Show 4 the he DIM LANTERN LA N N by TEMPLE BAILEY 0 PENN publishing THE STORY SO 80 FAR FAB young pretty jane barnes who lived with her brother baldwin in sherwood park near washington was not particularly impressed when the she read that rich attractive edith towne had been left at the altar by delafeld Dela Held simms wealthy new yorker however she still mused over it when she met evans evana follette a young neighbor whom the war had left completely discouraged and despondent evans had always loved jane that morning baldwin barnes on his way to work in washington offered assistance to a tall lovely girl in distress later he found a bag 89 she ha had lett left la in the car containing a diamond ring on which was inscribed del to edith forever he knew then that his passenger had been edith towne already he was halt half way in love with her that night he discussed the matter with jane and they called her uncle worldly sophisticated frederick towne lie he visited cited them at their home delighted with janes simplicity CHAPTER III 4 edith towne had lived with her ten bicle cle frederick nearly four years ihen she became engaged to dela field simms her mother was dead as was her father frederick was her fathers only brother and had a big house to himself after his mothers death it seemed the only haven tor for his niece so he asked her and asked also al so his fathers cousin annabel towne to keep house tor for him and chaperone edith annabel was over sixty and rather indefinite but she served to play propriety and there was n nothing else demanded 0 of her in fredericks household of six servants she was a dried up and desiccated person with fixed ideas of what one owed to society fredericks mother had been like that so he did not mind he rather liked to think that the woman of his family kept to old ideals it gave to things an air of dignity edith when she came was different so different that frederick was glad that she had three more years at college before she would spend the winters with him the summers were not hard to arrange adith dl t h and n d A annabel b e I 1 adjourned to the biane cottage e on n an n island in maine band and frederick went up for weekends and for or the month of august edith spent much time out of doors with her young friends she was rather fond of her uncle fred but he did not loom large on the horizon of her youthful occupations then came her winter at home and her consequent engagement to delafield simms it was because of uncle fred that she became engaged she simply want to live with him any more she felt that uncle fred would be glad to have her go and the feeling was mutual she was an elephant on his hands naturally he was a great old dear but he was a turk he know it of course but his ideas of being master of his own house were perfectly archaic n annabel and the servants and av everybody in his office simply hung on his words and edith w 0 cu hang she came into his b bachelor a belor paradise like ilke a rather troublesome eve and demanded her share of the universe he like it and there you were it was really uncle fred who wanted her to marry delafield simms he talked about it a lot at first edith listen but delafield was persistent and patient he came gradually to be as much of a part of her everyday life as the meals she ate or the car she drove uncle fred was always inviting him he was forever on hand and when he she missed him they alt ft it tor for each other she decided vie ve thing called love it was pit int perhaps the romance which one found in books but she had bad been taught carefully at college to distrust romance the emphasis fad ad been laid on the transient quality of adolescent emotion one married for the sake of the rac race e and one chose quite logically with ones one 9 head instead as in the old days with the heart S so 0 th there ere you had it delafield 0 rr as a eligible e 1 I gible he was healthy had brains enough an acceptable code of mor alsand was willing to let her have her own way if there were moments when edith wondered if this program was adequate to wedded bliss she put the thought aside she and delafield liked each other no end why worry and really at times uncle fred was impossible his mother had lived until he was thirty five she had adored him and had passed on to cousin annabel Anif libel and to the old servants to in the house the formula by which she had made her son happy her one fear had been that he might marry he was extremely popular much sought after but he had kept his heart at home his sweetheart he be had often said was silver v e haired and over sixty he aske in h her er approbation was so soothed hed and sustained by it then she be bad d died and edith had come and things had bad been different the difference had been demonstrated in a dozen ways edith was pleasantly affectionate but she yield an inch dear uncle fred she would ask when they disagreed on matters of manners or morals or art or athletics or religion or the lack 0 of it my opinion as good as yours apparently my opinion isn t worth anything oh yes it ii is but you must let me have mine yet as time went on he be learned that editha faults were tempered by her fastidiousness she did not confuse liberty and license she neither smoked nor drank there was about her dancing a fine and stately quality which saved it from sensuousness yet when he told her things there was always that irritating shrug of the shoulders oh well im not a rowdy you know that but I 1 like to play around his pride in her grew in her burnished hair the burning blue of her eyes her great beauty the fineness of her spirit the integrity of her character yet he sighed with relief when she told him of her engagement to delafield simms he loved her but none the less he felt the strain of her presence in his establishment it would be like sinking back into the luxury of a feather bed to take up the old life where she had entered it and edith too welcomed her emancipation when I 1 marry you she told delafield 1 I am going to I 1 A I 1 bob is utterly at sea break all the rules in uncle freds house everything runs by clockwork and it is he who winds the clock I 1 their engagement was one of mutual freedom edith did as she pleased delafield did as he pleased they rarely clashed and as the wedding day approached they were pleasantly complacent delafield dictating a letter one day to frederick townes stenographer spoke of his complacency he was writing to bob sterling who was to be his bis best man and who shared his apartment in new york delafield was an orphan and had big money interests he felt that washington was tame compared to the metropolis he and edith were to live one block east of fifth avenue in a house that he had bad bought for her when he was aas to in washington he mccu occupied pled a desk in fredericks frederic ks office lucy logan took his dictation she had been for several years wil with towne she was twenty three well groomed and self possessed she had bad slender flexible fingers ind and delafield liked to look at them she had soft brown hair and her profile as r she he bent over her book was clear cut and composed edith and I 1 are great pals he dictated 1 I rather think we are going to hit it off famously id hate to have a woman woman hang around my neck and I 1 want you tor for my best man I 1 know it is asking a lot but its just once in a lifetime old chap lucy wrote that and waited with her pencil poised about all said delafield lucy shut up her book and rose wait a minute delafield decided 1 I want to add a postscript lucy sat sai down by the way delafield dictated 1 11 I wish order the flowers at Tol tolleys leys white orchids tor for edith of course hell know the right thing for or the bridesmaids bridesmaid sIll ill get edith to send him the color scheme lucys bucys pencil dashed and dotted she looked up hesitated miss towne care tor for orchids how do you know he demanded she fluttered the fhe leaves ot of her notebook and found an order from towne to a local florist he says here anything but orchids she like them but ive been sending her orchids every week perhaps she want to tell you and you think I 1 should have something else for or the wedding bouquet 1 I think she might like it better there was a faint flush bush on her cheek would you suggest 1 I cant be sure what miss towne would me like what would you like intently she considered it seriously her slender fingers clasped on her book 1 I think she told him finally that if I 1 were going to marry a man m an I 1 should want what he wanted he laughed and leaned forward good heavens are there any women like that left in the world her flush deepened she rose and went towards the door perhaps I 1 have said anything his voice changed indeed I 1 am glad you did he had risen and now held the door open for her we men are stupid creatures I 1 should never have found it out for myself she went away and he sat there thinking about her her impersonal manner had always been perfect and he had found her little flush charming it was because of lucy logan therefore that edith had white violets instead of orchids in her wedding bouquet and it was because too of lucy logan that other things happened three of editha bridesmaids were house guests their names were rosalind helen and margaret they had of course last names but these have nothing to do with the story they had been editha classmates at college and she had been somewhat dem democratic socratic in her selection of them they are perfect dears uncle fred ill have three cave dwellers to balance them socially I 1 suppose it will be abase a case of sheep and goats but the goats are darling they were however the six of them what delafield called a bunch of beauties their bridesmaid gowns were exquisite but unobtrusive the color scheme was blue and silver allver and the flowers forget me nots bots and sweet peas its a bit old fashioned edith said but I 1 hate sensational effects neither the sheep nor the goats a greed agreed with her their ideas were different the goats holding out for something impressionistic the sheep tor for ceremonial splendor there was to be a wedding breakfast at the house things were therefore given over early to the decorators and caterers cateress cater ers and coffee and rolls were served in room when the wedding bouquet a arrived edith sought out her uncle in his study on the floor look at this she said how in the world did it happen that he sent white violets did you tell him uncle fred no 11 sure cross my heart they had had their joke about dels orchids it if he knew how I 1 hated them edith would say and uncle fred would answer why dont you tell him but she had never told because after all it much matter and if delafield felt that orchids were the proper thing why muddle up his bis mind with her preferences the wedding party was assembled in one of the side rooms belated gu guests ests trickled in a thin stream towards the great doors that opened and shut to admit them to the main auditorium A group of servants laden with wraps stood at the toot foot of if the stairs As soon as the groces the slopes of the appalachians are spotted with ghost forests little more than a generation ago perhaps the most characteristic tree of the region was the chestnut it was taken as a matter of course about 1904 an oriental fungus known as end othla appeared on the trees in new england it spread rapidly through the entire chestnut region attacking the bark girdling the trunk and killing the trees there was nothing to be done about it the spores of this fungus were extremely light so that every little breeze wafred wafted them into new regions today probably 95 per cent of the chestnuts are gone the few left which have escaped largely by accident are doomed but a few years ago a few healthy trees were transported bodily to the campus 0 of f the north carolina state college at raleigh miles from their usual habitat and away from the path of the blight for tour four years according to a report writes thomas R henry in the washington star they have escaped infection and remain healthy and thriving it is hoped that they will live to become the ancestors of other great chestnut forests when ston slon started they would go up into the gallery to view the ceremony carem 0 ny in the small room was almost overpowering fragrance the bridesmaids in the filtered altered light were a blur of rose and blue and white there was much laughter the sound of the organ through the thick walls then the ushers camo came in ia wheres del the bridegroom was it seemed delayed they waited shall we telephone mr towne someone asked at last frederick nodded he and his bis niece stood apart from the rest edith was smiling but had little to say she seemed separated from the others by the tact fact of the approaching pro aching mystery the laughter had ceased above the whispers came the tremulous echo of the organ the usher who had gone to the telephone returned and drew towne aside theres something queer about it I 1 cant get del or bob they may be on the way but the clerk seemed reticent ill go to the phone myself said frederick where is it but he was saved the effort for someone watching at the door said here they come and the room seemed to sigh with relief as bob sterling entered no one was with him and he wore a worried frown may I 1 speak ak to you mr towns towne he asked edith was standing by the window looking out at the old churchyard the uneasiness which had infected the others had not touched her slender and white she stood waiting in a few minutes del would walk up the aisle with her and they would be married in her mind that program was as fixed as the stars and now her uncle approached and said something edith del corning coming Is he ill 1 I wish to heaven he were dead what do you mean uncle fred ill tell you presently but we must get away from this his glance took in the changed scene A blight had swept over those high young heads two of the bridesmaids were crying the ushers had withdrawn into a huddled group the servants were staring uncertain what to do somebody got briggs and the big car to the door shut into it towne told edith hes backed out of it he lett left this he had a note in his hand it was written to bob sterling bob was with him at breakfast time and when he be came back this was on dels dresser she read it her blue eyes hot 1 I can cant t go through with it bob I 1 know its a rotten trick but time will prove that I 1 am right and edith will thank me I 1 del she crushed it in her hand where has he gone south probably on his yacht there any word for me no Is there any other woman it looks like it bob is utterly at sea so is everybody else all of her but her eyes seemed frozen the great bouquet lay at her feet anere she had dropped it her hands were clenched towne laid his hand on hers my dear its dreadful dont dont what be sorry but hes a cur TO BE CONTINUED may replace chestnut trees killed by disease all the trees in the mountains have been killed and the fungus goes with them because it will have nothing more to live on meanwhile a series of co opera tive experiments is being undertaken by the college and the department of agriculture in an effort to discover a preventative for the blight A variety of chestnut in japan and another in china have been found which appear resistant but they are inferior to the american variety however a few are being grown on the raleigh campus side by side with the fugitives from the appalachians and efforts thus far unsuccessful are being made to produce crosses which will retain the fungus resisting qualities |