Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1894-07-19

grily.
"'Cpon my word, never thought Of
it In that way! only did it for fun
"Rathbun laid an affectionate hand
on the youths shoulder.
| ST know it, old man! Only when you
want to have ''fun." let it be with a
woman Of the world, not with a little
girl who knows men so little that she
trusts them all implicitly
| "And there he dropped the subject.
once and forever.
"Rathbun and were stationed at
Fort Monroe at the'same time, and &C.
his quarters were always CHEEKY and
/! planned Of the dear old fort, called 1t
we loved it. The parade ground. the
salt air come lack to my mind even
thrill. The routine of guard-mounting
and dress parade took on an added in
terest for us when the benches on the
edge of the parade ground were occu-
pied by bellies from the Hygeia who,
with their chaperons. made it the fash
ion to lie on hand at these exhibitions
of the comp and circumstance Of glor-
| ious war'
ut was then and there that Rathbun,
in spite Of his reputation as staid
and invunerable old bachelor. fell in
love. Miss Daintree was a New York
girl. and as dainty and pretty as a
Dresden china figure. 1t would have
taken all the rosy digits on her two
shapely hands to enumerate her adj
NJ int
in the midst of the season, when there
was no lack of attractive girls, but
she was the favorite. l fancy it was
not so much her beauty as her tact
and ability to place everyone with
best
Somehow, lawrence Rathbun
condiled to ne, she brings out all that
is good in man. find myself talk
ing better to her than to any other
woman l ever met
This remark was made at the be-
ginning Of their acQuaintanceship. AS
time went on and Rathbun fell more
desperately in love with each passing
day. he spoke little of her. To quote
his own language, it went too Deep
I. watching him. wondered. with
clutch at my heart, what would hap
pen if the devotion Of such heart as
his should not be returned. That Miss
Dain'rec liked him was evident; but
she also liked Miller. Of the til cav
airy, who was her very ardent admirer.
He was a good fellow. and so open
hearted as to be loquacious on the sub
ject of his divinity. He would often
run into our easement. and sit by our
fire, talk Of the beauty Of her figure,
the brilliancy of her eyes. until mar
veled that Ned. with his intense and
silent nature, could refrain from call
! ing the man a fool. But we all liked
Miller. and he and Rathbun had been
good griends for years. Only once did
the loyal fellow mention to me his old
chum's freedom of speech. Miller had
spent an hour with us talking, as usual,
of Miss Daintree's charms and accom-
plishments. AS he rose to go, he said,
half jestingly:
Never again will laugh at man
in love. know too we'll how it is my
SELF
Neither of us spoke for several min
utes after the door had closed upon our
voluable friend. Then Rathbun turn
ed to me.
Lawrence he said, musingly, If
he loved her he could not talk like
that. could hep
I don't know I answered "It is
his nature to confide to any willing
listener the affairs which lie nearest
his heart. You and I are the quiet
sort and don't understand the necessi-
| ty which is strong upon some people
of talking out their feelings But, dear
boy, don't let the thought of his posi-
sible devotion deter you from going in
! and winning. All is fair in love and
war. you know
| She is the one to decide" was his
simple answer.
| There was hop at the hotel the
night before Miss Daintrees return to
New York. We dancing men had
| pledged ourselves to be present, and to
dance as often as human endurance
and patent feathers would permit.
Rathbun was unusually quiet as we
ate our supper. guessed what was in
his mind and forbore to make any
comments. Just before leaving our
snug sitting-room for the Hygeia fes-
tivities he held out his hand to me.
Dear old man. he said, the light
Of a great love in his eyes, wish me
good luck! Tonight I shall know my
| fate. God knows l don't deserve 1t;
but hope. almost believe, that she
cares little for me-
while my hand still grasped his
the door was burst open and Miller
rushed In, gorgeous in full-dress uni
form, Ills cheeks aglow, his eyes dane
ing.
Z" I really had to stop on my way
to the hop was his greeting. L was
too impatient to tell you what has hap
pened to wait half an hour longer I
want you to know that she said Eyes"
to me this afternoon, and that 1 am
the happiest mortal on this green foot
stool! Why, Lawrence. you weren't in
love with her too. were you?
For it was who had changed color
and lost presence Of mind.
"Rathbun's hand was outstretched In
moment and his merry laugh rang
through the tiny room as he grasped
Miller's hand.
Lawrence in love! Never! We both
congratulate you heartily! I hope she
knows what good husband she has
|