve. He hugged Spotty and kissed what remained of his nose. He gulped as he did It. Never, since he could re- Boston l sweet on her all right, and he's some swell, believe met" "It was me that broke the engagement," engage-ment," said Paul, stiffly and ungrammatically. ungram-matically. Rosalie stared at him speechlessly for a moment But only for a moment. mo-ment. "So that's the kind of a bird you are, Is It?" she Inquired with Immeasurable Immeasur-able scorn. "Well, I've heard a lot about 'ancestors' since I struck this burg, and I don't deny that you've got something to be proud of along that line. The men that came up here to say nothing of the women that came with 'em and just got settled when the Revolutionary war broke out, and were willing and glad to strike out again and tight for their country, were sure all wool and a yard wide and then some. But I guess If they could look up or down now, as the case may be, and see their descendants wearing out the seats of their trousers sitting on the post office steps and saying what they'd do If they was President, or standing on the curbstone In Wal-lacetown Wal-lacetown thinking they're having the h 1 of a time because they've got a couple too many drinks Inside of them and are talking to some skirt they wouldn't introduce to their mother I guess them old captains and Judges and governors would think the good old stock had run down to a pretty poor line of goods I I got a fellah in New York floor walker on the eighth who doesn't know who his father was, let alone any great-grands ! But he's white clean through for all that, believe me ! If he could have your chance, my I what he'd have done with It I A good home and money for an education and a lady for a sweetheart sweet-heart ! And you've turned up your ugly nose at all of them while he's had to climb out of the gutter on his way to decency without a soul to help him. But he's got there, all right I've written Steve that if he still wants a girl who's been fool enough to play round all summer with a stupid rube that was another girl's beau, he can have her, and he's telegraphed back prepaid that he'd be waiting In the Grand Central right by the gate on Thursday." Rosalie having departed without further fur-ther delay to smooth things out with Steve, that episode seemed to be closed, and Paul felt that he had reason rea-son to hope that It would be a long time before anyone made him so thoroughly uncomfortable again. But he was mistaken. The next person to treat him harshly was Doctor Noble. Meeting the boy one day on the road, down which Paul was wandering somewhat some-what aimlessly, David brought his motor mo-tor to a stop and hailed him. "Just the person I've been hoping to see," he remarked pleasantly. "I wanted to speak to you about your fiancee. I'm worried about her. I don't think she's looking at all well." "If you mean my cousin, Mary Manning," Man-ning," said Paul with forced dignity, "she Isn't my fiancee." "Oh," said David still pleasantly. "Well of course that must be a great disappointment to you, but perhaps It's all for the best. Of course your tastes wouldn't be particularly congenial. con-genial. Mary has such a fine mind. . . . Well, I must pass along the good news to Thomas Gray the next time I see him, If he hasn't heard It already. I believe he thought, with considerable regret, that you had the right of way In that quarter." Paul glared. People seemed bent on reminding him that Mary was not, after all, in the least dependent upon him for masculine attentions. It hurt his pride. "The war news isn't very good, Is it?" went on David with an abrupt change of subject. "Ever thought of enlisting In the Foreign legion?" "Lord, no !" Paul exclaimed. "Why should I?" "Why, you're exactly the sort of chap for It! No ties of any kind, Independent In-dependent Income, fine constitution " "Farmers can't be spared," quoted Paul hurriedly, recalling statistics he had happened to read In some newspaper. news-paper. "It takes five men In the field to keep one at the front. And I've got heart trouble," he went on, growing grow-ing very red and writhing more and more at David's pleasant voice. "Hard luck I But are you sure? Been examined lately? Well, come up to the house some evening and let me look you over. Some evening soon, I'm going ncross myself, very shortly, as a member of one of the Harvard medical units. We'll be connected with the British army. Jacqueline's going to take up some branch of Red Cross work nursing, probably. It Isn't as If we had any children," ended David a little wistfully. "I'm sure Austin Gray would have done something long ngo If It hadn't been for Sylvia. Naturally any man that's fortunate enough to get a family like that makes It his first consideration as long as he can. Well, good-by." Paul began to feel very sorry for himself. Public opinion, which he had at first thought to be wholly on his side, seemed to be gradually, but none the less surely, swinging the other way. If the older women still chattered chat-tered against Mary, the younger ones spoke differently, and none of them would have anything to do with him. He led an unappreciated existence, after twenty-one petted years. As for the men, he thought they were actually actual-ly beginning to go out of their way to be disagreeable to him and pleasant to Mary. lie found himself virtually ostracized In Hamstead, and neither White Water nor Wallace-town, though lie tried them both, seemed to furnlHh either lasting stimulation or lasting solace, lie discovered, as many another an-other man has discovered with resentment, resent-ment, the deadly dullness with which dissipation Is permeated. (TO UJ OONTINUUD.J A Romance of the Commonplace By Frances Parkinson Keyes WNTJ Service Copyright by Frances Parkinson Keyet SYNOPSIS Motoring through Vermont, Phlltp Starr, young tJoston architect, meets Blanche Manning, seventeen, with whom he Is Immediately enamored. It being a long distance to Burlington, Starr's destination, Blanche suggests, the village of Hamstead not boasting a hotel, that he become, for the night, a guest of her cousin, Mary Manning. Mary receives Philip with true Vermont Ver-mont hospitality, and he makes the acquaintance of her cousin Paul, recognized rec-ognized as her fiance. Starr Informs her of his desire to win Blanche for his wife. She tells him of an old family superstition concerning the :'Blanches" of the Manning family. Paul Manning Is Inclined to be dissipated. dissi-pated. Mary's reproaches for his "conviviality'" "con-viviality'" are badly received by Paul. Gale Hamlin, long a suitor for Mary's hand, visits Hamstead but makes no progress In his lovemaking. Philip, from records of the Manning family, learns the sorrowful story of the "Countess Blanche," French wife of a Revolutionary hero, Moses Manning, and of the peculiar "curse" she has transmitted to her descendants and the women of Hamstead. The evening of Philip's marriage to Blanche, Paul, under the Influence of liquor, bitterly affronts Mary, and tells her their engagement en-gagement is ended. Mary, at first acutely conscious of her position as a "Jilted" woman, Is greatly comforted bjr her lifelong friend, Sylvia Gray. CHAPTER VII Continued Silently Mary brought the little white china cup painted with bluebirds blue-birds to the child. He drained It at a gulp. "More," he announced cheerfully, handing it back to her. Mary filled the mug a second time, and as she did so, she could see the rest of the family, in the new automobile, automo-bile, starting for the performance of "The Merchant of Venice" at the annual an-nual Chautauqua entertainment at Wallacetown. She knew the play almost al-most by heart, loved every word of It, had never seen It given, and even the little mediocre traveling company that was to play It, could, with her own knowledge of it have given her a glimpse Into fairyland If she could have heard It. And none of the others cared for Shakespeare, or were In the least familiar with him. They were simply going because it was "part of this year's program," because everyone every-one else was going, because Paul welcomed wel-comed any excuse to drive the car and Violet any excuse to be seen in It and Jane and Seth any excuse to go to a play which could not, of course, be wicked, since it was "classic." No one had even suggested staying home with the children so that she could go. "Can't I have a piece of candy?" was Algy's next question, as she reached the crib which stood by her bed. "I ben a good boy all day, haven't I, Mary?" "Yes, dear, pretty good. Where Is your bag of lemon drops?" "In my top bureau drawer. Bring It here, so's I can choose." The bag was brought and a fragment frag-ment carefully selected. "I wish you'd stay with me for a while, Mary. I got a sorter pain In my leg." "A sharp pain, or an ache?" "No-o, Just a regular pain. I think maybe it would feel better If you rubbed It for a while." Mary uncovered the plump, brown legs and rubbed them briskly. "I've got to go now and hear Moses' prayers," she said at last, thinking that signs of drowsiness were finally beginning to be evident. But .Moses was not feeling devotional. devo-tional. He was constitutionally Irreligious, Irre-ligious, and now that he attended kindergarten, kin-dergarten, the morning exercises at school seemed to him more than sufficient suf-ficient for his spiritual needs. "I ain't a-go!n' to say the Lord's prayer tonight" he announced with decision. "I said It this mornln' at school." "Very well, say 'Now I lay me.' " "Now I lay me," began Moses without with-out much fervor, "down to sleep . . ." when a loud crash and a wall of distress dis-tress from the next room. "Oh, Mary, I've dropped my bluebird blue-bird cupl It's bro-o ken . . ." Mary rushed to Algy's side and gathered him, dripping wet, Into her arms. On the floor, In a pool of water, lay the beloved mug broken Into fragments, frag-ments, while the crib, as well as Algy himself, was deluged by Its contents. "Don't cry, darling! It's a shame, but Mary will buy you another Just like It, only prettier, maybe, the next time she goes to Wallacetown. Hush, honey. Iet Mary put you In bed with Moses while she gets you dry pujamas and changes your sheets and wipes up all the pieces so you won't cut your dear little feet." Comfort, fresh linen and more water wa-ter all having been provided, Moses was urged to continue his devotions. "I don't see wliy I Rhould say, 'If 1 should die before I wake.' I've said It and said It and I ain't never died at all." "Well, say Just 'God bless' tonight, t'uen." "God bless Daddy and Mary and Algy," mumbled Moses glibly, "and all rny dear friends, and make me a good boy, rind bless Cousin Jane and Cousin Violet ii ml P.bt-che. Vou needn't bother lliout Paul, he snitched my wood Wiiic-k trap. Amen. . . . Now sing me 'The Sugar Plum Tree,' " he corn- "But He's White Clean Through, for All That, Believe Me!" member, had he gone to sleep without first laying his head on the cherished toy. Then he picked it up and pattered pat-tered into Mary's room. It was as he had expected. Mary was lying on her bed, weeping. Moses held out his hand. "Don't cry any more, please, Mary," he said softly. "I've brought Spotty to sleep with you." It was then that Mary realized that she had found a second source of comfort com-fort In Moses. Most of her unhappl-ness unhappl-ness had been caused by selfishness. Moses was willing to make, for her, what was to him a tremendous sacrifice. sacri-fice. She drew the child, with his little, Canton-flannel dog still In his hand, Into bed with her and cried without restraint, holding him In her arms. Moses lay solemn and silent, asking no questions, making no overtures. over-tures. But she could feel his sympathy sympa-thy In every curve of his warm little body. Gradually she relaxed, a sense of peace, of compensation, of contentment, content-ment, stole over her. She fell asleep, her cheek against her little brother's. Things never seemed half so hard again. CHAPTER VIII Meanwhile, Paul, Instead of rejoicing rejoic-ing In his longed-for liberty, was finding find-ing it utterly "dull, flat, stale and unprofitable." un-profitable." In the first place, living at close quarters with his mother's "nerves," unrelieved by Blanche's sunny presence pres-ence or the ready escape to Mary's house which had always been open to him, was not a pleasant experience, as has already been hinted. But this was by no means all. For a day or two after his sister's wedding he was really 111. As soon as he was sufficiently suffi-ciently recovered, however, he made his way, feeling very blithe and unshackled, un-shackled, to call on Rosalie. "I'm right In the midst of packing," she announced, "I haven't much time to spare. I'm going back to New York on the midnight." Paul strove to express his regret. "Don't you go getting fresh with me!" said Miss King, crisply. "I'm not that kind and you needn't forget It, little one. . . . Why didn't you tell me you was engaged to that good-looking good-looking cousin of yours? My, but she's a looker!" "I'm not engaged to her," said Paul shortly. "Oh, she's thrown you over, has Rhe?" Jeered Rosalie. "Well, I should think she would. She can do a lot better than you, Little P.oy Blue, oven If you behaved yourself Instead of hitting It up all Hummer like you've been doing. That Mr. Hamlin from |