8
THE SUNDAY BEE: OMAHA. JUNE 25. 1922.
tended. One day will give time
enough for the decorating."
Mr. Dunbarton-Kent looked a
he (clt. that her liuibanil'i broth
er' children were a ort trial to
lier. Uclla had made her own
friends; most of the people she
viitd were strangers to Mr.
Duiihartoii-Krnt (he (lid not
know even their names or where
they lived. Bella deemed to oc
cupy her time pleaurably to her
eli and. a he had always im
precd Mr. Dunbarton-Kent a
loo cold natured and iclf-con-tainrd
and haughty to be drawn
into entaiiRlementi of any tort,
.van punctilious alwaya in her at
tentions to the Dunbarton-Kent
family friend, Mr. Dunbarton-
Kent had no complaint to make
execot the painful one that her
was a divided and unhappy house-
hold. With her husband's death
all semblance of unity had disap
peared. They were all waiting for
a fat old woman to die, that they
plight claim their million.
"Go this morning, by alt means;
i 1 don't want to interfere with
your pleasure," she said with
dreary grimness. "All I ask is
your help with the decorations.
You must be friendly to Mrs.
Brant-Olwin that I demand."
"I shall be, of course. Aunt
Bulah," Bella answered in her
deep-voiced, clearly spoken way.
She reminded Marie of a grace
fully built man, both supp!v and
trong. Marie was repelled by
Bella's superb body; she made
her feel little and frail.
Marie saw and understood Mrs.
Dunbarton-Kent's grimly forlorn
expression, and when Mrs. Dunbarton-Kent
turned to her she
smiled her affection. "Better to
go for your walk now." Mrs. Dunbarton-Kent
said. "Then get a
sap before .lunch."
Marie had guessed the reason for
the dinner dance given for Mrs.
Brant-Olwin. It was best for the
family to make her their friend.
In case of exposure she might be
more lenient. Mrs. Dunbarton
Kent was acting wisely. "I -was
thinking, madame, that if you
wished invitations to be written
, i I
for your party, i migm De aDie
ito help," Marie offered. "They
took much trouble with my hand
writing at the convent; perhaps it
may please you."
Bella's sidelong glance held
fully as much distaste for Marie's
purple pansy, slender stemmed
beauty as Marie felt for Bella's
Junoesque proportions. Marie
Sensed the glance and smiled the
snore brightly at Mrs. Dunbarrbn
Kent. She was determined never
to look at Bella if she could help
it. for she might look all the an
tagonism she felt.
' Mrs. Dunbarton-Kent jmiled in
' return. "Did they, child? Well. I
need a sunshiny secretary. We'll
eee about it. West is waiting, so
run along now, and I'll be in my
room along now, and I'll be in my
room when you get back. Wrap
tip well, for it's windy." .
Marie hurried upstairs and
Bella departed in her leisurely
iway, knitting as usual. Mrs.
Dunbarton-Kent, and West were
left alpne. West had been dally
ing with his breakfast, looking at
Marie mostly, studying her face,
his own expressionless. Mrs. Dunbarton-Kent
sighed. "She's doing
her best, but the gloom of this
house is affecting her it would
get on the nerves of a crocodile.
Be careful what you say to her,
West."
"I intended to be," West said
'gravely. "I thought it but last
night; the thing for me to do is
to clear out for a few days. I can't
stay here and not show my feel
ings, and she's not ready to listen
to me. Besides, Brefk frightens
her. He glares at me and it up
sets her he does it purposely to
upset her. Bella will be away,
I'll be gone, and you'll have a
good excuse to breakfast in your
room -with Marie, and you can
have someone in to lunch and din
ner with you, so Breck can be
served in his room. I won't worry
so much about her if you'll prom
ise to keep her out of his way.
I'll go before noon; drive into
town. I can have a talk ' with
'Haslctt then, and call you up
after you've seen Mrs. Brant-Olwin.
You can tell me then what
men I "had better ask out. Of
course, I'll come back for the
party earlier if thre is anything
you want me to do. What do you
think of it?". --"It's
the tning to do," Mrs. Dun-barton-Kent"said
dcidedly. "Many
more meals like this one, and I'll
go wild. ' I can't talk to Breck; I
dread even the sound of his voice.
But I can keep Marie away from
his neighborhood, and I'd get a
little peace. I believe, too, West,
that your going would help you
with Marie."
"It cost her something to ask
me to walk with her," West said
heavily.
"Nonsense! Yon never paid se
rious court to a girl who's heart
free, or you'd know that when she
says a thing like that she means
to listen to you. It's just like a
'man to get discouraged when
things begin to look promising,
tton't say much to her today and
(t nlluiml from Twt.)
leaped, rigid legged, with an air of
Blee.
He tried to say sdmething; then
slopped. He did not know what
had come over him. He wanted
to be liuht, to say something
ironic, but the words did not form.
So he looked at her as the stood,
so still, stabbing the soggy earth
with her parasol. She was droop
ing a little, and her lines were
soft: she was like a cool primrose
in the gentle breeze wh,ich blew
through the bare birch trees. With
a sort of sickness he remembered
a similar day three years before.
then clear out I hope you'll have
the sense . to stay away until the
day of the party. And. West, urge
Haslctt to make every effort to
find Mrs. Smith. See if you can't
evolve some plan."
"I believe Mrs. Smith will al
low herself to be found as soon as
they think fit, Aunt Bulah. The
thing for us to do is to be ready
with our offer. Don't worry
since you told me of Haslett's offer
to Breck and the way he took it,
I've glimpsed daylight."
"I wish I glimpsed it!" she said
deeply.
West lifted a warning hand.
"Hush!" he said. "I think I hear
Marie coming."
When Marie started downstairs
to meet West she encountered
Bella. She appeared to have
stopped on the stairs to correct r.
dropped stitch in her knitting, anci
she was so intent upon it that
Marie hoped to pass her without
speaking. But Bella blocked her
way. She stood on the lower step
sc they were face to face, and she
looked Marie directly in the eye.
"Don't you think you're playing
a dangerous game a little too
long?" she asked coolly. "I'd per
suade Breck to turn over the jew
els if I were you he may hold
them a little too long. Get him to
take the sum Atvit Bulah will give
for them, then clear out you and
Breck." '
To Marie it was like a fist thrust
into her face. Th$re was the mo
ment of dazed bewilderment, an
amazement so complete that she
swayed. Then she passes from red
to a white heat. It was the invol
untary gathering of a medley of im
pressions and an instant welding
' of them into a weapon with vvhiiMi
to strike. It was aimed with vivid
Like Cinderella, Mail Carrier's Son
WinSs Wealth in Love; to Wed Heiress
New York, June 2 4.
A reversed version, of the Cin-.
.derella.theme, in which a strug
gling .youth wins one "of the
princesses of the American king-
doiti of wealth, was a topic of con
versation on two continents yes
terday following announcement of
the engagement of Harold Glen
denning, son of a Norwalk, Conn.,
letter carrier, to Alicia du Pont,
daughter of Alfred I. du Pont,
millionaire munitions manufac
turer. And. as befits a sure-enough
fairy legend or a Horatio Alger
plot, the earnest, ambitious char
acter of the youth has won over
all obstacles.
A report from London states
that both families "have sanctioned
the engagement.. The wedding is
to take place June 28, in St. Pauls
church, London.
It was the untiring ambition of
a young student who, forced to
work his wajr through college,
won high honors from two great
universities, that resulted in the
engagement of 25-year-old Glen
denning to the beautiful heiress to
Dir Pont' millions.
After five years of grueling
work as a student of chemistry,
and 18 . months ' of war work,
Glendenning obtained his heart's
desire a Rhodes scholarship,
which means three years of re
search work at Oxford.
On board the Aquitartia in Sep
tember, 1920, was the student.
Another passenger Was Alicia du
Pont, who was going to Nice to
study music under Jean de Reszke.
Harold's clothes may not have
been as well fitting as those of
other male passengers on the boat.
He probably had neglected to pro
vide himself with even a tuxedo
for evening vvear.
v But what did Miss Alicia care
about clothes? Moonlight nights .
on deck are conducive of romance.
And there was something about
Harold's serious, earnest, young
countenance that made evcrythinz
"Eileen," he murmured, "I've
brrn a tool. But that's all over."
She stared at him, not understand
ing. "1 don't know what you're do
ing here. I suppose you wanted to
see the old' place again. So do I.
I'm staying with some people five
mile off. Madeline's there, too,
but I'm not going back. Never."
Eileen looked up and there was
perplexity at first in the brown
eyes with a red light. Only after
a few seconds did she realize here
was a sort of confession, a sort of
regret, a promise of amendment,
and perhaps even a hope. The man,
restless as men are, could not al
contempt and a passionate cham
pionship of Breck. .
"Indeed, mademoiselle! With
black upon your lashes and paint
upon your cheeks and a beautiful
wig upon your head, you would
make an excellent Mrs. Smith. You
have her body and her cruel strong
fingers I have reason to remem
ber them. You vifit in Philadel
phia and elsewhere, but where you
are at those times is close to your
lover. He is in need of money;
perhaps to him you are furnishing
it. And, mademoiselle, to one who
has once done wrong suspicion is
easily directed in my heart I have
sympathy for such a man, so never
dare speak ill of him to me you
who sneak to the house of your
lover and betray the confidences
of the family to which you belong!
Move out of my way that I may
go down!"
Bella's knitting hung lax in her
li.-.nd; Marie saw her grow white
and her eyes grow blank. "I'm no
more Mrs. Smith than you are,"
she said through stiff lips. "What
are you talking about?"
They looked for a full minute
into each other's eyes, Marie at
white heat, Bella blanched and blue
lipped but steady eyed now. "What
you think you know doesn't
trouble me," she retorted cuttingly.
"You can't prove it. And you don't
dare to talk, for you're sailing
under false colors. I repeat my
advice. Persuade Breck to take
what Aunt Bulah is offering for
the jewels, then fade away, you
and he. I think Mrs. Smith will
fade then, too. It's just a bit of
advice take it or leave it."
There are those who cannot con
trol anger. They lose all capacity
to think. Marie's was not a blind
rage; she was thinking now, in
else seem trivial and unimportant
to the girl.
How they met on board is not
known. A ' frisky breeze, aided
and abetted by Cupid himself, may
have whisked a magazine from her
grasp as she lounged in a deck
chair. And Harold may have re
turned it, thus becoming acquaint
ed in the manner most approved
by novelists. Or it may have been
a conventional introduction. Whit
Harold Glendenning.
matter? They both were young.
They both were voyaging from
their native land into foreign
climes. Youth and nativity and
isolation are Cupid's most power
ful allies.
Class distinction has no chance
against such a combination.
The short trip on the fast liner
was long enough to sow deeply
the seeds of romance, and, even
though they parted on reaching
the other side, the youth and the
, If :v3 1
m vim im w di
low her to come to the end of her
thought Suddenly he seized her
hand and, with a new energy, with
an' appeal that never before had
laid upon his sardonic lips, said:
"Let's go away from here to
gether, and try again."
She did not reply, looking down
seriously at her shoes. "Won't
you?" he asked.
Then, with a little smile, as if
quickened into resolution, as she
at last discovered that she was
more than a decoration, she pressed
his hand and replied: "1 don't
mind."
Cop rlKht, lJi )
tently, but her thoughts brought
her to a locked door only, because
her reason would not justify the
involuntary accusation she had
made. She had seized upon a set
of impressions, and had flung them
at her antagonist, regardless of
whether or not she believed what
she was saying. She had wanted
simply to strike a telling blow at
the hatred whith looked at her out
'of Bella's eyes. And her champion-,
ship of Breck had been utterly in
voluntary. It had lifted in her as
naturally as one springs to the res
cue of a hurt child. Nowvjhat she
was thinking as well' as feeling,
she was astonished at what she
said; it had been a sudden flight
.of imagination. Bella was not
Mrs. Smith that was impossible.
And, in spite of her pity for Breck.
which was constantly reviving and
setting her reason at naught, her
reason told her that he was guilty.
Marie writhed under the feeling
that Bella had the better of her.
It was true that she dared not talk;
aside from her solemn promise to
Colfax was the painful fact that Vhe
was concealing things from Mrs.
Dunbarton-Kent. Mrs. Dunbarton
Kent would not keep her in the
house for a moment if she knew
about her championship of Breck.
Without pausing to consider, she
had given Bella that advantage
over her.
With the vivid determination to
hurt Bella in any way possible,
Marie caught up another weapon.
"It is unfortunate, mademoiselle,
that your jealousy shoulfl lead you
into such groundless suspicions,"
Marie said loftily. "I understand
perfectly both your insulting sug
gestions and your eagerness to
have me fade away. But Monsieur
Colfax thinks quite differently of
girl could not forget each other.
They corresponded, and, during
vacation time, contrived to see
each' other. Young Glendenning's
travels, an essential part o'f the
education of a Rhodes scholar,
took him to Nice as well as most
of the other great cities of Eu
rope. Harold Glendenning is.the son
of Mrs. Percy H. Glendenning of
1 Cannon street, Norwalk, Conn.
His father, a postal employe, died
four years ago. Young Glenden
ning was born in Norwalk and
went through high school there.
He was the "best student" of
his graduating class. Envisioning
further scholastic honors, the boy
chose an engineering course in
Dartmouth.
Again he was Valedictorian of
his class. Attention to studies was
his first aim, but in spite of this
he was on the school track squads.
He made his Expenses by tutoring
other students.
' After getting his degree as
Bachelor of Science in 1918, Glen
denning worked as a chemist in
the Du Pont smokeless powder
plant in Wilmington, Del. In
those days he did not dream that
there was an Alicia dti Pont.
Then a year was spent in get
ting a master's degree in Colum
bia university. He became a mem
ber of Delta Phi and Phi Beta
Kappa fraternities.
Announcement of the engage
ment, which comes as a surprise
in the social world, was not un
foreseen by close friends of both
families. Mr. Percy S. Glen
denning, the youth's mother, said
yesterday that she had known of
it for some time, and, when asked
what she thought about it, replied,
"All I am looking for is my son's
happiness."
Mrs. Glendenning will be un
able to attend the wedding in Lon
don owing to illness. She stated
yesterday that her son intended
to live in London with his bride
for at least a year, until he com
pleted his research work.
me. -Jle hns, I think, entirely for
given me for striking at him that
iirtt day because he winded to kit
me. It in a mistake to be angry at
anything you say a jealous wpman
is latiutiahle. and Marie lair
urilfli' u'tfli a triwul Atfiinmtifi7
amusement.
Her shaft went straight through
Bella' scornful manner. "You keep
away from Allen or I'll kill you!"
she said furiously. "You con
temptible little schemer!" She had
flamed into scarlet, face and eyes
ablaze, and for the short moment
while she stood quivering and
hands clenched Marie felt the bum
ing sensation in her throat that re
called her struggle for breath when
Mrs. Smith had throttled her.There
was the wish to do her bodily harm
in Bella's eye, and yet in utter
recklessness Marie taunted her
again:
"You seem not to have much
confidence in you lover, mademoi
selle." Bella lifted her hands. Marie ex
pected to feel them at her throat
and braced herself to fight tooth
and nail; they eyed each other,
both- quivering and glaring. Then
suddenly Bella turned and swept
down the stairs. Marie was cer
tain that she was going to de
nounce her -to Mrs. Dunbarton
Kent and West and started to fol
low her, ready to carry the fight
into their presence, ready for any
thing, utterly reckless.
But'' Bella did not go into the
dining room. She went on swiftly
through the hall and out to the
porte-cochere. She closed the door
behind her; Marie could not see
what became of her. Then sud
denly Marie felt weak and dizzy,
as if she had run a long way. She
sat sfill then and tried to thimc
T. ,.rie etifirrA ItlA eomHtMlIll, n
vealed in a dream the accusation
she had flung at Bella. Was it
possible, could it be possible, that
Bella was Mrs. Smith? Would it
be possible for Bella to play such
a part and her -family not discov
er it? She and Colfax plotting for
money. But he had seemed to
speak so earnestly and honestly, a
reckless man, but not a scoundrel.
Yet, how was it possible to tell?
He might have had a purpose.
Why would it not be possible for
Bella to disguise herself so the
could be near her lover, even to
build that pretty house on Col
faxs land, in which they could
meet during her absence from
Kent House? They would want
the blame of the theft to fall upon
some one else than themselves,
and the person least able to refute
it would be Breck: "Once a thief,
always a thief." But perhaps
much of what Colfax had told her
about Breck was not true, all that
past history. Perhaps there had
been no wrong reason for Breck's
going to Mis. Smith's house that
night.
Marie grew vividly alive. If only
it were so! If she had without in
tention hit upon the truth! If only
Breck were innocent, merely the
victim of others' plotting! It was
utterly unaccountable. Why had
Bella told her Mrs. Dunbarton
Kent was offering money for the
jewels there we're so many thinks
that she could not explain at all.
But if she could really believe that
Breck was innocent she woufd be
happy. Marie clasped her hands.
If she could help to prove him in
nocent! Mon Dieu!
Then she returned to earth
again. All she could do was to
watch and wait, take note of every
circumstance, and try to find out
the truth without anyone's suspect
ing. Bella would tell no one but
Colfax of their quarrel; whether
she was Mrs. Smith or not she
had every reason for keeping quiet.
It was a great mistake to have put
Bella on herguard, but that could
not be helped now. She must
take time to consider what was
best to do. But West and Mrs.
Dunbarton-Kent must be wonder
ing what was keeping her.
Marie was decidedly an ama-,
teur detective? for it did not occur
to her to glance along the upper
hall and observe that a door stood '
ajar. She rose and hurried down ,
to the dining room, her cheeks so
flushed and her eyes so bright that
both Mrs. Dunbarton-Kent and
West exclaimed. "What has come
over you child ?" Mrs. Dunbarton
Kent asked, and West said, "What
sort of an elixir have you been
taking, little Marie?"
"I ran down the stairs," Marie ;
said. "I felt that I had kept you
waiting."
"And you are ready now?"
West was studying her intently.
"Quite ready, monsieur," Marie
answered more quietly. But there
was no hiding the color in her
cheeks and the brightness in her -eyes
she was a different being.
Mrs. Dunbarton-Kent looked at
her with both pleasure and cur
losity. Girls were queer things.
It would seem that reluctance
doubt had fled. It boded well
TOT"
West "Be off with you," she said.
"Come to my room when you get
back.'
(Copyright 1M.
(To B Continued Nest Sundnj.)