THE MILLIONAIRES.

Thames Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 17835, 10 March 1930, Page 3

THE MILLIONAIRES.

, ; chapter yil. »: . -% ■■■ "You are not an entertaining companion, I must say, Mr. Cleveland,"' said Miss Cardew. "Meaning that I had better clear_ oil'," said he. • "Oh, no; not at all," she replied quickly, for he actually made a move, "if you were to go 1 should tee left ! aione; I am not in the fortunate position of Valencia Mertoun, who has a choice. But the. way, isn't it a bit strange that she has not yet made her choice?" , "She hasn't made her choice, then?" said he, in a voice that had dropped a tone, as some men's voices do when they become interested. "I thought I could at least interest you," said she; "and that's more than you have, done for me." "I'm sorry for that. You don't think she has .made her choice yet?" said" he, "-Suppose it's not shej but he, who has yet to do the choosing, Mr. Cleveland." "You mean that he ... I wish to ; heaven I had eyes like yours." "They wouldn't go well with your complexion, Mr.; Cleveland. There's a touch of reddish fairness about your hair, whereas my eyes " "I don't mean their colour, though I've often thought that your . eyes were the most lustrous that are set in the face of any girl living." "The idea of saying something flattering occurred to you until thi s moment. 1 gather from this ( that vou want something from me. What'is it?" "I suppose you are about the cleverest girl alive." "That's no flattery—girls a s a rule,' such stupid tilings. Besides, a clever girl doesn't like her cleverness alluded to; cleverness in a girl is the opposite to goodness, you know." f'You know—l don't." "Haven't you heard the clergy- . man's advice to his young lady friend: "'Be good, my child, and let who will be clever'?"

"No, I've never heard it. After all, that only proves that the clergyman had been set down by some clever girl the day before." "Oh, no; it only means that the clergyman was not a man of observation, otherwise he would have written: " 'Be pretty, my child, and let who will be good.' "Every one knows that the pretty one have the best time." "What an awfully good time you must have had. Gwen!" "That would be a really neat thing if you hadn't put it in the past tense, Mr. Cleveland. If ray gooci time, consequent upon my prettiness, bo in the past tense, so must my prettiness be a thing of the past." "You certainly are the cleverest woman alive. Have you had need ot it all at any time, I wonder?" 'Tin mostly as dull as a novelist's woman. The novelists who make their women talk commonplaces declare j that they are true to nature. So they j «re; but, oh, aren't their books ! dull?". . i "Awfully. But, if a novelist were to

iM OUB SEBlia STOBY |.|l

By FRANK FRANKFORT MOORE, Author of "I Forbs the Banns," "The Jessamy Bride," "Fanny's \ First No vel," etc. *'-■«■ ' .

[ make his women talk as cleverly . asf i you do, the critics would be down on I him like a cartload of bricks, and ! say that he was untrue to nature 1 and his characters were mere. puppets." ''Whom did you hear that from? it's perfectly true. You read it in yesterday's Figaro." ' ■ Yf : : :;'\ "Ycu are no more complimentary I than usual. ! "A-novelist may make every one of ! his women a marvel of beauty; he's I only, commended for it, although most ! women are commonplace ' only when I they're not absolutely plain; but the moment he makes a woman talk cleverly he's sneered at. That's why he finds it to his advantage to say merely that one of Ids heroines was clever without giving any examples of her cleverness. And yet, I'm sure that the clever, girls are .far more i numerous than the ideal beauties with which every novelist sprinkles his pages." Mr. Cleveland, who had his eyes fixed upon his host and his host's companion, became impatient. He didn't want to hear anything about tho art of the novelist as viewed through the quick intelligence of Miss Cardew. He wondered what, she was t'allgaig about, anyway. But he suppdllsl he must let her run her course if he meant to have her intelligence a s an ally. Mr. Cleveland's brain was built on tbe water-tight compartment - principle, so to speak; it could only take in a little of one subject at a time. He let her run on as she pleased —lie had come across clever girls before; it didn't do to stop them. "If a writer Johnny met you, Gwen, he'd make a good thing out of you—you're both clever and beautiful." m He thought it wise to make a further reference to her beauty. . They all like a reference to their beauty, the intellectual one s best of all." "That shows you havn't been paying attention to a word that I've said. . The most amateurish novelist would know that he'd be jumped upon if he made an intellectual woman beautiful. Never mind, I agree with you that it's very hard luck that this schooner should have dropped her anchor here a fortnight ago. You were certainly in the first flight in the summer. And you had her father on your side, I happen to know." "I had by George," he cried so eagerly that she raised a warning linger." "I don't care if everybody hears me," he continued, in a much lower tone. ' T say that her dad gave me more than one hint—why shouldn't he?—he knows jolly well that if any one is to hang his hat up in Mertoun Hall, the best man is the nearest. Every one in Brackenshire knows me." "Do you consider that an advantage or otherwise?" she asked. "Oh, cleverness again!" he groaned She laughed w joyous acceptance of his recognition of her intellect. She knew that wit is something that makes other people feel uncomfortable. "Forgive me," she said, smiling up at him and giving his hand a , pat. "Forgive me; I forgot myself for a moment. Oh, yes; I agree you with i and Mr. Mertoun; every one knows I the advantage 0 f two adjoining properties being wedded into one—the • union of souls is nothing to the union

of soils. Oh,- yes; you were badly treated."

"Who the mischief is that chap Drummcnd, anyway?" said Sutton Cleveland. "Who knows anything about him except that he has made, what people fancy is a lot of money somehow' in South Africa?" .

"And what more do people want to know nowadays?" said she. "What more indeed?" said lie. People have gone mad about millionaires everywhere in England during the past year or two. There'll be a big burst up some of these days." (To be continued.)