Show d 5 bi PH elm atif LITT LEBROWN ond CO AND THEN WHAT fleeing from a br brutal tat stepfather an unhappy home h ome u and a proposed husband s she he detests myrtile Myr young french girl stands in a country road on the verge of desperation halted by an exploded tire two young englishmen lord I ord gerald dombey and christopher dent bent aro are attracted by the tha girls dds appearance sho she bce them to take tak her away from her misery in a spirit of 0 adventure they do so conveying her to monte mont carlo and leaving her with friends myrtleo speaks english her mother having boon been an educated woman gerald sees a beautiful young woman in the gambI gambling Ing rooms and Is froal fascinated but can only learn that she li is called pauline paulina do da and 1 Is with her aunt ile he Is unable to secure an ail introduction CHAPTER ill continued 4 then why do they look at me so strangely she persisted it must be because I 1 have no toilette no hat my shoes are ugly indeed monsieur it Is no place for me here are friends of yours coming I 1 am sure the beautifully dressed young lady who looks at nie me so curiously it Is geralds father and sister he whispered she was suddenly very white and frightened christopher rose to his feet lady mary nodded a little coldly lord Hinter leys acknowledged ills greeting with some surprise this is your little I 1 suppose mary remarked looking at Myrtl lc this la Is Myr myrelle christopher assented we are waiting tor for gerald mow BOW to decide what to do with tier her you wish to leave home I 1 understand mary asked turning to the girl who had risen to her feet 1 I will vili never return there myrdle replied no not even if monsieur berald himself commanded me to I 1 would sooner throw myself into the seat ca that a little ext extreme her questioner rejoined coldly the misery I 1 should have to face it if I 1 returned would also be extreme myrtile declared 1 I 1 am hoping to find some work here that should not be difficult mary observed and they passed on mary with a nod to christopher which lacked much of its usual cordiality looked after them and there was trouble in her face they do not like me she said they do not think that I 1 ought to be here with you they are right of course I 1 am just a little peasant girl in lis peasant clothes let us go Christo phars were in vain she turned and walked away and he be was obliged to follow just as they were leaving the promenade however they came face to face with gerald issuing from the hotel he gave a little start as lie he recognized myrdle except for a careless thought when hi had bad first awakened he had forgotten all about her it was characteristic act of him however to behave during the next few minutes as though he had been thinking of no one else so christopher has been stealing a march on en me he exclaimed lias has lie he shown you all the sights myrttle Myr 1 I waited a long time for you she replied we have been sitting on the terrace terra cp arid and myrtile has been a little trou brou ble somo christopher said she Is 13 going back ack to her rooms to hide because of her clothes clothes gerald repeated why of course bhe must have clothes we ought to have thought of that when we bro brought her away but monsieur she began timidly even the clothes which I 1 r have at home my cay communion gown 1 gerald waved his arm come along lie be invited we will transform you we will go to lenores madame lenore Is a great pat pal of m mine ne myrtile you shall have clothes fit for a duchess then they would not be fit it for me myrtile objected doubtfully nor I 1 should think christopher added would they help her to obtain a situation gerald however would ll li no lie ile ushered them into n quiet but sumptuous looking little establishment only a tew few doors from the de paris A frenchwoman dark and attractive came forward to welcome them all ah monsieur milord milor dl 1 she exclaimed it la Is good to see you again ner her ladyship was here only three dais ago I 1 ventured to ask it if you were nvere to be expected madame adame ll gerald declared 1 I am here on business we have with us a the princess princena Princ ega myrelle Myr A princess madame badame repeated repeater repe ateA with a wondering glance at the girl JL A paiao vesse la in everything but clothes gerald explained that Is your part we hand tier lier over to iou dress tier lier madame we will return in nn an hour eyes sparkled sha sh looked at myrdle appraisingly mademoiselle will be worth dressing she assured them joyfully return as you say in an all hour milord m alord and I 1 can promise that madeko mademoiselle cselle iselle shell shall be till all that you ides desire ir 11 christopher for the first time intervened look here gerald he be sald said 1 I dont think that you are ahing madame quite the right idea in what respect mademoiselle is the daughter daug liter of 0 working folk christopher explained she requires clothes of good quality it S you will but clothes in which she can seek a situation that Is so la Is it not myrdle the girls eyes were fixed anxiously upon gerald 1 I 1 should like to have what monsieur gerald would wish me to have she replied mademoiselle has a figure fit tire so fashionable io lo madame lenore murmured so slim yet so elegant and an expression altogether I 1 have some frocks only this morning arrived from paris in which she ahe would seem a dream we do not desire mademoiselle to become a dream christopher said stoutly we have the charge of her for a short time only and the sort of toilette which you have in your mind I 1 think madame lenore would be highly unsuitable am ain I 1 not right gerald oh I 1 suppose so the young man agreed id rather like to see her in one of madame lenores creations though milord and tind monsieur madame said leave bleave it to me return in an hour there be two costumes ready you shall take your choice it if mademoiselle will have the goodness to step this way the two young men wandered out they made their way back to the terrace where lord Hinter leys walked for a time leaning on geralds arm mary ilary drew christopher to one side so that Is your little she remarked that Is she christopher admitted 1 I do not wish to seem a prude mary continued or anything else disagreeable but do you really think that you are doing the right thing christopher in sitting about on the terrace with a peasant girl dressed er according to her position the whole escapade I 1 think Is ridiculous I 1 am not so surprised at gerald but I 1 am surprised at you christopher was conscious of some irritation rie he liked and admired lady mary but it seemed to him that her ber attitude was a little unsympathetic 1 I can quite understand the whole incident seeming Ill advised he admitted but looking back nt at it I 1 honestly cannot see what else we vie could have done you tou could have left the girt girl where she was stary mary insisted christopher shook ills his head you see her he replied ko N 0 one could have left tier her so no actress could have simulated abe horror we saw shining out of tier lier face I 1 dont think that I 1 should ever have thought of bringing her away it was gerald derald who lid did that but I 1 think that lie he was right and 1 I abold sho ld never consent to sending tier her buck back unless she were willing to go and exactly what do you two young men p repose propose to do with her then mary inquired it is ia not you I 1 nm am so much afraid of it is 11 gir gar aid but you dont believe he be be gan 1 I believe that geralds intentions are arc always good she interrupted he be Is capable even of idealism on 01 the other hand lie be Is fatally weak meak especially where women are concerned I 1 fancy she went ou on you will find that you have hare assumed a dual responsibility ind and I 1 fancy too that some forne day you will bo be sorry for it gerald has haa the spirit of the philanderer in ills his blood it if the girl attracts him you at any rate and probably lic he will be sorry you did not leave her to tier her village lover you have described gerald correctly when you caller called him a philanderer christopher admitted 1 I put myself in court and on ills his behalf I 1 plead guilty to the charge on the other hand I 1 have greater faith in li hs kindness of heart and his sense of honor bonor than you seem to have this child Is helpless and innocent for that reason I 1 believe that she will bo be as sate safe with fill gerald as with me lady mary sighed the look of trouble stilt still lingered in her eyes 1 I hope that you may be right the she said 1 I am not a superstitious person but I 1 have some tort sort of foreboding about that child I 1 feel that k she Is going to bring trouble somehow or other a chapter IV it is B a n fact fact that when the two young men reentered entered re tile establishment of madame lenole lencio they both tailed failed utterly to recognize the girl who was standing la in a distant corner talking to the proprietress it was not until she detached herself and came hesitatingly ta up tip to them that they realized with varying sensations who site blie vis vas gerald laughed with pleasure and held out both his hands admiration was tempered with a ier er tain fain amount of distinct disapprobation well what does milord think mandame nit dame demanded my congratulations gerald replied enthusiastically sly my dear myrtile I 1 wonder it if bod realize how churning charming you are the girl looked up at gerald her face soft and eloquent with ith pleasure she was clad in a fine white sergo serge costume trimmed with slaver silver braid her laco lace blouse was delicately filmy and transparent tile cut of her skirt a ns S scanty its as the last word from paris had decreed her white silk stockings stocking s and suede shoes procured from a neighboring establishment irreproachable proa chable her largo large hat a gossa ine merllee confection of tulle an and lace ot of the charm of tier her appearance there could be no possible question buts but in exact proportion with geralds satisfaction is disapproval seemed scented to grow 1 I do not criticism criticise critic ise your clot clothes lies madame or your taste he said but wo we have given you the wrong idea mademoiselle Is in search of a situation she Is a working girl for whose future as a working workum z girl my friend and I 1 are anxious to provide those clothes tire are entirely unsuitable look hero here chris gerald interrupted youre taking this thing too ser seriously louly we know very well that myrtile must be found something to do later on but in the meantime she may as well have a little tun fun cant you see for yourself how wona wonderful erful she Is she will puzzle the whole of monte carlo for a week and after then christopher asked gerald turned impatiently away madame held up tip a wonderful conf confection of white lace and silk this la Is what lint I 1 figure to myself for mademoiselles first evening frock she sald said tills this and aa a hat of black lace with a string of pearls which I 1 could perhaps borrow I 1 promise you that she would make a sensation you do not dream of it Is not our wish that she make a sensation of this sort christopher persisted horsh harshly ly it appears to me ma that you both to provide the child i ile he stopped short geralds eyes were filled with sudden fire the gill was trembling youre talking like an ass christopher gerald declared this Is my affair it Is 19 nothing of the sort chrls christopher rejoined stubbornly it Is our affair I 1 claim tin an equal right in dis posing of myrtile and I 1 will not have her ber decked out in these clothes what we need tor for her Is a plain blue serge suit and a small hat she will always look charming she will always be attractive trac the but nothing la her future walk of life justifies our arraying her in clothes like these madame shrugged her shoulders shou more disparagingly than llian ever it Is as milord and monsieur desire of course she said 1 I can provide such garments as monsieur describes gerald looked at myrtile once more the admiration in ills hla eyes this time at any rate was absolutely genuine 1 I cant see the harm harin ln in haeng g the tha child properly ruined out for say one week lie protested turning to christopher to and at the end of that week what there was a deadly directness about gaze gerald although there was no definitely formed thought of evil in ills his mind avoided it if you are proposing to marry myrtile christopher continued then the clothes you have selected are suitable unless you have made up our mind to do that I 1 beg that cadaine will show us ua something different fun for a week for myrtile and her sponsors and then what anyway myrtile is charming TO BE CONTINUED |