Flappers and Philosophers

an hour after dawn she rose cheerily, donned her bathing-suit, and went up on deck. The negroes would leave their work when they sa

; or else they would lie on their sides in the sands of the southern beach, talking little, but

ll the eventualities that presented themselves to her; thoughts were suddenly troublesome and decisions odious. Had prayers found place in the pagan rituals of her soul she would have asked of life only to be unmoles

ong the palms of the Gulf Stream is quite incidental. Most of us are content to exist and breed and fight for the right to do both, and the dominant idea, the foredoomed attest

oes had brought ashore their musical instruments, and the sound of weird ragtime was drifting softly over on the warm b

oked at he

an, yo

laug

ita Farnam becomes pirate's bride. Societ

sn't a

? Why won't

to break down

have no illusi

illusions abo

ed up in

ve I got to do with whatever st

mains to

over and pat

e," she said softly, "a

it ma

use I think I'm i

at her i

dozen," he suggested. "Suppose I call your

all

ged his

t married

y, but seriously; what would become of me if the people who wa

you weren

throw my life away just

little poor girl dreaming over

it have

ching your eyes open on things. If yo

o stare into the wind

it was too expensive and choose one of white gold for a hundred dollar. Then I'd say: 'Expensive? I shou

d vulgar-and fun, doesn

ey right and left, and being worshipped by bell-boys and waiter

wish we we

Ardita," he

dish look for moment a

I like all the things you do when you're perfectly natural. I think you've got nerve and you know how I feel about that. Sometimes when you're around I've been tempted to kiss you suddenly and tell you that yo

rom sheer surplus energy. In single file they marched, weaving in concentric circles, now with their heads thrown back, now bent over their instruments like piping fauns. A

. "I can't sit still with t

nd as the fantastic symphony wept and exulted and wavered and despaired Ardita's last sense of reality dropped away, and she abandoned her imagination to the dreamy summer scents

call an exclusive priva

mad-but deli

generations of cannibals are watching us fr

that we dance too close, and that it was i

across the lake they heard the trombones stop in the middle

matter?" cal

silver lake at a run. As he came closer they saw it was Babe in a state of un

a mile suh. Mose, he uz on watch, h

f a ship?" demanded

's heart gave a sudden wrench as sh

e don't k

y landin

, s

up," sai

e were unaware of the contact, but though he hurt her she made no attempt to remove it. It seemed an hour's climb before they reached the top and crept cautiously across th

intake of breath. "They know! Th

standing by to take a look at the island in the morning. Fro

early two now. They won't do anything until dawn, that's certain. Of course there's always

may as well st

ldren. In back of them squatted the negroes, patient, resigned, acquiescent, announcing now and then with so

here were half a dozen rifles aboard the Narcissus

be made, he thought, if

ghed and sh

machine-gun. If you want to bury those bags somewhere and take a chance on recovering them later, go on and do

d turned away, and Carlyle's voice

er had. He'd die for me, and

e give

ouldn't miss my trial for anything-it'll be an interesting experiment in notoriety. 'Miss

said. "I'm aw

isible on the ship's deck, and they made out a group of officers clad in white duck, gathered

p," said Ca

her eyes "We'll go back to the yacht," he said. "I p

he lake were rowed out to the yacht by the silent negroes.

an and the girl in the settees, and the negroes lounging curiously against the rail, they evidently judged that there would be no resistance, for two boats were lowered casually over the side, one conta

nly into his pocket he pulled out a round

" she asked

om the Russian inscription inside

here on

their performance in the tea-room of the hotel at Palm Beach, suddenly changed their instruments for

wned and t

you did! You h

bow

bourgeois qual

a dream, enveloping them until they seemed gossamer relics of the late night, infinitely transient and already fading. For a moment sea and sky wer

east their two graceful figures melted into o

lory," he murmure

led up

y, ar

s she would ever know. For another instant life was radiant and time a phantom and their

r and two of the sailors with their hands on their revolver

d nodding hi

nsfigured and far away, fell upon the boarding party. Her uncle saw

is your idea of-of romance. A runaw

ced at him

ol you are!" sh

est you can sa

se. There's that well-known phrase with which I have ended

the officer, and the two sailors in a curt glance of

her uncle quite unfamiliar in most of their interviews. He gave vent

e, who had been regarding this scen

hare-brained romantic chaser of rainbows, did

miled con

ever since I first heard tell of her wild career. T

in case you should have trouble with those six strange niggers. And we hoped we'd find yo

e worst. Lord knows you're welcome to her, my boy. She's run me crazy. Did

le no

d. "She's co

t Carlyle's wrists. A puzzled look passed across her face. Back aft the negroes had b

aid Carlyle

d a step

It was all a plant, Ardita. My name isn't Carlyle. It's Moreland, Toby Mo

s her face. The three men held their breaths. Moreland, Senior, took a step toward her; Mr.

and with a little laugh she went swiftly to young Moreland a

uietly "That it was entirely

id young More

ad down and kis

st enviously. "I want you to lie to me just as

ily back, mingled in an air that

is a

ss and

to t

yell

the bags?" sh

d. "That was one of the t

said; and reaching up on her tiptoes sh

Ice

ath of light. The Butterworth and Larkin houses flanking were entrenched behind great stodgy trees; only the Happer house took the full sun, and al

ark Darrow sitting bolt upright at the wheel wore a pained, strained expression as though he considered himself a spare part, and rather likely to break. He laboriously crossed two dust ruts, the wheels squeaking indignantly at the encounter, and then with

om the window-sill, changed her mind and continued silently to regard the car, whose owner sat brilliantly if perfunct

mawn

his tall body round and bent a

wnin', Sal

t, sure

you

' 'n a

o swimmin'

kon

ut hurry

e en

aper dolls for her younger sister. She approached a mirror, regarded her expression with a pleased and pleasant languor, dabbed two spots of rouge on her lips and a grain of powde

a minute later as she slipped n

ine, Sall

we go s

ld Marylyn we'd call by a

luminated by one of his frequent smiles. Clark had "a income"-just enough to keep himself in ease and his car in gasolene-and he had spent the two years sinc

led there were half a dozen other youths who were always just about to do something, and meanwhile were quite willing to join him in a few holes of golf, or a game of billiards, or the consumption of a quart of "hard yella licker." Every once in a while one of these contemporaries made a farewell round of

e, where there were half a dozen prosperous, substantial mansions; and on into the down-town section. Driving was perilous here, for it was shopping time; the population idled casually across the streets and a drove of

ark suddenly, "it a fac

ed at hi

you hea

ugh, you

nice qu

aged to a Yankee you met u

Carrol

ch an old tow

e, Sally Carrol. We

l was silen

d suddenly, "who on

r my se

he answered cheerfully. "Anyway, I know

u ought to marry a Y

e I lo

ok his

be a lot different

of a rambling, dilapidated house. Marylyn

ally C

H

you

Marylyn as they started

an't I look at a man 'thout every

ront of him at a bolt on t

with a curious intensi

ha

own h

know I do. I ad

gettin' engage

l, I want to go places and see people. I want my mind to

you

love Joe here and Ben Arrot, a

ll be fa

es, but just sort of-of ineffectual

use we stay he

ike it and never want to chang

reached over and

way you are. The things that'll make you fail I'll love always-the living in the

're goin

'd feel I was-wastin' myself. There's two sides to me, you see. There's the sleepy old side you love an' there's a sort of energy-the

c suddenness and sighed, "Oh, s

welcome over the road. Here and there they passed a battered negro cabin, its oldest white-haired inhabitant smoking a corncob pipe beside the door, and half a dozen scantily clothed pickaninnies parading tattered dolls on the wild-grown grass in front. Farther out were lazy cotton-fields where even the workers seemed

rrol, we'

le's soun

d at last outa

rrol! Cool water

opened

murmured