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Show THE RICH COUNTY REAPER, RANDOLPH, UTAH EFaurnrm ELaicSly DBDaimcnEln A ROMANCE OF THE COMMONPLACE DBy EFironimces EPcnirIk.finnsannn Copyright by Frances Parkinson Keyes ter all having been provided, Moses SYNOPSIS ' Motoring through Vermont, Philip Starr, young Boston architect, meets Blanche Manning, seventeen, with whom he is immediately enamored. It being a long distance to Burlington, Starr's destination, Blanche suggests, the village of Hamstead not boasting a hotel, that he become, for the night, a guest of her cousin. Mary Manning. Mary receives Philip with true Vermont hospitality, and he makes the acquaintance of her cousin Paul, recognized as her fiance. Starr informs tier of his desire to win Blanche for bis wife. She tells him of an old superstition concerning the Blanches" of the Manning family. Paul Manning is inclined to be dissipated. Marys reproaches for his conviviality" are badly received by Paul. Gale Hamlin, long a suitor for Mary's hand, visits Hamstead but makes no progress in his lovemaking. Philip, from records of the Manning family learns the sorrowful story of th'e Countess Blanche, French wife of a Revolutionary hero, Moses Manning, and of the peculiar curse" she has transmitted to her descendants and the women of Hamstead. The evening of Philips marriage to Blanche, Paul, under the influence of liquor, bitterly affronts Mary, and tells her their engagement is ended. Mary, at first acutely conscious of her position as a jilted woman, is greatly comforted by her lifelong friend, Sylvia Gray. bdimily CHAPTER VII 8 Continued - Silently Mary brought the little white china cup painted with bluebirds to the child. He drained it at a gulp. he announced cheerfully, More, handing it back to her. Mary filled the mug a second time, and as she did so, she could see the rest of the family, in the new automo bile, starting for the performance of The Merchant of Venice at the anat nual Chautauqua entertainment Wallacetown. She knew the play almost by heart, loved every word of it, had never seen it given, and even the little mediocre traveling company that was to play it, could, with her own knowledge of it, have given her a glimpse into fairyland If she could have heard it. And none of the others cared for Shakespeare, or were in the least familiar with him. They were simply going because it was part of this years program," because everyone else was going, because Paul wel corned any excuse to drive the car and Violet any excuse to be seen in it. and Jane and Seth any excuse to go to a play which could not, of course, No be wicked, since it was classic. one had even suggested staying home with the children so that she could go. have a piece of candy? Cant was gys next question, as she reached the crib which stood by her 1 ben a good boy all day, bed. havent I, Mary? Yes, dear, pretty good. Where is your bag of lemon drops? In my top bureau drawer. Bring It here, sos I can choose. The bag was brought and a fragment carefully selected. I wish youd stay with me for a while, Mary. I got a sorter pain in 1 my leg." sharp pain, or an ache? just a regular pain. I think maybe it would feel better if you rubbed it for a while. Mary uncovered the plump, brown Ive legs and rubbed them briskly. got to go now and hear Moses prayers, she said at last, thinking that signs of drowsiness were finally beginning to be evident. But Moses was not feeling devo tionaL He was constitutionally irre liglous, and now that he attended kindergarten, the morning exercises at school seemed to him more than sufficient for his spiritual needs. to say the Lords I aint prayer tonight, he announced with 1 said it this mornin at decision. school. lay me. Very well, say 'Now Now lay me, began Moses without much fervor, down to sleep . . . when a loud crash and a wail of distress from the next room. Oh. Mary, Ive dropped my blue. . . bird cup! Its Mary rushed to Algys side and gathered him, dripping wet, into her arms. On the floor, in a pool of water, lay the beloved mug broken into frag ments, while the crib, as well as Algy himself, was deluged by its contents. Dont cry, darling! Its a shame, but Mary will buy you another just like It, only prettier, maybe, the next time she goes to Wallacetown. Hush, honey. Let Mary put you in bed with Moses while she gets you dry pajamas and changes your sheets and wipes up all the pieces so you wont cut your dear little feet. Comfort, fresh linen and more wa A No-- o, was urged to continue his devotions. 1 dont see why 1 should say, If 1 should die before I wake. Ive said it and said it, and I aint never died at all. Well, say just then. God bless tonight, God bless Daddy and Mary and Algy, mumbled Moses glibly, and all my dear friends, and make me a good boy, and bless Cousin Jane and Cousin Violet and Blanche. You neednt bother about Paul, he snitched my wood chuck trap. Amen. . . . Now sing me The Sugar Plum Tree, he com manded, climbing into bed and settling himself on his pillow. Mary began it bravely enough. But the reference to Paul was too much for her. Before she reached the Chocolate Cat she found she could not go on. Im afraid 1 cant finish The Sugar Plum Tree tonight, darling, she said abruptly, bending over to kiss him; and in spite of her, some hot tears fell down on his face. Then she fled from the room. Moses lay for a long time wide-eyeHe loved Mary and pondering. as he loved no one else in the world, and Mary, plainly, was very unhappy. He tried to think of recent misdeeds that he himself had committed, but his slate was fairly clean. Then he remembered that once before, early in the summer, he nad caught her crying, and when he had pressed her, she had said she was worried over Paul. Mary never mentioned Paul now still that might be the trouble, just the same. It was too bad that Mary should cry over him, particularly when he deserved it so little, but if no one else would comfort her Moses would. He sought about in his mind for the quickest and best means to this end. Moses always slept with a small Canton-flanne- l dog named Spotty, to which be had been devoted from infancy. It had gone through numerous vicissitudes. More than once it bad fallen in the brook, but Mary bad al ways fished it out, and dried it in the oven. And one night he had ripped it open and devoured most of its lining an experiment which had proved very disastrous to both. But Spotty still survived. Moses made a sudden resolve. He hugged Spotty and kissed what remained of his nose. He gulped as he did IL Never, since he could remember, had he gone to sleep without first laying his head on the cherished toy. Then he picked it up and pattered into Marys room. , It was as he had expected. Mary was lying on her bed, weeping. Moses held out his hand. Dont cry any more, please, Mary, he said softly. Ive brought Spotty to sleep with you. It was then that Mary realized that she had found a second source of com fort in Moses. Most of her unhappi ness bad been caused by selfishness.. Moses was willing to make, for her. what was to him a tremendous sacrifice. She drew the child, with his dog still in his little, Canton-flanne- l hand, into bed with her and cried without restraint, holding him In her arms. Moses lay solemn and silent, asking no questions, making no over tures.' But she could feel his sympathy in every curve ot his warm little body. Gradually she relaxed, a sense of peace, of compensation, of content ment, stole over her. She fell asleep, her cheek against her little brothers. Things never seemed half so hard again. CHAPTER VIII in 1 1 bro-o-ke- n Meanwhile, Paul, instead of rejoicliberty, was find ing in his longed-fo- r Ing it utterly dull, flat, stale and unprofitable. In the first place, living at close quarters with his mothers nerves, unrelieved by Blanches sunny presence or the ready escape to Marys house which had always been open to him, was not a pleasant experience, as has already been hinted. But this was by no means all. For a day or two after his sisters wedding he was really ill. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered, however, he made his way, feeling very blithe and unshackled, to call on Rosalie. Im right in the midst of packing, she announced, 1 havent much time to spare. Im going back to New York on the midnight Paul strove to express his regret. Dont you go getting fresh with Im me!" said Miss King, crisply. not that kind and you neednt forget it, little one. . . . Why didnt you tell. EKeyes me you was engaged to that cousin of yours? My, but shes a looker! Im not. engaged to her, said Paul good-lookin- g shortly. Oh, shes thrown you over, has Well, I should she? jeered Rosalie. think she would. She can do a lot better than you, Little Boy Blue, even if you behaved yourself instead of hitting It up all summer like youve been doing. That Mr. Hamlin from Boston is sweet on her all right, and hes some swell, believe me! It was me that broke the engagement, said Paul, stiffly and ungrammatically. Rosalie stared at him speechlessly for a moment But only for a mo- ment kind of a bird you are, she inquired with immeasurable scorn. Well, Ive heard a lot about ancestors since I struck this burg, and I dont deny that youve got So is it? thats the , WNU Service Grand Central right by the gate on Thursday. Rosalie having departed without further delay to smooth things out with Steve, that episode seemed to be closed, and Paul felt that he had reason to hope that it would be a long time before anyone made him so thoroughly uncomfortable again. But be was mistaken. The next person to treat him harshly was Doctor Noble. Meeting the boy one day on the road, dowh which Paul was wandering somewhat aimlessly, David brought his motor to a stpp and bailed him. Just the person Ive been hoping I to see, he remarked pleasantly. wanted to speak to you about your fiancee. Im worried about her. I dont think shes looking at all well. If you mean my cousin. Mary Manning, said Paul with forced dignity, she isnt my fiancee. Oh, said David still pleasantly. Well of course that must be a great disappointment to you, but perhaps its all for the best. Of course your tastes wouldnt be particularly congenial. Mary has such a fine mind. . . . Well, must pass along the good news to Thomas Gray the next time I see him, if he hasnt heard it already. I believe he thought, with considerable regret, that you had the right of way in that quarter. Paul glared. People seemed bent on reminding him that Mary was not, after all, in the least dependent upon It hurt him for masculine attentions. his pride. The war news isnt very good, is it? went on David with an abrupt Ever thought of change of subject. enlisting in the Foreign legion?" Why Lord, no! Paul exclaimed. should I? Why, youre exactly the sort of chap for it! No ties of any kind, independent income, fine constitution Farmers cant be spared. quoted Paul hurriedly, recalling statistics he had happened to read in some newspaper. It takes five men in the field to keep one at the front. And Ive got heart trouble, he went on, growing very red and writhing more and more at Davids pleasant voice. Hard luck! But are you sure? Been examined lately? Well, come up to the bouse some evening and let me Some evening soon. look you over. Im going across myself, very shortly, as a member of one of the Harvard medical units. Well be connected with the British army. Jacquelines going to take up some branch of Red It Cross work nursing, probably. isnt as if we had any children, ended David a little wistfully. Im sure Austin Gray would have done something long ago if it hadnt been for Sylvia. Naturally any man thats fortunate enough to get a family like that makes it his first consideration as long as be can. Well, good-by- . Paul began to feel very sorry for himself. Public opinion, which he had at first thought to be wholly on his side, seemed to be gradually, but none the less surely, swinging the other way. If the older women still chattered against Mary, the younger ones spoke differently, and none of them would have anything to do with him. He led an unappreciated existence, after twenty-onpetted years. As for the men, he thought they were actually beginning to go out of their way to be disagreeable to him and pleasant to Mary. He found himself virtually ostracized In Hamstead. and neither White Water nor Wallacetown, though he tried them both, seemed to furnish either lasting stimulation or lasting He discovered, as many ansolace. other man has discovered with resentment. the deadly dullness with which dissipation is permeated. 1 But Hes White Clean Through, for All That, Believe Me! something to be proud ot along that line. The men that came up here to say nothing of the women that came with em and just got settled when the Revolutionary war broke out, and were willing and glad to strike out again and fight for their country, were sure all wool and a yard wide and then some. But 1 guess if they could look up or down now. as the case may be, and see their descendants wearing out the seats of their trousers sitting on the post office steps and saying what theyd do if they was President, or standing on the curbstone in Wallacetown thinking theyre having the b of a time because theyve got a couple too many drinks Inside of them and are talking to some skirt they wouldnt introduce to their mother guess them old captains and judges and governors would think the good old stock had run down to a pretty poor line of goods! 1 got a fellah in New York floor walker on the eighth 1 s! e 1 written Steve that It he still wants a girl whos been fool enough to play round all summer with a stupid rube that was another girls beau, he can have her, and hes telegraphed back prepaid that hed be waiting in the HEWiCET.TiS Supreme. 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