By PHYLLIS—
- MOORE GALLAGHER
The Old South Won This Time
In the Battle for Hearts
/llustrated by
Henrietta McCaig Starrett
GIRL CRAZY -
rpHE moment Peggy Penn arrived in
•*- Warrenton to spend the Summer
with Aunt Sophronia Randolph, of the
fox-hunting, ball-giving and graciously
hospitable Southern aristocracy to which
she belonged by birth, every one began
to speculate on how soon it would be
before Garret Carter saw her and started
pursuing her
Peggy was Aunt Sophronia s only
Yankee niece she was from Boston,
where her father, of the old Back Bay
set. had married Aunt Sophroma’s
sister. Kate. Peggy’s hair was the
color of October chestnuts, her eyes
enormous misty violet, her mouth a
tiny bow of crimson. She was the
very prettiest girl who had ever visited
in Warrenton. Well, at least, since that
memorable occasion when Charlotte
Corcoran had come down from Wash
ington and caused such a stir, particu
larly with Garret Carter, who was girl
crazy.
There was no one in Warrenton who
couldn’t tell you how crazy Garret was
about girls, what a chaser he was and
ever had been. Garret had begun his
career at 18— he was now 28— and Char
lotte Corcoran, of the black hair and
eyes and the wild blood that flowed in
the veins of all the Corcorans, had been
his first love. It had seemed right in the
beginning that Garret was going to be
like his ancestors: serious, industrious
men who accomplished much for their
State and their country and gave their
hearts to one woman only It had looked
as if Charlotte Corcoran was going to
be his choice. Until Garret was nearly
20 it was always Charlotte. Either she was
in Warrenton visiting the Appletons or
he was up in Washington visiting his
uncle, who was in the Senate there.
me. I walked Into his trap with my eyea
wide open. I was Just another scalp for
his belt —like all the others."
A week later she was still telling her
self that and crying a little when she
thought what a vulnerable little fool she
had been. Anthony came every evening,
as was his custom. Quite often he had
Marguerite and Cecil Dodge, his sister
in-law and brother, with him. Anthony
loved bridge.
They were playing bridge tonight. All
during the game Anthony was telling her
to play a heart If she had one; that she
had trumped her own trick, and to please,
for heaven s sake, stop staring into space
and watch her cards more carefully.
"Didn't you play any bridge down in
Warren ton,” asked Anthony, carefully,
his blue eyes studying her face.
“No-o," said Peggy. "We didn't."
“That explains It," said Anthony
pleasantly. “You can slip In three
months. Bridge requires constant play
ing to keep in mental shape.”
“A lot of things." said Peggy, wistfully,
"can happen in three months!” And she
sat there, rather stupidly, watching An
thony’s hands gather up a trick and ar
range It neatly on the card table In front
of him.
NTHONY looked up from his cards
then. He was frowning, displeased.*
Marguerite and Cecil were staring at her,
too. Marguerite suspicious with a woman’s
Intuition; Cecil Impatient because he
took his bridge seriously and conversa
tion about Warrenton and what could
happen In three months' time had no
real place at a bridge table.
Peggy avoided their eyes. She sat there
fighting back tears, feeling them sting
ing and aching behind her lids. It was
with r profound relief that she saw her
mother's prim little parlor maid come
into the room when she heard the girl
say, "The telephone for you, Miss Penn.”
Anthony and Cecil stood up punctili
ously. Peggy said: “Excuse me for a
moment. It s mother. She said she’d
call tonight.” And then she turned to
the maid. “I’ll take it in the library,” she
said.
Peggy knew Just why she had said the
library. The library was clear acrees the
house, It was as fax away from Anthony
as she could get. A%her life she would
probably want to get a fax away from
Anthony as she would go quite
went to Paris with her father, who was
attached to the Embassy there. Later
they were stationed in Peiping and.
finally, because of the change in Ad
ministration, Mr. Corcoran received a
post in the backwash of the diplomatic
service and no one heard of or from
either Charlotte or her father after
ward Not even Garret.
Garret had quite soon after that won
the reputation of being fickle and girl
crazy The moment a new and pretty
face arrived in Warrenton, Garret
began shadowing her. At Washington
and Lee, where he was studying law.
he never dragged the same girl twice.
At the University of Virginia, where he
took post-graduate work, it was the
And finally, when he returned
to Warrenton and began the practice
ot law in £i* er's famous offire with
its law books mat Ueorge Washington
ft i . -i u .... j n. *■
UT SOMETHING happened. Char
-1 lotte left Washington suddenly and
when there were no other new girls In
town to distract a part of Garret's at
tention.
When Peggy finally came in, her blue
eyes bright and her soft young cheeks
flushed. Aunt Sophronia called her to
her room.
Aunt Sophronia saw those eyes and
those cheeks and she swallowed hard
"Peggy.’’ she said, evenly. ”1 want
to warn you about Garret Carter "
“What’s the matter with him?" asked
Peggy, a dreaqj-llke quality beyond the
serene mask of her face.
“He’s glrl-crazv. He's utterly fickle.
He's " Aunt Rdphrrfhtn 'spent
* * full hour tilling about Ciarret. Sbft
U.M.M m.UL rtUaelnftM Pneenm n rtorrrl ’•