The Coconino weekly sun., 1893-09-14

pleased to lose it, for hate to see a girl throwing away her opportunities as you have been doing of late"
 Now, it so happened that, at this same moment, Mr. Lionel Falconer, sitting in the smoking-room of his club, was receiving equally sage counsels from his friend Bates, who stood Tn much the same relation to him as Miss Leighton did to Maud Elton.
 Don't make laundering ass of yourself, my dear fellow" that world ly. wise bachelor, Bates, was pleading. I could tell you lots of things about Mrs. Martindale, only l don't care to pass for a scandal monger; and be- sides, while your present infatuation lasts you wouldn't believe me. All 1 beg of you is to go easy for bit and to avoid committing yourself In due time your eyes will be opened, and then you will arise and bless me. If it would re lieve your feelings at all to curse me now, curse away; l don't mind"
 Lionel Falconer, a long-legged, taci- turn young man, whose smooth-shaven countenance had not altered in express sion during MT. Bates harangue, of which the flag end has been reported above, refrained from cursing his friend. He merely took his cigarette out of his mouth for moment and re- piled, laconically:
 All right, old chap"
 But he was by no means sure that it was all right, nor was he by any means sure that he had not committed him. self. Infatuated upon the subject of Mrs. Martindale's charms he assuredly was not he had begun flirting with her simply and solely because Maud Elton had seen fit to firt with other people. But he had been flattered and cajoled; he had been dexterously led on from point to point, and his present impression was that he had gone almost, if not quite, too far to recede. After all, what did it matter? He was one of those luck less beings, an eligible young man; somebody was certain to marry him be- fore long; the only girl for whom he had fancy had turned her back upon him, and Mrs. Martindale was at least an amusing companion.
 As may be readily imagined, less cyn- ical views of life began to prevail with him at Lady Knightsbridge's ball that evening, when Maud Elton, wearing, like the lady in the ballad, "the colors he approved" racing-colors, in fact -beckoned him to her side and gave him kindly little scolding. He was very soon made to see that any slight misunderstanding which might have arisen between them had been entirely due to his own stupidity, he was very soon brought to the point of acknowl- edging that his ostentatious devotion to Mrs. Martindale (which iu truth Maud had not even noticed) had been enough to alienate any friends, who could not be expected to know "that sort of woman" But when it was in- timated to him that he would have to prove his repentance by attending Mrs. Elton's river picnic and forsaking the concert to which he had been bidden, he pulled rather long face.
 "rm sure I don't want to go to her concert, nor to anybody's concert, y he declared; "music isn't much in my line But, you see, as l said would be there -"
 "You said you would be at our pie nic. You may have forgotten it, but you did say so, and if you break your work-well, then l shall understand that you prefer Mrs. Martindale's com pany to ours, and l shall act accord ingly."
 Needs must when certain persons drive. He knew, or thought he knew, what Maud meant, and he said to himself that, since he was now resolved to break with Mrs. Martindale, one pretext would serve as well as another. Nevertheless, it was not without trepi- dation that he threaded his way across the room towards the recess where that rouged, powdered, and be- diamonded little lady had for some min utes been scrutinizing him suspiciously