San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-03
WIDOW MCPHERSON.


| mentor over me at once and be done with
it-hang itr'
Lakely glared at his companion. Bristed,
immovable, went on smoking. A silence,
fraught with explosive possibilities, en-
sued Finally Bristed arose. He was
somewhat the elder of the two, and he was
saturnine and dark.
"What are You going to do?' he do
| manded
IF you think Pm going to say
"Then you go to the dickens by the short
! est cut you can find" was Bristed's ulti-
| matum.
The next day Mrs. Lakely tearfuily
pressed me into an interview
81 assure you have done my best to dis
suade Horace" Bristed said.
ooh, it's too dreadfulr' moaned Lake
| ly's mother, wringing her hands. "You
have always been such good friends-room
mates and all-and young men will often
listen to an older comrades advice and re-
monstrance where a mothers, sisters
are quite thrown away Do use your in
auenoe, my dear Mr.. Bristed, with my
poor benighted boyI On, it is too shock
ing that he should be thinking for one in
slant even of such narriage"
sure, my dear madam. 1t is a very trying
one," murmured Bristed sympatheticaliy.
"And it is SO horrible, too, that there
should be question of bringing such .
person into the family where there is a
young girl" continued Mrs. Lakely. put
ting her handkerchief to her faded, pretty,
ladylike little face.
Mrs. Lakely felt that this allusion to
hal Aan tor xvn a fap str "a Of Sv.Is,
macy. f
Certainly, can appreciate your feel
ings here more than ever" cried BristeA
warmly. ug
"In the name of heaven, Lakely, don't
makesu fool of yourself" he began, fn
the tone of a more tolerant responsiveness.
"a fool of myself BY Georgel think
I've good deal of patience to stand what
| I've stood from you the last month, BristedI
II fellow didn't feel sore about throwing
over an old friend, by George"-
"All right, understand your point of
view,n said Bristed placidly eft isn't
agreeable to have warnings dinned into
your ears when you want to rush headlong
into the biggest folly of your life. But it's
the friends part to sound the warning, ali
the same, whether it's agreeable or not.
You might think of your mother and sister
little in this matter, too"
What the deuce have they, or have you.
or has any one, for the matter of that, to
say anything against Mrs. Mcpherson.
Bristed" cried Lakely, starting up and
confronting his friend, with his boyish
features afush and kindling light in his
blue eyes. "You say she's a little older
than p
"Not little; a good deal. She's older
than am-must be-" interrupted Bristed.
"Weil, and even If she were. What of
iti What are few years one way or the
other" sul aW I6,sA
"a great deal when the few years are ON
the wrong side. But that isn't the worst
feature. You needn't force me into saying
things you wouldn't care to hear. But you
know as well as do that McPherson's
widow has been talked about. Oh! unjust
ly, if you care to have it sol Pm not going
into that question. But the old fellow
didn't inspire the greatest respect himself.
and, at all events, a good many things were
said Of his pretty wife. Why, my dear fell
low" continued Bristed reasoningly, and
with the kindly influence in his fine voice
and the softened expression in his strong
features which had always had so much
power over Horace Lakely's impulsively
youthful temperament, sits preposter-
Gus thing, you losing your head and letting
yourself in for this sort of thingl This
woman is no wife for you"- l0
"You don't know herl You haven't even
seen her," exclaimed Lakely weakly.
II have never seen her, that's fact. But
| know her all the same One always
knows woman of that sort OF caliber.
They're very interesting to meet; very
stimulating; very amusing; very fascinat-
ing. They have ten thousand arts. While
their spell is on man he thinks them
anything they choose to be thought. He
believes nything-everything Afterward
be has an awakening, and it is very wei
for him il he hasn't to discover that he has
bound himself, hand and foot, while he
was under the charm. Flirt with an adj
venturess-for really you know a McPher-
son can scarcely be called anything else
dirt with an adventures rs much as you
like my dear boy, if you feel sure enough
of yourself; but be very careful to stop-a
long way Off of matrimony. That's what
a wise man does. my boy"
Poor Lakely, with his elbows on his
knees and his hands supporting his head,
sat staring at the figures of the carpet.
"Confound i'll you always had wisdom
enough to fit out an army, Bristed, he
growled. "It's no effort for you to Keep
out Of scrapes. You couldn't set into one
If you tried You're so delcedly cold
blooded."
When il dawned upon Mrs baSely that
her son might unexpectedly be ON the
point of listening TO reason the poor lady's
joy burst forth in touching gratitude to
Horace's friend. But it was short lived
10y. AT the end of a fortnight she came