The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1888-11-02
LUE,ORCRIMSON?
From Harper's Gazar

From Harper's fazar
1t was n momentous question. far
more SO than the reader, CHANGING at
the title of this story, imagines. The
young lady standing by the window,
IN street costume, gazing ut the
blooming squares in the little garden
below, was no nearer deciding it than
she had been three days ago.; yet it
must be settled that afternoon, and
the hands of the clock were pointing
ten minutes to 5. "Blue, orcrim-son?'
the words began to adjust them
selves with annoying pertinacity to
the monotonous ticking on the man
tel-"blue, orcrim-son? Yale, or Har-
vard?" and then this further afix,
containing the kernel of the difficult
ty, "R life, or Mars-ton? Role, or
Mars-ton?"
Which should it be? The clock
dropped preliminaries and struck to
the telling clause with persistency so
aggravating that the young lady
knitted her pretty brows and finally
stopped her ears, She must think
she must think. Here we're only fif-
teen minutes in which to balance for
perhaps the t~housandth time, the
merits of two rival and declared suit
-ors for her hand, represented by the
colors of the rival colleges. Which
should it be?
How it was that, though neither of
these suitors had yet been accepted,
each believed himself favored, and
expected his supposed lady-love to
wear his colors that evening, is a
mystery which only an accomplished
-coquette could explain. This par
ticular coquette did penance formuch
previous Irritation during the maui
vais quart p'heure at the window,
trying to make up her mind whether
TO purchase blue or crimson ribbon
for Elinor Vance's party.
She had put off purchasing either
as long as possible, and had had i'm
mense trouble to prevent being pre-
sented with both. But for this un-
fortunate party, which had given
each admirer al excuse to request a
proof of favor, she need not have de-
'cided quite yet whether to accept
Roger Marston, whose dark eyes and
charming manners had turned the
heads of half the girls in her "set."
who al handsome, aristocratic, and
oh, most potent word!-rich, or
Walter Role, the "little lover of her
childhood, her playmate and teacher
at once, her loyal champion always,
and the hero of her earliest day
dreams.
"Why, Lou, what in the world are
you standing there for with your
fingers in your ears? So you're 60
ing out?"-with a disappointed ac-
cent.
Eyes, IN. Why?"
"Oh, I've just got anotefrom your
Aunt Maria. She's sick, and nothing
III do but l must SO up there this
evening. And | thought perhaps
you'd make the biscuit for supper.
I can't trust Inga, youknow." Inga
was the Swedish "help," majestic,
snow fair, picturesque, serene, and as
yet innocent of the least details of
cooking. Cant you be back in half
an hour? 1t don't take long to make
a cream-tarter biscuit"
eyes, M" with adespairing glance
at the clock, "Tn try"
One would not have said she was
very hard, noting Der deliber-
ate pace when once on the street.
She could have wished the walk to
town twice as long. How provok-
ingly things happened! The "help"
only fit to look at, and Aunt Maria
sick to-day of all the three hundred
and sixty-ive in the year! Oh dear!
DEAR Should it be blue or crimson?
OF course it ought to be blue.
Walter and she seemed to belong to
each other-always. She had stanch-
ly believed him, till lately, the clever
best and handsomest boy in the
world. He might be-yes, she was
afraid he was-a little common place,
but he was asmuch a part of herpast
as her brother Jermey, and seemed
as much a part of her future. To
Walter
But then what girl she knew would
think of refusing Roger Marston? He
belonged to one ofthe Boston families:
he had five times Rolfe's property; he
was handsomer too-at least the
girls thought he was; he sang; he
painted; and poor Rolfe was apt to
yawn over ''enthusiasms." Surely
no one else would hesitate between
the two, and yet
Here she vas at a store door, and
the clocks were pointing fifteen
minutes past five. She passed that
door, and the next, and the next;
then turned back resolutely. What
was the use of wavering? 1t should
be crimson.
81 declare, Miss Lou I"T This greeting
was given by an irreproachable
gentleman offorty who waspatrolling