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Show I I HARRIET Hi PIPER I I By KATHLEEN NORRIS 1 H - Copyright by Kathleen Morris 3 BBH' P. i i t ii i ii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 it 1 1 1 ii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ....!.!. 1 ;.;;:. ' . l ... j. ;;''.''' ' i . V llv laiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiii in H , u , f H "NO, NO, NO!" H Synopsis. Harriet Field, twenty- eight years old, and beautiful, Is B- the enclal secretary of the fllrta- 1 ttous Mr. Ioabcl Carter, nt H "Crowilando," Itlchard Carter's B homo, nnd governess of neventecn- HH" year-ol Nina Carter. Ward, twon Bfl ty-foui yearn old nnd Impression H able, ntnclcfl himself In love with BBB his mother's attractive secrotary, BBBB Mrs, Ci rter's latest "affair" Is with BBBB young Anthony Pope, and the pBB youth H taking It very seriously. J Prraldlw over the teacups this J summer afternoon, Harriet Is pro- J foundly 'tlsturbed by the arrival of J a vlslto', Hoyal Ulondln. Next J day, at a tea party In the city, J Dlondln makes himself anrceabto BBHJ to Nina, tnd leaves a deep Impres j nlon on the unsophisticated Klrl. J Harriet's agitation over tho appear BJ nnce of -Olondln at "Crowntands" BBfl is explalred by the fact thnt ho BBK had been n dlnturblmr element In BBB her life hn years before and she BBB fears him The man Is an avowed Byfl adventure , llvlnsr on tho milllblllty BByfl of tho .din rich. He frankly an BBIr nounccs to Harriet his Intention of ByB mnrrvlnc Vina, and urges her to BBB aid him, fhn Is In a sense In his BBB' power, and after pleading with him BBB to abandon his achome agrees to BBV follow a policy of neutrality. BBWv, Knowing tli tender feeling she has BBV Inspired In Ward Carter, Harriet BBV Is tempted ' marry him for the BBJ position and wealth he can give BBV, her, though Hallilng she does not BBV' love him. FJI-ndln has Ingratiated BBJ himself with Madame Carter. Rich BBft anl's mother. And she Is whole- BBpJ heartodly In fvor of his marriage BH with Nina, WKrd urges Harriet to BBW marry him. She procrastinates. BV Mrs, Pnrter elojtM with Popo. nion BBJ din threatens rfiv-rlet She prays Byj to do what In right, lilondln and BByJI Harriet agree t kep silent about ByJ their past retain Richard Car- BBW ter propogoii a i''Tlage, entirely ByJ buslnrsslllce. to tn" place an soon BByJ as he Is divorced Harriet says BBJ "No," and goes to Vit her sister. H M3 ; M CHAPTER X. bS " 9 H Tiicro was trouble nt Mndo's house; H trouble bo terrible thnt Harriet's unex- Vs pectcd nrrlvnl cnuscd v.- comment. H canned no mnr? thnn n wvary flicker H of Linda's heavy eyes. Pip. the adored first-born son, tny dangerously 111, nnd VV tho whole hmuehold muvel on tiptoe, Bu heartsick,. with dread. It was dlph- IK tlierlo, very had, Fred stater llfolessiy, T Llndn hurdly left the room ; .hey were H afraid for her, too. "If nnyhlng Imp- H pened." "If nn.vthlng h - opened I" H Harriet thought she lind Mnrd the H phrase a hundred times ba'oro the H dreadful nlglit came. B She hud luken Llndn'o plnro for nn V hour, hut before It was up the mother H came, bnclc, nnd they kept their vigil H together. Kicd answered tho fit ranee. B untimely ringing of the doorbell. H brought In puelcngcs, conferred In the H halls with the doctors. Midnight H en me. two o'clock, four o'clock, H Suddenly there was panic. Hnr- rlet, by chance In tho hall, snw I.lndn B and Fred nnd tho doctors together. H heard Linda's quick, anguished "Yes!" H and Fred's "Anything I" Her heart H- pounded ; the nurse ran upstairs. Hnr H riot fell upon her knees with a sob- H . bins whisper, "No no no 1" nnd Lin H 'In clung to her husband with a cry H torn from the deeps of her heurt, "Oh, Hl IMp my own boyl" BByJ H Dawn came slowly and reluctantly B nt seven; tho village lay bleak and flo'd under a sky of unbroken grny. - Hito and there smoke bt reamed up B ward from u chimney, or a window B initio showed nn oblong of pnlc light. H Harriet put out the light that was m, becoming unner;ssnry. nut her benrt H: was singing for Joy, and the house H1 was brimful of nn Inner light nnd H cheer that no winter bleakness could H touch. The girl bad been crying until H she was almost blind, but it was n cry H Ing mixed with laughter nnd prayers B of utter thankfulness. H She met Linda at the door, a weary H Linda, ghastly en to face, grayer as B to straggling bnlr. but with such null H nnco In her eyes thnt Harriet, clasped H In her arms, begun to cry again. i H "Oh. Harriet If I can ever thank H Ood enough!" IMp's mother said, be H ginning on her breakfast with ono long H sigh. "Oh. my dear I He's sleeping j like n baby, (lod bless him, nnd dear H old Fred Is sleeping, too. Oh, Harriet, H to go nbout the bouse, as I Just have. B covering Nnmmy and the girls, and H feeling that we're all going to be H hnppy together ngnln. In a few days H my dear. I don't know what I've done H to be so blessed! My boy, who has H never given anyone it moment's care B or trouble Blncc be was born my dnr H ling, who looked up at mo yesterday H with his beautiful eyes" H' The floodgates were loosed, nnd VB Llndn laughed nnd cried, whllo slic H enjoyed her breakfast with the uppe H tltc of a normal woman released from Hl cruel strain, whose whole brood lies H eafeiy sleeping under her roof. Nam H ray's light Illness. Pip's wet feet, Lin H tin's unwillingness to believe that It H was anything but a cold, every hour B of the four awful days of danger, she H reviewed them all. And oh, the good H ncss of people, the solicitude of nurse H and doctor, the generosity of Ood I H It wns the afternoon of the next da; H when Harriet could first speak of her H awn Hffvlrs. Llndn listened, over her BBBB T SBBial IIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIilllllllllll mending, nodded, pursed her lips, or rnlscd her eyebrows. If Llndn might ever hnvc been worldly minded, she lind had her lesson les-son now, nnd the viewpoint she gave Harriet was the lofty obe of a woman wom-an who hns faced u supreme sacrifice without shrinking nnd with ununver Ing faith. "You did right, dear." she nssured her sister. "You could not stny there, under the circumstance. Whatever their code Is, yours Is different, yours has not been vitiated by luxury and Idleness. As for Mr. Carter's talk of marriage, thnt, of course. Is simply nn Insult 1" "No. I don't think It wns that." Harriet Har-riet sahl, feeling herself revolt Inwardly Inward-ly at this plain speukHg. "I don't seu what else It could ho," Linda pursued, serenely. "A mnrrled man you would be no better thnn his well. It's not n nice word but his mistress!" "Not nt nil." Harriet said, trying hard to hide the Irritation that roc rebellious within her, "he Is legally free, or will be soon, nnd ho nm I!" "I inn speaking of find's Inw, not mnn's." Linda said, gently but nwfully. and Harriet wns silent. "Fred suys thnt such men regard these matters far too lightly," Linda finished. Fred's name, thus Introduced, nlwnys lind the effect of nngerlng Harriot, ho had shared the family exaltntlon over Pip's recovery, nnd had thought more thnn once In thnt fearful night of hl Illness thnt even poverty, gray bnirs nnd the iigniiy of parenthood, shared with the man she loved, would have been ecstasy ec-stasy to her. But In the slow dnya nnd weeks that followed, her spirit became exhausted with the struggle that never ended, within her. Her bridges were burned behind her; It was all over. Whatever her emotions had been In leaving Crownlnnds. the diners' feelings lind been quite obvious obvi-ous and simple. Old Madame Carter bad wished her well; Ward had written writ-ten from college that he thought It was "rotten," and that she had been u corker to get Dad to raise Ills nl lownncc for him; Nlnn had felt her own wings the stronger for tho change; and Illchard had Interrupted his little speech of regret to unswer iiiv it:it-iniie, nun unn given ner n check that placed. It seemed to Harriet, Har-riet, the obligation permanently with her. The utter desolation of spirit with which she lind left them was evidently evi-dently unshnred; tho only word she bad had from thnt old life hnd been from Mnry Putnam, and even this cordial cor-dial note Jurred Hnrrlet with Its frnnk revelation of the change In her position. posi-tion. "I can't keep this up I" she told herself, her-self, ploying games with little convalescent conva-lescent Pip. walking over frozen roads with the girls, reading under the evening eve-ning lamp. "I can't keep this up I Twenty-seven, nnd n governess, and In love with n married man who does not know I nm nllvo!" summarized "Harriet, His Arm W?s About Her Now, His Voice Close to Her Ear, "Don't Let Thoo Years Wth Rich People Spoil You for tho Real Thlno, Dear." Hnrrlet. bitterly. "I will simply bnve :o forget It. nnd begin again, that's nil!" And she meditated upon Dnvld. the excellent, steady, devoted Dnvld, who was Fred's brother and u dentist In Brooklyn, and who" gave tho children wonderful holidays at Anbury Park. It would make Linda and Fred ver happy to have her change toward him: they were a little hurt nnd si lent nbout Dnvld. He always went with them to the crowded bench where they spent .luly and August, bad had a car this year, Llndi told her sister, and lind been "so popular." David was there, Christmas day, and there was n fire and a tree, happy children chil-dren everywhere, rosy little neighbors coming In to see the toys, snowy wet gnrments spread in the porch ufter' church. David tojk Harriet walking In the fresh cold air. o Harriet so iiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiillllllllliliiiiiiii, beautiful In her furry hat and long roat, with lior hrllilnnt cheeks and her hluo eyes shining under n blown dim of golden lialr, thnt Llndn. ! basted the turkey In the hot kitchen, couldn't help n little prayer that that would nil come out "right." "IJtit, Davy denr!" Hnrrlet nnd Dnvld hnd stopped short In the exquisite, exqui-site, silent woods. "There Is a feeling feel-ing -n something thnt makes tnnrrlnge right I Ahd J haven't It. Hint's nil!" "How do you know you haven't?" he said, smiling. "Hnrrlet, If once you sold you would, It would come. Hnrrlet," his nrm wns about her now, Ids volco closo to her car, "don't let those years with rich people spoil you for the real thing, denr!" She looked up nt him, with something some-thing wistful in her blue eyes. In-stnntly In-stnntly she snw leap to his face the look lie had hidden so many years; she heard a new ring In his voice. "Ah you darling 1 You will? You'll let tne tell them?" "No, no, no I" Hnlf-nngry, hnlf-sorry. hnlf-sorry. she put uway his embrace. "I'll Davy, I hate to spoil your Christians Christ-ians day I don't know what to Bay! I'll think nbout HI" She turned to go home. Her heart was lead within her. "I suppose there's no help for It." slio thought, In a pnnlc. "Llndn'll see It'll nil be out In five seconds I" llut Llndn met them nt the door, full of nn announcement. "Hnrrlet, Mr. Carter Is here!" "Mr. who?" Rack came tho tide with a grent rush, nothing else mnttercd. For a moment Harriet wns turned to stone. Then In n drenm of radiance nnd delight de-light she went Into tho little pnrlor, nnd Rlchnrd Career stood up to greet her. and there was nobody else In tho world. Llndn had Introduced herself; David wns nun duced. Hnrrlet glnnced nbout helplessly; he hnd not come here to sny "Merry Chrlstmns," surely. "I suggested thnt Hansen tnke the little people for a five-minutes' drive," i lie explained, "nnd then I shnll have to hurry bnck. I wanted to spenk to you on n mnttr of business, Miss I Field. I wonder since you're well wrnpped If we might walk to the corner cor-ner nnd meet hem; I'll only stenl you from .votir far.illv for (H-p niimitnn" "Certainly!" Harriet's heart, was singing. She wns hardly conscious of what he said; It was enough thnt ho hnd sought her out. thnt she wns to huve one more word with him. "I came here to d'scuss my own pinna. Miss Field." he said nt the gntc, "but n bint from your s'ster hns made me ftnr that perhaps 1 am too late. Siio tells me that you mny be making plans of your own." "David?" Harriet said, resentfully. "1 have no plans with Dnvld!" she sntd. simply. "I didn't know." Richard nnswered. "I enme to nsk you to come back. Things are In an absolute mess with us. We hnve not bad a ser ne moment since you left us three weeks ngo." To go bnck buck to Crowiilunds! Ilnniet's, spirit soured. She knew she must go buck I She hnd only despnired of their ever needing her ngnln. Rvery fiber of her being strained toward the old life. "Llndn. my sister, thinks It would bo unwise," sho begnn. The man Interrupted In-terrupted her, "There hns been n new turn of events. Miss Field. I hnd some Infor inatlon lust night which mny make a difference," he said, grnvely. "I . eclved a wire from Pope, In France. My wife Isnbulle died on nn operating operat-ing tnble yesterday afternoon, In Paris." Harriet, stupefied, could only Uok at him fixedly for a long minute. VIer lips parted, hut she did not spenk. "Died?" she whispered sharply. The inan.nodded without speaking. "Rut-but "Rut-but what was It?" Harriet said. For answer lie gave her the crumpled crum-pled cable, with the bnre statement of fact. Sho read it dazedly, looked nt his somber face, nnd rend it ngnln. "I can't believe It!" she said, "Well, now," Rlchnrd begnn presently present-ly In a different tone, "we are, as I said, Miss Field. In a mess. I haven't told the children this; they have a lot of young people there over Christmas. My mother and Nina are planning some eutertnlument for New Year's night, and I suppose this will cud nil that; I should suppose that Klna and her brother must have a period of mourning. I am deeply Involved In a big project In Itrar.ll, committee meetings meet-ings all through Jnnuarj I can't swing it, that's all. "Now, when we last talked of the subject together." Richard pursued In a businesslike way, "you objected to the suggestion of a innrrltige, because my wife was then still nllve. Am I correct?" "Yes. that's correct!" Harriet said, volcelassly. She felt herself beginning to tremble. "My purpose In coming today wus to suggest that. If that was your sole objection," the man continued, pains-takingly, pains-takingly, "you might feel thesltimtlon' changed now. 1 need you. We nil ilo. If It Is my mother who makes It I in. possible, or some other thing that 'I catinot change why, I must -get along, as best I can. But my proposition fa that you and I ure quietly married tomorrow; you come bnck tomorrow night nnd nnnouticc It whei.ever yon see fit. I mny seem n little matter-of-fact nbout this, Miss Field, but I am hoping jou understand. I nm making you nn unscntlmentul business offer. I need you In my Jlfe nnd I offer you certain advantages which It Would bo silly and schoolboylsli for me to deny I possess. I hnve n certnln standing in the commrnlty which even Mrs. ''nrter's mndn.-ss has cot seemed to Impair scrlnuiOy. The boy and the girl both love you, nnd you have my warmest friendship. Your position In my household will be ns Tree and Independent In-dependent as was Isahcllc's. I do not know whether you will consider this a fair return for what I ank, for after all you arc giving your services for life ,to the Carter household "Now, this Is of course entirely subject sub-ject to what pleases yon In the matter," mat-ter," be broke off, to sny, cmphntlcnlly. "I merely throw It out ns n suggestion. sugges-tion. It would plense me very much. 1 would draw n long breath of relief to hnve It nettled. Mrs. Tubor Is there stays there; takes the bend of toy table. I spent Inst night at the flub; I had cabled Pope and expected an answer, but my mother telephoned me nt three o'clock this morning to suy thnt Ward and some of his friends had gone out Ice-skating. Ward's been dropped from his university. I can't have thnt sort of thing, you know I" "When did you want me?" Hnrrlet brought her beautiful eyes back from some far vista. "I thought that If you could meet nm nt my olllce tomorrow I, would hnve nil the arrangements mode. Nlnn Is to be at the Hnwkes'; I send the enr for her nt three. I thought thnt you nnd she could go homo together to-gether to Crownlnnds. I'll hnve to ! In town thnt night." "Home to Crownlnnds 1" Suddenly Unrrlet's lip quivered and her eyes AfmSn it "'",'J " i mkmWw VfiIII' r 19g "I Know But If You Would Be So Vory Kind 7" brimmed with tears. "I'll be very glad to go back," she said In a low oce. "Oood!" he said. "I needn't tell .-oii how I feel nbout It; It helps me out tremendously. Now, nbout tomorrow, tomor-row, how would you like thnt to be?" "Well." she laughed desperately through her tears. "We're Church of Kngland!" She Inughod again when he took out his notebook nnd wrote the words down. "Once It's done," ho said, reassuringly, reassur-ingly, "you'll tfee my mother nnd nil the rest of them coino Into line! It puts you In n definite position, nnd although I mny seem' to be rushing nnd confusing you now. tlujre Is a more peaceful time to come we'll hope!" he added grimly. "Here's Hansen now. Lovely children," heaggwl, of the young Davenports and souHllntl mates who were tumbling ouVor the car, "lovely mother." "You'll not spenk of this yet?" Hnrrlet Hnr-rlet snld, suddenly thinking of Dnvld nnd Llndn. "My sister might think It Inched deliberation so close upon Mrs. Carter's death. I'd rather have n little time, get things straightened out" "Oh, certainly certainly!" Sho could see he was relieved, was Indeed In-deed In cheerful spirits, as hu gave his furred hand to the children's mlt-tenet! mlt-tenet! ones. They thanked hlin shrilly and Hansen smiled wnmily upon Hnrrlet Hnr-rlet as he touched his cap. Then they were gone. Linda, wntchlug from the window, thought that the chauffeur's obvious respect tor Harriet was rather Impressive. She enme to the porch, and 'Rlchnrd waved his farewell to them on masse. "ne's very nice," snld Linda. "Poor fellow, he probably would have had an entirely different moral code. If his life had been different !" Harriet Inwardly writhed, but she did not stir in tho sisterly embrace of Linda's arm. ' - Af. three o'clock the next afternoon Nlnn Carter, leaving (ho Hnwkes' man slon n New York city, with a great many laughing furewiills, descended to her father's waiting car and discovered, discov-ered, sitting therein, nn. extremely handsome young woraun, furred and trimly veiled, and deep In pleijsant conversation with Hansen. "Miss Harriot I" "Nlnn ejaculated In u tone thnl '-x'truye.l vague n-sent ment us well as a dellnlte surprise. "Nluu, dear!" Harriet ucceptert Nina's kiss warmly. "Are you glad to &ec mo?" And -ks Nina stumbled In and established herseli. tuin ct continued easily: "Your father nnd I had n talk, my dear, and he aug gested that I come back for a whllo So Hansen picked me up nt tb ofllc nnd here I urn ! He tried to teJcphou you, I know, hut you were out. And now," said Hnrrlet, glancing nt bet wrist watch, "I think we will go right home, plense, Hansen!" Nlnn hnd been her own mlstrcti for several delicious weeks, and tc have any sort of restriction ngnln wnt very unpnlntablc to her. She sulked oil the wi.y home and Mttrifime Carter meeting them at Crowntands, gnzed father stonily at the newcomer, granting grant-ing her only the briefest greeting. But oh, how homelike nnd welvomlng th beautiful plnce, mnntlcd in snow looked to Harriet's eyes. The snap ping fires, the warmth nnd fragrance of the big rooms nnd the vefy obvlout welcome of the mnlds, nil were en-ctinntlng en-ctinntlng to tier. Her first 4uty wns to mnke n brief jour below ttnlrs, nf-tcr nf-tcr which sho went up to her own room, When they returned from Huntington Hunting-ton In the fall, she and Nlnn, it Richard's Rich-ard's suggestion, hnd tnlcen Iinbelle' handsome rooms, turning' bcth into bedrooms nnd shnrlng the 1ress!ng rooms nnd hnth that Joined tcm. It wns here that Harriet foue-1 Nina awaiting her, atllt with her hat on and loitering with obvious (Tscomfi-ture. (Tscomfi-ture. "Miss Harriet I" Nlnn sntd flh a rush. "You nre fo sweet nbout things like this, I wondox if you wll' mind taking the yellow guest roon It'n really much larger and Jenvlnj this ropm? Youfcee. when I hnve f rienMs " Ilurrlct, nt tho dressing tnbte hnd rnlscd her hands to remove h?r hat. Like nuy general, she realized tho crisis of the apparently unlmpcilunt moment nnd met it by Instinct. "But you hnve an extra bed. bcsT'lca the couch, in your room, Nina!" Nlnn clenred her throat, threw hack her head, regarded Harriet betwc m half-closed eyelids In a mnnner Harrt realized was new. nnd drawled : "I know. But if you would be -jo very kind ?" "Do you know, I'm afraid I shan't he so very klndl" Hnrrlet snld, briskl "You're one of my duttes here, you know, little girl, nnd I think Daddy would prerer to have me near you! Now, If you like to ask him, perhapi he'll not ngree with me ; In which ense I shnll move Imtnedlntely! But menn-while" menn-while" Nina's face was scarlet ; she left the room abruptly. A moment or two Inter Hnrrlet sauntered Info the" ndjolnlnc room, and found her npaln. The younger young-er girl was assuming a ruffled and be-ribboned be-ribboned negligee, nnd tossing her wrups and street dress about careless-ly. careless-ly. Harriet noted this with disapproving disapprov-ing eyes, but said nothing. There wns an immense picture of Mrs. Tabor on the dressing tnble, nnd she found In thnt a sudden solution of the strnnge change In Nina. "'With Lndyhlrd's unending devotion, devo-tion, to Ninette,'" rend Hnrrlet. from tho Inky scrnwl across the picture. Do you call her Ladybird, Nlnn? You and she have formed a pretty strong friendship, haven't you?" "Oh, something more thnn thnt!" Nlnn druwled In her new manner. "She's the best sort I" "Does she lone my room when she Is here?" Hnrrlet presently suggested, sympathetically. "Now. my dear." she added, ns Nlnn's quick self-conscious nnd hostile look gnve consent, "Mrs. Tnbor Is too thoroughly acquainted with convention to blume you if your father keeps you under n governess' eye for n little while longer. You're the most precious thing your father lias, Nlnn, nnd ns I used to remind you yeurs ngo, you don't begin to hnve the restrictions thnt the European princesses prin-cesses have to bear I" This view of the case was always pleasing to Nlnn's vanity; she was" quite clever enough to sec thnt a friend protected nnd confined, watched and valued, would lose no prestige with the chnrmtug "Ladybird." She pouted ; and Harriet saw that for the moment the battle was hers. "Darling gown!" said Harriet of the pfcture. "Oil, she hns the most wonderful clothes!" It wns the old Nina's vole. "Has she been here very much?" Harriet said, nfter a moment. "Oh. lots ! She loves to be here, and I enn't think why," Nlnn snld, "be-cuuse "be-cuuse people are nil crnzy to get her, nnd she could go to the most wonderful dinners and things. But she really Is Just like a girl, herself; sometimes we burst right out laughing, becnuse we think exactly the same about things! And she Just loves picnics, nnd to let her hair down nnd she's so funny! You'll Just love her when you know her" Nlnn, Harriet reflected, had bad n thorough dose of poison. It would take, like many diseases, more poison to cure her, a counter dose. Going to her room to change to one of the new gowns, Harriet bad. a moment of contempt for the new-found Intimate, who could so unscrupulously play upon the girl's hungry soul. But with this situation It wns possible to cope; there was deft, ntte comfort In the fact that Nlnn hnd not mentioned Royal Bloudlu, Brave In the new gown, whose tun-terlew tun-terlew bluek velvet made even more hrllilnnt her matchless skin, Harriet went to Hnd Ward, She met, Instead, one of his house-guests, Corey Baton, n man some years older than Ward, a big, rawbnned, unscrupulous youth, with a wild and Indls-rlmlnute laugh "It itn't exactly what I ex-pected ex-pected marriage to be I" (TO Btt CONTUVVKU,) |