The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1894-08-30
quires no asserting9" he asked, in his
p,oet dNntna To tone

quires no asserting?" he asked, in his
most dogmatic tone.
She shrugged her shoulders.
How often? OH don't know. A
hundred times, / dare say. You look
cross, Charlie"
Charlie frowned again. There was
an intangible something in Evas tone
and manner that was not won't to. be
there. Something that he could neither
define nor understand, though he felt
it instinctively.
81 am not cross, Eva, but | am
grieved-grieved beyond measure.
Your conduct last night caused me
acute pain, the more so as you ex-
pressed no regret forit But l hope
you are in better frame of mind to-
day, and ready to say you are sorry
for what you did. Until you have done
so, really don't feel that | can kiss
you"
Charlie fully expected that this stu
pendous threat would reduce Eva to
the lowest depths of despair, and bring
her, tiguratively speaking, to her
knees; but for once he was out in his
calculations. She drew up her slender
figure and pursed up her rosy lips with
an air that made him feel vaguely un-
easy. Was it possible, he wondered,
that she intended to defy him? Yes.
Her next words proved that it was so.
Il am not sorry" she said, mot a
bit. am glad. would do it again. "
Charlie gasped. The situation was
r.. AZ. l..
to it all at once.
"As for kissing me-" Eva went on,
with little disdainful moue, well,
you will never have the chance of do
ing that again, so you need not excite
yourself"
Charlie found his voice then.
You are talking at random now,
Eva" he said, severely, "a bad habit
against which l have always warned
you. viii you be kind enough to ex-
plain YOURSELF"
Eva tilted her small nose in the air,
and horrible doubt suddenly assaulted
him. Was there-could there be a
hitch in the infallible system, after
all? The thought appalled, him.
"Oh, certainly" Eva answered, Il
can do it in very few words. Lord
Dolly proposed to me last night and ]
accepted him."
Charlie gasped again.
But you are engaged to me-" he
calculated. you must be mad. You
can't seriously contemplate throwing
me over for Dolly EASTWOOD. The
things impossible.
She looked at him and smiled.
Incredible as it may seem to you,
do contemplate it,
"But-but-but," stammered Char
lie, this is very er-extraordinary be-
havior on your part, Eva. Are You
aware that you propose to treat me in
most dishonorable way, and-and-
erin short, very badly?"
Her face grew grave.
81 should be sorry to do that" she
said, more gently, Il don't want to
be dishonorable, or to treat you badly
Charlie. But am only human, and no
one but myself knows what | have
gone through IN the last few months
You have tried me too hard. | was
very fond of you at one time, and if
you had treated me fairly l should
have been very fond of you still. But
you would wear out a saint-and l am
only woman. | don't think Lord
Dolly will be hard on me. He may not
be very brilliant, but at all events he
is mantle sort of man we call a
gentleman-and knows how to be gen
erous even to such an altogether in
ferior creature as mere woman"
She paused and looked critically at
her rejected lover, who now presented
a truly pitiable appearance, with all
the starch taken out of him, and gen
eral air of limp depression pervading
his being.
THAT is ALL" she went on present.
ly but before you go there is one
thing that l should like to impress up
on you for future guidance: 1t is al
ways worth mans while to be just
and fair-even to woman"
She paused again and contemplated
him with her big blue eyes, but he said
nothing. He was too bewildered to
speak. 1t seemed to him that all the
laws of creation were reversed, and the
whole scheme of the universe turned
upside down.
There was hitch in the system
somewhere.
1t had failed.-London Truth.