ssly about the garden in the vain hope of finding
something to divert his mind. Had he been in possession of his usual
calm, he might have noticed the amused expression on Rosita's face, but
the extent of one's concern being the measure of one's love for a
person, he saw only the vivid mental picture of his consuming passion,
Bessie, suffering Bessie!

It was the first jarring note in that state of uninterrupted bliss which
he had been enjoying, and as the day wore painfully on he began to
realize how much she had become to him. He was haunted by misgivings,
and finally, late in the afternoon, having convinced himself that he had
exhausted the resources of the garden, he decided to pass the time until
the dinner hour upon the veranda on the other side of the house. Thither
he repaired, but oddly enough and greatly to his astonishment, as he
stepped out upon the veranda, he came face to face with Miss Van Ashton
returning from a walk in the town. She was charmingly gowned in a soft,
clinging creation of pale lavender and white lace, with long white suede
gloves and low lavender shoes and silk stockings, an inch or so of which
she flashed before his eyes, proclaiming the society belle's
prerogative. She carried a parasol of the same color and material as her
dress, while her head was crowned with a sweeping, rakishly plumed
Rembrandtesque hat worn at a killing angle. The gold in her hair and the
exquisite pink and white of her throat and cheeks blended perfectly with
a color scheme, the attractiveness of which was greatly enhanced by her
natural charm and the delicate scent of lavender and rose leaves which
emanated from her person, the combined effects of which were not lost
upon an over-wrought imagination.

To use the current vernacular of the times, so familiar to the world in
which she moved, Miss Van Ashton's appearance was decidedly fetching,
and strongly suggestive of the things of which poets, in their madness,
are continually harping--flower gardens flooded with moonlight and the
song of nightingales. Although not modeled on heroic lines, she
nevertheless possessed the qualifications which most men seek in women
and therefore became quite as formidable as Delilah when she chose to
assert herself. To say that Mr. Yankton was dazzled but mildly expresses
his feelings; he was ravished, though in no mood for banter. Had their
meeting occurred under more auspicious circumstances, he undoubtedly
would have compliment