Show I 1 THE WORLDS WAY once upon a time there lived three fall fair maidens who made a solemn compact ol 01 perpetual spinsterhood and signed the I 1 agreement in true draconian fashion their names were marion gray annabel summers and susie leo le and the document which taley drew up on a winters afternoon when they ought to have been writing an essay estay on the reign of henry VIII vill was wag aa im follows we the undersigned undersigner under signed being fully convinced need of the degeneracy and inferiority of 0 th the e male sex and being assured that the friendship of each of the two others for the third it took them along a long time to bring this idea into shape will be amply dent clent for our wants in life solemnly undertake never to marry but to stay by each other admitting no fourth party to our circle and when we leave school to live all together happily in a little house until death do us part parl then each wt them pricked her finger and scratched her initials at the foot of th the e page they coald could not do more for the supply of fluid ran short and you see they did no not want twant to hurt themselves more than was absolutely necessary marion and annabel were the leading spirits in this conjuration marion hadart had an elder brother who delighted in ferreting and shooting rabbits and said that tennyson and mrs browning were all rot so her contempt for man is intelligible annabel who had no brother based her misanthropy anth ropy on an grounds of pure reason but susie the youngest who thought that if nil till men were only halt half as nice as her father they could not be altogether vile wavered torn for a moment before signing she had donly only just lately been building up tor for herself out of surreptitiously read novels a hero abero compounded of all the salient qualities of all the heroes of romance and history etwas it was very hard to give up this wonderful being aj as sho she was conscientiously bound to do if sho she entered into the compact especially as be he had ivul already con descended to allow her to worship him and seek peek the protection of hi his barong right arm of course she did not tell her friends this but they noticed her reluctance annabel overpowered her with and marion came out with with the much nuch more practical argument it if you dont sign you dont care a lattio bit about us and we will live in the little house without you so susie finding that two solid girl friends out balanced one imaginary hero bero however weighted ho he was with noblest attributes signed him away in a little red scrawl though it seemed to be her hearts blood she was sacrificing instead of her thumbs now maidens at school may propose unto themselves all till kinds of de delightful lightf u I 1 plans but when they go out into the world they find circumstances too strong tor for the execution thereof thus it happened that years afterward not very many but vaguely long to these maidens when hen fingers were no longer inky and orange oranges were no longer eaten with delicious sense of wrongdoing in their bedrooms and when henry VIII himself was a mere dim impression they thought no more of the little house that miniature castle adamant in which they were to lead their idyllic existence marion who was rich lived in a great country house in perthshire Perth shire annabel who was poor was making her way upon the london mutton stage and susie was taking care of her father in a little devonshire town they corresponded voluminously as is the way of maidens who have sworn eternal friendship but since that dark and tearful day when marion left school the three had never once found thern themselves selves together but at the beginning of one august after dancing through a long london season marion found herself among the pines and larches barches and the glories of the perthshire Perth shire bills hills together with annabel and susie of the three susie had changed least she was the same quiet plain frocked little maiden she had been at school but ut annabel had the actress tousled hair and daring gracefulness of costume and arid marion was the fashionable young lady with a taste tor for satire and epigram 2 do you remember this asked marion the day after her guests had arrived she wae was showing them her treasures theone abe one designated waa was an old leaf torn out of an exercise book with three faint yellow I 1 scrawls at the bottom of it il something of tub the schoolgirl was in thein them still for they did not laugh at themselves 1 I have not altered ray my views sa said id annabel and I 1 shall always hold to them the more I 1 see of men and I 1 see a gotal deal of them on the stage the more am I 1 convinced that they are a very inferior lot I 1 chucked one only the other day what do you meant mean asked susie I 1 in a some alarm 1 I mean that I 1 have refused onu one offer of marriage already well so have 1 I 11 said marion marlon and you susie have you nobly kept to your bond and taught onali one these ese lower animals I 1 his position yes sighed susie sho she looked away and her tier eyes filled with tears team evidently she did not find the rejection of suitors so aruil amusing ng I 1 tell us all about it susie 1 I cant dont ask me about it please dont and rising hurriedly she left the lawn when where the three were sitting and ran into tho the house the two girls looked at one another 1 I wonder whether the little goose looks upon thia this nonsense as binding said marion 1 I think that you and I 1 hit and she Is said annabel smoothing her gown hm perhaps more la Is learned from omission than admission slon replied marion she kaid sald no more but that even evening we 1 rig before she went to all sleep ep her fancies were re not hot strictly in accordance with the tenor of the compact some one was coming soon whom the she could not an inferior animal ho ile had not jet given her the he chance of refusing him it is true but abdat and at this but she staid very pleasantly until she ho dropped asleep As fur susie a tender spot had been touched rather rudely she lay awake too come some time that night she thought of a certain handsome penniless scapegrace in whose arms she had cried bitterly on that last day when she had told him that she could not leave her father against his will and had howalt to wait and wait until he made name and faine fame for himself indeed old general lee ike ba had bai I threatened to horsek horsewhip lip him lint if ever ho he dared speak speaker or write to his daughter again and me scapegrace being an intelligent scapegrace and knowing that the general waa was a man of his word had prudently vanished into tho the unknown taking kusles heart with him now on the of august tho the grouse who for long months had lived a happy lito life in the heather enjoy enjoying log all the privileges of social order end ond protective force suddenly awoke to the fact that chaos chao wits awta coine come again and that the guit gait cred erLd or bale bate kneed beings who once guarded their interests eo so jealously had turned into rilent less inveterate foes it was a bad day fcc the graus grouse p but for dickie gray who by this jimi had outgrown his hi taste for ferreting exec except pl L at very black slack seasons it m was as always a test L aja voly w which bich ho lie in I 1 I 1 1 I 1 11 az EM inen i VIM s rford arom TO IM qua quarters ot of the kingdom thus it was that these the seclusion clu of the girls was rudely interrupted by an invasion of Di adickles Dic klea ckles friends they were all very much like Dickie honest TOUS ma cached square shouldered thick headed young britons briton who ho went about in twos and threes and slunk behind trees and stable doors when the approach of a petticoat was im imminent mirent they did not therefore weary the girls with their company except at dinner they were scarcely ever visible to feminine eye so many came and went and they were all of such comical ical similarity that the girls at last gave up trying to remember their names or the times of their arrivals and departures I 1 one sunday morning susie came down from her room about halt half past 10 and went onto the terrace in front of the house down at the foot of the grounds ran the river shading into a hundred tones with pool and shallow and stream and topping the ragged rocky bank patched with golden gorse rose me a screen of fir and larch and russet beech and then came heaving swelling uplands hills and hollows giving the sense of perpetual motion green with pasture land dim yellow with corn fields with here and there a tiny homestead sending up ita its peat smoke from behind the clumps of fir and away beyond was the broad purple moor stretching upward and upward melting imperceptibly into the slopes of the mountainy mounta inn s that shimmered shimmer ed blue against the sky after filling her eyes with this scene susie looked around for company annabel had gone to the free kirk in the village with mrs gray marion had remained at home but where she was susic did not know not even a grouse shooting young man was waa in sight so susie cast upon her own resources went down to the nver river there however she met dickie and three young men evidently bored with each other and longing to break the sabbath for once they welcomed susie among them the idea of seeking distraction in feminine society came upon thim th wi as a novelty they had not thought of it the honest young philistines found susie charming especially when they dincov tred that her notion of fly fishing was that thet tb the a angler sat idly on a bank and let his fly dangle in the water until a trout swallow swallowed ed it comfortably they talked therefore a great deal about fishing to enlighten her and she learned many things the of barrand Emol tand and the grown up responsibilities of 0 and the supernatural cunning of a trout they also told her terrible tales of poachers and how they were going to lie ile in wait for certain piratical scoundrel who practiced otter fishing of nights but when she wondered how they could train a be beast ast which she hannever had never heard was noted for its intelligence they were hugely delighted now an otter is a flat board with casts and flies attached to it which is ii floated down stream then dickie interrupted the conversa tion and asked her if ehe she had seen hurst anywhere about susie being as before stated only vague ly cognizant of the names of adickles Dic Di kies ckles friends replied simply 1 I dont know one of the youths cameto came to her ber assistance 1 I dont think miss lee has met hurst she was not down to breakfast this morning and hurst turned up late last night it if I 1 meet a strange lost looking gentleman I 1 will send him to you said susie laughing and she turned to go please dont leave us chorused the youths but susie with ft a little spirit of coquetry thought she he would punish them for previous neglect and departed from them up the winding path through the tile larches barches that led to the grounds she went vt ent along the trim walks alks between the smooth turf that contrasted strangely with the ragged gorse and whims below with a sad little thought tor for company you see hurst was his name and the mere mention of it though of course it belonged in this case to somebody else brought back old associations she shook it away however and went in inquest quest of marion oneff one of the maids in the house thought that miss marion was in the grounds so susie went out again and wandered into all the shady corners were the girls loved to dream over books and needled needlework ork and ventured into little alleys L between tween great and irish yews bews at last she caught the gle gleam arnot of a white skirt and heard marions marlos fresh laughter she ran to an opening oh there you are Marl marioni otil ive then she stopped gave a little gasp and turned deadly white there was marion bright and happy enough but around her waist was the arm of a handsome youth the arm slipped awny away like a flash and the owner thereof settle 1 his shirt cuffs as every man does as a preliminary when in difficulties marion larion 1 ran forward tot ard and seized susie by the hands you naughty wicked little girl to creep around corners like that she whispered blushing and embarrassed embarras seA there dont look so shocked atun away do a dear and perhaps ill tell you all about it later and susie please dont tell annabel susie ran rail away quickly without a word and reaching her own room threw herself on the bed reeling and dizzy million marlon turned around to her lover the little scene had bad not taken twenty seconds it was ft as only susie eric but what do I 1 care now perhaps he ought to have bare kissed her for the little speech but he be did not nol he ile took out his handkerchief aaa wiped w aped his forehead she is one of my great chums you know she went on slipping her hand through his arm and she la lucli a dear little girl I 1 want jodio you io bu be great friends with her you will wont you ou tor for my sake anything for your sake dearest 11 replied lied the young man tenderly but I 1 fike like miss lee for her sweet little s self elf 11 do you know her asked mar marion on in delighted amazement yes why not I 1 met her down in ill dev devonshire onshore two or three summers ago and you got on well together oh yea yes he ile paused for a moment as it if embarrassed only of course you know I 1 did not see very much of her then lie put ills his ami arm again around her walet waist and they continue conti the talk of their life together and of the wonder that would be but susie all the time was sobbing her heart out and anti fighting a great battle when the luncheon bell rang she went down into the tle orning room where some of the party had collected annabel came up to her bet with ich her little accentuated man I 1 a aar ar r why child chatis wh atis the Tn atter with you only tirva ilij been beca standing tn in the sun all the tho morning down clown by the river the result tf of sabbath breaking you should anio coma come to kirk and listened to mr macculloch IM for toe an hour and a quarter on susie did not re reply 09 ly slie ix had met the glance of eric hurst who was chatting with two other youths he ile seemed to hesitate for a moment as a s if it uncertain what to todo do then he be camo came forward boldly and greeted her how do you do db miss lee I 1 never expected to eee see you down here though each of the commonplace words cut into her alk iffe e a ii knife susie did not flinch only her ber lips quivered a little at the comers how now do you do mr air hurst I 1 hope yon you will shoot plenty of gro grouse uste then she turned to annabel and hurst went back to the men who Is that annabel mr hurst I 1 know him I 1 met him once in Devou devonshire shim oh ob you met him tn in devonshire Devon shiro eaid said annabel 1 i i i u h tho auni of iMn I 1 hops riona happy faco fa co fa lh they sy I 1 A it A a 1 I 1 1 I lal 1 0 I 1 wm 1 0 to b bisti i M was a tvete 1 I to susie she had expected to hal her there or it bhe she didt did to see her troubled and anxious and overwrought like herself for it had not entered her pure mind th that a auret after their sudden meeting had w not t made to marion a confession of hia past life even now she wondered whether marion was playing a part or had turned suddenly cruel and merciless that noisy mirthful meal was a terrible ordeal to her she heard vaguely one of the youths telling marion of her primitive ideas on halting and Mar marions lons light hearted laughter she joined in it too mechanically no one seemed to notice her constraint mr at ra gray was busy at the head of the this table hurst burst never looked at her but joined rather wildly la in the general concu conversation bation only annabel glanced sharply at her now and then after lunch the tb e men went away to smoke and susie pleading a |