Weekly Chillicothe crisis., 1883-05-10
atigued with the work in hand, half

j
she said. 81 thought you were to be
one of my early birds"
$50 | would have bcen," he cx-
planned, "only, unfortunately, | fell
asleep and did not wake up in time. ="
"Oh, that was the case, was itp Well,
SUCH II lengthy nap ought to brighten
You up beautifully for the rest OF the
evening. Sometimes, you know, you
are rather stupid.n
Dick looked at her to see il she meant
n joke, but her pretty face was gravely
raised to his. You are ilattering
me-" he said, shortly.
81 don't mean to, indeed" she an
swcred, quite earnestly. "But there
are plenty of men who are always
stupid, while you can be rather enter
tanning when you are at your best, ~
and she turned gently from him to
greet new batch of guests,
"Was | ever damned with such faint
praise beforeP" thought Dick. 81 won
der if am 'at my best tonight"
For minute he stood taking a
survey of the scene before him. The
musicians were playing II waltz, and
playing it well; only, strange to say,
there was flute among them, which
came piping in with its shrill, persistent
little treble in Il manner distractiug to
Dicks over sensitive ear. He thought
of Mozart's saying that the only thing
in the world worse than flute in an
orchestra was two flutes, and wondered
at Mrs. Grcy's choice in music. Never
thcIcss, as long as he was there he
might as well dance, and, looking
around for familiar faces, his first
glance fell upon brOwn-cycd maiden
whom he had met at II party only the
week before, and whom he had admir-
ed with the guarded and half-supercil-
iOus admiration of veteran society
man. In another minute they were on
the floor contending with their fellow.
creatures for n little room to whirl
around in, and seemingly successful
in their struggle, until slight lurch
sent them rather suddenly against
another pair of dancers.
That was stupid, wasn't it?" said
Dick, as they stopped to take breath
after the concussi0n.
Yes, replied she of the brown eyes,
raising them frankly to his face. You
are rather Il poor dancer. Perhaps
you are out of practice?n
"lndecd, | ought not to be-" pro-
tested Dick, in unutterable mitigation
at the charge. 81 never danced more
in my life than | have this winter"
ais that so? II must be awkwarlncss
them" said Ins companion gently.
Some people never can thoroughly
learn, think it is a natural gift. "
Dick wondered if he could have heard
Alright, or if that wretched little flute,
still piping away so complacently, had
absolutely bewildcrcd him. If there
was one thing he pridcd himself on
more than another-one gift, natural
or otherwise, whi III he felt sure of pos
Sessing-it was his dancing. Was the
brown-eyed damsel out of her mind,
or was she simply an ill-bred little
thing who did not know u good dancer
from bad oneP Whichever was the
case, he lost no time in getting rid of
her, and, mute with amazcmout and
disgust, took refuge among Il group
of men nj the door.
"YOu here, Turner?" said one of
them. 81 hardly recognized you at
first, you look so yellow"
"Do |, indecd?" said, Dick, shortly,
and wondering what he was doomed TO
hear next.
81 should rather think you did," was
the friendly answer. 81 Just said to
Smith here, as you came up, that be-
tween your sallow skin and that bald
spot on your head you were be-
ginning to look like an old man before
your time. Why don't you take to
country life and early hours and fresh
en- up bitP'
'Why don't you mind your own af-
fairs and kindly leave me to attend to
mine?' retorted Dick, now thoroughly
aroused, and, without waiting for an
other word, he veercd around and left
the group, who ore and all seemed
profoundly astoniShed at his ill.temper.
BY this time he began to feel little
uncertain who to approach next.
Having been told already that he was
stupid, ugly, and bad dancer, what
was there left for him to hear? He
certainly had never met so many dis
agreeable people in his life, and he
had serious thoughts of beating per-
manent retreat, when he caught sight
of a blonde head half hidden behind
the azaleas in the conservatory. 1t
was Florence Redifer, whom he had
never expected to meet tonight, and
whom two hours ago he would have
Indignantly avoided. But for some
reason his contempt for her llattery and
falsehood had been strangely modified
in SO short time, and he felt posi-
tive yearning to listen to her pretty
nothings and to see her blue eyes up.
lifted with that tender glance of ad-
miring trustfulness to his. 1t must
have cost her great deal of time and
patience TO cultivate that glance up to
its present perfection, and it was un-
kind, after all, to sneer at the result OF
such honest and enduring toll.
Tho next minute he was at her side.
She did look very pretty; her fair hair
tnmbled in some mysterious fashion on
the top Of her shapely little head: her
bright face lit up with smiles, and her
white silk cleaning under the colored
lamps with soft and shifting radiance
that pleased Dicks cultivated eye. He
was not one of those to whom wom-
ans gown is a matter of Indifference.
81 came in here for little air." she
said; "the rooms are so terribly hot,
and the whole affair is very stupid.
ID mt you think SOP"
at has been worse than stupid for
me-" he answered laughing. Il have
been insulted wherever | went. First,
Mrs. Grey told me | was often very
stupid; then Miss Vincent-do YOU
know herP She is dancing now with
Tom Stern"
81 don't know her; but never mind!
What did she say to youP"
"She told me that | was awkward
and a bad dancer, and intimated that /
could never thoroughly learn"
Florence Redifer burst into laugh
as clear and merry as silver bells. "But
you know, Mr.. Turner" she said,
"your best friends do not claim for you
that you dance we'll"
Dick gaspcd, and then recovered;
he was getting hardened now. II al