OCR Text |
Show Tho Happiness 5f "llearls" nv n. s. iiiuiNEim (Copyright, 100, Dally Story Pub. Co.) Ytar Eo Mn. Marchmont Hood at the foot of the aoclal atilr and deter-mined deter-mined fo icale lu height.. At first It waa alow work; but of lite. In fact, Jlnce Honore bad crown up. It had been comparatively owy climbing. Limited mean, hid restricted tho Mirchmontx to rnther amll and out-of-the-ftay aummer p.acei. "llul real y," Mrs. Mareiimont doclarcd, "one sometime! met the mott charming People at these quiet reaorta " Truth to tell, Mra. Marchmont hnd the good leme to know that ahe couldn't be much In a pond of cxten-aire cxten-aire dlmentlons and that aho wat aomcthlng of a big frog in the little Puddlea; co the atuck to lhallow watera. However, when llunore de-Teloped de-Teloped ibeh aatonlahlng boauty and popularity, Mr. Marchmont had wandered wan-dered farther up tho coaat where the watea ran hlr.h and where ono came In contact with tuch poople as the Her bert Van Alstynia' and the Mamllton Warea' and It accmed to Mra. Marchmont March-mont that ahe wni almoit about to reach the coal on the upper landing of the italr. Hrcrythlng depended on Honore now Honore, with ncr aupetb bearing and her Titian hair and her always abio-luto abio-luto corrcctncai. Mrs. Marchmont was very proud of Honore; she had always been a dutiful daughter, even from tho tlmo when she was a little girl and sat propped up In bed reading novels and catlug chocolates and things until her mother camo In from a danco or a theater. Hut lately Mrs. Marchmont hadn't known quite what to make of Honore. Not that she was any the lets derated or lUmtlve to her mother, hut she seemed to bo developing now Ideas not strictly In accordance with thoao of her mother. For Instance, the night alter tho hop at tho Crceton's, at which ccnt tho HcrLcrt Van Als-tynca' Als-tynca' and the llamllton.Warcj' had actually asked Mrs. Marchmont to sit wllh them ou tho gallery and the ugly llttlo foreign count bad dauccd tbroo times wllh Honore, Mrs. Marchmont playfully alluded to herself as tho mother of a potslblo countcas, Iionoro had thrown hersilt Into her mother's arms, and, burning into tears, begged her to go nway anywhere sho would work, and they two would be so happy, tiring up all this tawdry sham and She was so tired of It alL mnke-uellove, Bhe was so tired of It all I It would seem to good to have a little lit-tle home Jutt ono little room, and to make ,t bright and happy; she was ao tired of ruffles and silk aklrta bought after months of scrimping and hoarding hoard-ing their little Income; sho bad never had a homo; a real, real homo llko other girls. It had Just been roving and pretending ecr slnco she could remember, Mrs. Marchmont, too, began to wcop, nnd to rait sclf-accuiatlons, to quoto tho threadbare verse about a "thankless child," and wont to bed with a case of nervous losterla. After this all blow over Mrs. Marchmont and Honore resumed their usual rotations, and, except for a tired, weary look In her eyes, Honore was the tamo dear girl she had oer been. From thla time on tho attentions of tho Count becatuo more and more marked. He waa not a pleaeant man to look upon, but around him thorc thons tho halo of a titled namo and ancestral halls. Mrs. Marchmont begun be-gun to patronlie the Herbert Van AIs-tynes' AIs-tynes' and tha Hamllton-YVurcs' wero spoken of by her as "really vory clever people, don't you know." She dwelt In the glaring light of titular fame; she had passed the upper landing and was making her way to the dome. Uut one thing marred tho tunny glory of her little day. It was the other manl The other man, Jamea Howard, who laid at the feet of Iionoro only the coronet of a glorloua manhood, a groat brain and a greater heart; a big, hroad-shouldored fellow with clean-cut features and eyes that looked straight Into those of his fellow men and women unflinchingly, and whose only offering was tho gift of a great love. Tho few weoks at the seaiboro was a terrible strain on Mrs. Marchmont's purse strings and she km obliged to retrench. So, with the aid of tha Count, who followed thorn very soon, the, with Honoro took rooms at a little hotel far op In the hills. For daya Honore waa almost happy, riding every morning up among tho frosb, fragrant hills, Bhe grew to loro a little house that lay on her way and one morning as aho passed, a woman cams down the little trodden path between the riotous growth of hollyhocks and larkspur and met a man at tha gate. She seemed a young woman, a woman not rev fair or beautiful, but with an earnest. hwT face tha'. made Honors look tor her each morning , Somehow or other thlt man re- , minded btr of Jim, with his strength, and vigor, and then sho tried to fancy that she was the girl, and that ah came down tho path to meet him, ar4 ahe wondered If all the blaze tud sparkle of a title would be worth the glory In Jim's eyesl All day long there lingered tn Honoro Marchmont's memory tha picture at the g-.to. The little path of trodden earth that led from the doorway door-way through tho dew-wet. snaring hollyhocks to the Rate beyond, and at tho gate, the woman In tho blue print gown and tho eager, happy eyes of tho man who waited for her. At nightfall aho could endure It no longer. The Count was leivlng on tho lato train; he was Impatient It mutt be now or never, ha told Mrs. Marchmont, so with, the recriminations, pleading and tn-treaties tn-treaties of her mnther In her ears and a tetter In her bosom from the man shi loved, Honore spurred her horso on toward the hills. It was Jutt dusk when the horso stumbled nlong the dusty lane, now through tho sombtr wood. Thcro wore only the sounds of the night to ba heard. Tho low cry of a late bird, the muffled low lug of distant cattle, thn strumming bats of n bullfrog by the stream and the lighter melody of a locusts trill, A co icy of birds, frightened fright-ened by tho passer, Hew with a whirr cf brown wings luto a ucduo by tha roadtldo, a fluttering bat went blindly by nnd tho dark rango of forest trcea slood silhouetted against tho flushed western sky. Sho came again to tho little house sho had passed In the morning and . tho girl was waiting at tho gate. Iionoro reined her horse and spoke , quickly: "I saw yuii here this morn- - Ing I hoped you would bo here when I camo tonight, I wanted to speak wltk i you." Sbo hesitated. "Was that man ' at the cite this morning was ho i jour lovcrl" I Tho girl peered up Into tho face above her and answered "yes." "Was ho do you lovo hint aro you happy?" Tho girl at tho gato camo closer and laid hor hand on the brldlo rein. "I know what you want 1 knew this morning I wanted you to como back. You aro Miss Marchmont at tho hotel over thcro," sho nodded her head toward to-ward tho lower rango of bills. "I saw you that day when you rode pist with tho two of them-that little, black. Count and tho man that looks llko my Jim." "Jlml" uttered Miss Marchmont breathlessly, "la his :mmo Jim, too?" "Yes, Jim Jim Watson." tbo girl went nn, peering up Into tho face that bent down over her. "I've watched you, oh, so often. I was sorry when ho went away nnd the other ono staid. I just know you couldn't love him, but 1 was afraid for yu!l-liui4lltirou,jilaout aMyanU.andw - then you'll know, you'll understand. "-" i I'vo lived hero all my life," sho went I on In a quiet, passionless voice, "i I was born In that llttlo room there. I where we cook nud cat and sleep, and I when I was a llttlo thing no higher than your knee, Jim ind me played to- ccthcr, and ho carried ,mo over the i stony places In the mountains and j brought me tho first arbutus and the . finest trout and quail and all tho simple sim-ple gifts of theso woods of ours. When ii I was seventeen I wont to work at tho hotel, and I saw tho other girls over i there, who, llko you, had como to spend , the summer, nnd I cn led their drosses, "" - , switblng with silk and their while t hands hcavlcd with rings, and when I would como homo after my work waa over, I hated this poor llttlo path and I loathed tho ono crowded room and spurned tho flowers with my feet and Jim-. poor Jim I broko his heart, "1 Hied to sing, and ono day at my work, a lady heard mo. Sho called me to l.cr; sbo mado mo sing again and agikln; she showered ma with praises and flattery aud 1 bollovcd her. I went nway, I worked and studied and sang and tho world was good to me. Maybe It was ono jear maybo two but one morning I awoke and my mouth learned for tho tasto of now milk, and my eyes ached for tho mountains and tho streams and tho hollyhocks and my heart hungered for love; lovo, for which all tho wealth and famo and power In tho world will not com- V' pensato; enough; I camo homo and hero I am and hero Is Jim and here alono Is happlncis." , She ceased speaking, nnd tho girl on tho bono bent down and kissed the straight white part whera tho brown J hair rippled away pn either aids the woman's head. : "Goodnight," sho said softly, "God bleas you and yours. "Goodnight," called out the other, In the fast gathering gloom, "Goodnight, "Good-night, and God bless you and Jim." |