PEACEMAKERS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19476, 11 May 1925, Page 11

PEACEMAKERS.

Last night, as I was posting a letter;, I encountered two young men in evening dress who walked arm-in-arm and laughed merrily together; and I rejoiced to observe that the everlasting breach in the eternal friendship of Timothy Roche and Hector M'Alpine had been healed. (A girl caused it, but no matter about that). . “Well, well,” I said. “I thought all was over between you two young fdlow-my-lads. I’m sure each of you has toldl me so several times.” “The fact is,” said Timothy, “dea» Miss Huzlem has reconciled us; hasn’t she. Hector?” Whereat they both emitted guffaws. “Blessed,” said I, “are the peacemakers, even when they are Misa.Huzle'm. But how did she achieve this thing ?” D ** * • * “It was thus,” said Hector. “A few days ago I received an invitation to dine with her this evening-, and since one doesn’t decline dinner invitations -when there’s a cook and a cellar like 3lies Huzlem’s behind them, I accepted. And when I got there I found that the other guests were Miss Owle and little Barnes, the curate, and his wife. Well, one doesn’t go to Miss Huzlem’s for the company, does one ? So I was just thanking heaven it was no worse when the door opened and Tim, here, was announced.’*“Of course,” Timothy interposed, “since Muss Huzlem luiows, like everybody else, that Hector and I have been at daggers drawn for a month or morew there "could be only two explanations of this business. Either Miss Huzlem wanted to insult us (and that was out of the question) or she had laid a plot With her allies to bring us together. And that is exactly what the poor soul had done, A more offensive invention it is sorely hard to imagine, don’t you think?” “Of course, we were both Hector pursued; “but being stilly gentle, men, we smothered our indignation, exchanged icy bows and ignored one another, from then on, until the ladies had retired, and we were alone with the curate and the port decanter. Excellent port, Miss Huzlem’e; eh Tim?’’ “Impeccable,” said his friend. “Thu afraid,” he went on to me, “we both rather let ourselves loose on that point. It seemed to ease the situation. For, of course, neither of ns addressed anybody but the curate.” “The curate made a pretty fair showing with the decanter himself,” Hector put in. “He was keying lumsclf up for his job, you see,” he explained. “His job?” I repeated. “Quite so,” said Timothy. “It aH came out of him in a rush, at last. It seems that Miss Huzlem had marked Hector’s and my recent estrangement with a sorrowful eye, and had resolved to put an end to it, with which view she had organised this little party. The curate’s business, in short, was to preach ; to us from the text ‘Love one another.”* • “While he was doing so,” Hector nrooeeded, “my smouldering eye happened to catch Tim’s boiling one; and with that all our anger at one another evaporated in laughter. And so, since we couldn't very well take it directly out of Miss i Huzlem for her impertinent interference in our most private affairs ” “We burned a cork,” said Timothy, “and blacked little Barnes’s face all over for him ——” “And,” said Hector, “took and shoved him into the drawing-room——” “And,” Timothy concluded, “came away.” “It means, I’m afraid.’ Hector observed, “no more good dinners for us at Miss Huzlcm’s; but we had to mark our disapproval of her conduct -in some way or other, hadn’t we?” “And,” said Timothy, “we couldn’t in any case ever again dine with a woman who had insulted us so grossly, could we? Come on, Hector,” he added, “if yon mean to have that beer at the Spaniard’s before dosing time.” _ Arm-in-arm and merrily laughing, tha two high-spirited young Celts passed from me across the heath.