The Portland daily press., 1895-08-16
MADE FOR TWO.


bound to her bicycle wheel. She had fout-
ed him and scorned him for upward of two
years, and in despair Jack set himself at
undoing his bonds. 1t was slow and
painful process, and the bonds had habit
of slipping again into hard knots when he
caught glimpse of Cissie, and Jack had
almost made up his mind to emigrate to
some outlendish country, for he feared he
would never be his own man again unless
very broad and extensive ocean rolled be-
tween them. No matter how stern his res
olutions WERE they faded away to nothing
ness when he met Cissie in new, pretty
and stylish dress, for every costume she
adopted seemed to be even more fetching
than the last. Clothes have so much to do
with the appearance of a pretty girl The
trouble with Jack was that he had too
much respect for women irr general, and
they all knew that and consequently de-
spised him, Cissie being Ae leader in
heaping contumely on poor Hinkston,
who, after ALL was a very nice fellow, who
did not realize that girls as a rule are
somewhat silly and more apt to take up
with shadow Drained, conoeited rascal
lion than with fellow of genuine worth
like Jack Hinkston.
Jack had heard that Cissie had taken to
the bicycle, but he had never seen the
young lady on a machine. For the past
week or two Jack had avoided Cissie and
his resolutions Of abandonment had so
strengthened themselves that he felt he
would be free man if he could keep away
from heri but, on the other hand, he real
lied thas the next time he saw her she
would have on now dress and would look
more like an angel than ever, and he tren
bled for the result.
In the matter of the new dress Jack was
perfectly right and he saw the girl under
circumstances that nearly resulted in his
downfall, but not the kind of downfall he
had looked for. He had taken out his BIZ
cycle and had gone for long wheel into
the peaceful country where he would have
no comrades but the trees and the green
fields and the hedges that bordered the
lanes. AS he cyoled along narrow coun-
try thoroughfare, wheeling at leisurely
pace, for rapid cycling doesn't lend itself
to somber meditation, he heard behind
him the sharp ring of bicycle bell.
Something in its imperative clang, or else
the fact that he was on lonely road
caused him to look over his shoulder, and
he nearly tumbled off his machine with
amazement and surprise. There was Cissie
on the top of silver plated machine, with
the very newest and most natty cut of an
advanced woman's bicycle costume, clip
ping over the distance at a tremendous
rate of speed. She passed him with a
whir, giving him saucy nod and salu-
tation as she went by. Jack gasped and
said under his breath, we'll, he would be
SO. lethinged-a phrase that would not
look pretty on these pages, but it must not
be taken as typical of jacks conversation.
He was knocked all of heap by the as
tonishing sight of Cissie in the very latest
lady's bicycling costume. The next in
slant he put his muscles to the wheel and
sped after her, shouting:
"Stop minute Cissiei want to tell
you something's"
But the young woman never paid the
slightest attention. She bent over the
handle bars 4ad raced down that lane in a
way to maSs pedestrians heads SWIM
Jack shouted Intellectually two OF three
times, then pulled up and said to himself:
swell, let her go. She will find out all
wanted to tell her,"
Cissie disappeared round corner and
when Jack came to it she was not to be
seen down the long avenue, on which the
sunshine fiickered through the entwining
branches OF tie trees overhead. jack went
On leisurely for mile or two; then he
jumped lightly OFF his machine and trun-
died it along beside him. He was now
miles away from civilization, deep in the
midst of the country. The road had sud
denly become very bad, and jack, who
knew the peculiarities Of every lane within
miles around, thought it safer to wheel the
bicycle along BY hand rather than risk a
puncture of his pneumatic tires on the
sharp flint stones scattered with such pro-
fusion along the way. Near little rustic
bridge over clear stream at the bottom
of a dell he found what be expected to find
"a very pretty girl with most woebe-
gone, disconsolate look on her face sitting
on the grassy bank looking forlornly at a
bicycle that lay on the road with the tire
of the hind wheel collapsed.
"Hello, Cissia" said Jack breezily.
"Had tumbIeP'
NO" snapped Cigsie. 81 am not in the
habit of tumbling."
matter. The tire is practured. 1 knew
tell you Of this bit of road, but you would
not LISTEN
81 did not hear you," said Cissie, at
which assertion Jack raised his eyebrows
with increduiity, which made Cissie all
the more angry especially as she knew she
was telling thing which was not true.
''Well, don't want any help from you, :"
she said CURLY.
why, Of course not, ," returned Jack
sitting down on the opposite bank and
leaning his bicycle against the hedge. "a
person who comes opt on wheel and
doesn't know how to rtSapa anything that
goes wrong is simply silly fool. One can
see you understand al about cycling be-
cause you have left your machine lying on
the ground and the oil is running out of
your lamp"
Cissie looked at the young man in
amazement.
''It isn't your lamp" she said at last,
land can surely do what 1 like with my
own. don't see what right you have to
interfere
Bless you, Cissie, said Jack. 81 am
not interfering. I am not even offering
advice. have never yet had the pleasure
of seeing woman take off pneumatic
tire and mend the inner tube. This Of
course yeu have to do sefors you can move
on, for you are miles away from any place,