Show DIPLOMACY by CATHERINE CRANMER 1 that mrs delia was expecting her hei distinguished son for it a long visit was the boost momentous piece kofl news that had reached Mays burg for or many a quy day pin did it interest the mothers of marriageable daughter as we well 11 as the daughters them selves practically everybody in town re g read lewis magazine ant ar tides the customs and peo j pies of them distant parts of the world to which ills diplomatic service hail token inken him in all the town perhaps the only girl who ho kept theaven the even tenor dofher of her wily way in the general fever of bf anticipation was lydia clydla robb bobb who continued to enjoy tennis allowing her smooth arms to become sunburned und find tier her saucy noso nose to gather a flock of tiny brown blown heckles freckles the afternoon of leivis leu Is fa farmr Ing tons arrival when the other girls wire either oat in their dmn smartest artest afternoon ernson togs or were swathed in cold cream and beauty sleep as ns preparation for possible evening conquest L clydla alt was playing tennis witcher with her brother mothr mother dear said lewis ps as they passed ua up the ahe quiet in the vil 11 la gebus lets have things thang all to ourselves this ive time only for you ou and for my book and the fewer functions we kiive to fo attend the better it will suit us both afancy 1 I do want to make the most of our first opportunity in years to fo be together and even be a little selfish im afraid but the people in town ton tire are quite astir with expectancy 7 over your ioui visit the mothers proud smile made the big dark eyed man at tier lier side flush under his tanned skin invitations to teits teas garden parties bartles and dinners made lewis IF J armington feir that lie he would either have have to antagonize tag onize the villagers or give up all hope of making any hea headway dwity with his look early anthe on the morning of the fourth of july lewis took ills portable typewriter and some blank paper and a camp stool and mude made for the wooded banks of the small river half a ratio mile broin from town town ile he found a delightful spot under a big oak tree that stood on the rivea amk gee he bemused Mused 1 I could shut my eyes and expect to open them upon the sight of a lovely indian maiden gilding down that stream in a canoe lie ile closed ills his eyes and let the picture stamp itself on his mind when he opened ills his eyes a moment later he be saw it a vision lovelier than the one he had bad been picturing to himself for lydia robb was drifting down the stream in a canoe the beauty of the face and neck that showed above the open n neck eck of a middy blouse had not been dimmed by its coat of sunburn and the dark brown hair that that crow croinea neil the shapely head was burnished almost to bronze in the morning sunlight her blue eyes looked straight before herbut suddenly brightened as she throw thre her hands wide af at either side while her soprano voice rang clearly out my native country thee land I and of the noble free thy name I 1 love lewis farmington felt a thrill ever even more intense than tiny any that had come to him at sight of ills count rys flag in a faraway land and thanking ills his stars that he had a fairly good vola ile he joined in the song as lydia reached these lines I 1 love thy rocks andrilla an and drills rills thy r woods and hills 1 th my I heart with rapture thrills like that above bravo I 1 my countrywoman 1 called put lewis as the song ended your fourth of july celebration is worthwhile far more to illy liking than the one to have on the public square tonight but I 1 thought you were going to make a speech tonight the words cattle came abruptly from lydias red lips not noi I 1 I 1 never speak in public unless compelled to ill admit though that the committee did urge me to speak I 1 they asked me to sing too but I 1 refused said lydia well im glad to be the one privileged person who heard you sing just now but dont yo you fi think you owe me that much for having been so borly during all this month ive lived only it a block from you mother ha has s spoken of you a lot but youve somehow eluded us m i except that morning you brought hera her the lie raspberries rasp berries s and L r half believe you thought then that I 1 was out hiking yes I 1 did or I 1 have come I 1 hil vent meant to be unneighborly iut I 1 was determined not to join in the general pr pursuit sult of you both lydia clydla and lewis lewis word were momen tartly embarrassed by her frankness mt but a moment litter later they were laughing over mr the whole situation and he wax was climbing down the bank at her invitation to be taken aboard the canoes A week liter later when it became known throughout the village that lydia had outdistanced till nil the other girls in town in n lewis Farming tons regard the village lage wag felt impelled to voice hia opinion about it every man wants the prize hardest to get lie he chuckled and the rest est of the girls might have known that a i real live diplomat would rather use its his skill in overcoming the indifference of it ona one girl than in dodging tn g the devo tion lon of a dozen 11 copyright 1916 by the mcclure newspaper syndicate |