The news boy., 1896-05-23

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sister came to the house on o visit, and.
not having much else to do, she used to
Sinuse herself with me. 1 objected at
hrst, and vowed I'd rout myself out and
70 to the hospital, but those two women
knew they had me where was defense.
less, and they only laughed at me when
l growled, and fed me on dainties when
was taciturn and silent. Jdidn't want
TO eat their truck, but my appetite was
something, and it forced me to over
come any prejudice I might have
formed.
Later my cousins wife's sister toois
to reading to me, and she compelled me
to listen to her because she did have OK.
cellent taste in the matter of books and
could rend exceedingly well. AS to her
voice, 1t was the sweetest ever heard,
but OF course she could have no credit
Tor that. She was born with it.
| Occasionally the members of the CO.
terie visited me, but not often, as tie
very presence of women was disagree
able to them. They condoled with me,
however. and togetherwe frowned upon
Providence for thus throwing me into
the hands of the enemy.
AS time went by and my cousins
wife's sister continued to read to me
unconsciously grew into the habit of
looking at her sitting on the low chair
near me, with her head bending over
the book, and 1 began to wonder what
she used on her hair to make it SO wavy
and glossy, and when she would look up
occasionally and smile in response to
laugh or remark of mine at something
she had read would have queer kind
OF feeling, as if were threatened with
some kind of heart trouble.
One day I asked the doctor about it
and he actually grinned. I say
"grinned," because 1 mean "grinned."
1t wasn't the kindly smile of the physi-
clan to petulant patient, but grin;
and would have thrown him out of the
window had I been in my usual health
and strength
The first day I walked out on my
crutches my cousins wife's sister ac-
companied me, and 1 think 1 leaned
more on her than did on the crutch.
1 am sure did, as far as the crutch on
the side next to her was concerned.
During the first two or three weeks
of my Imprisonment I had longed for
the time when I could get out once
more and join the coterie; then I be-
gan to think less about 1t, and now,
when was ready to start forth on my
journey once more, free man, somehow
felt that was losing something.
I couldn't quite understand itS and,
after my lately acquired fashion of re-
lying upon my cousins wife's sister,
asked her about it.
Well, If you will believe me, 1 was
never more surprised in my life than I
was at the result of this simple question
on my cousins wifc's sister. She
blushed and stammered and said her
sister wanted her right away, and I
just stood still in my amazement. She
had always been such a help to me, and
now, in a little matter like this to go all
to pieces, almost made me lose conf
dence in her. Then she looked up at me
and all of u sudden felt that old heart
trouble come back nd-antl--nnd--
hope it is not necessary for ME to go
into particulars. Suffice it to say that
between my cousins wife's sister and
myself we managed to have the matter
satisfactorily explained.
But there was the coterie and there
were those Internal resolutions! What
a fool man can make of himself when
he is left to his own devices passes
finite comprehension and almost crowds
the infinite to the wall. I, Thomas Tom
mington, the chief, had basely betrayed
my trust, and concealment for long was
impossible. But quickly determined
that concealment was my only hope,
and with this hope in my bosom I at
tended the coterie's banquet in honor
of my restoration to the charmed circle.
| What hollow mockery that restora-
tion was
I was there and at the head of the
table, as befitted my relation to the
coterie, but my spirits were elsewhere.
Still put bold face Oh myself, and ap-
plauded to the echo every anti-femalc
sentiment that was uttered. Ievcn pro-
posed toast myself to the utter oblitcr-
alton of women. l thought it best to
draw 1t strong, and did. However, at
nine o'clock pleaded that was not yet
strong enough to join in the late fes-
tivities, so l withdrew. and, shameless
wretch that 1 was, 1 hurried to my
cousins house and sat up until 12 o'clock
with my cousins wife's sister.
At the next melting of the coteric !
began to feel that was under suspi.
cion. Perhaps it was merely guilty
conscience, but thought my bachelor
friends cooled when appeared among
them. l know that when John TEN
pie proposed the toast: Earth would
be Heaven without women" and I did
not empty my glass; every member
present looked directly at me and then
at each other. Any person of the most
ordinary sensitiveness knows how he
feels under such circumstances.
AS time went by and suspicion grew
apace it became evident to me that
must get out of the coterie. There was
no other honorable course left me.
could see there was no longer har-
mony, and when 1 read our resolutions,
as l did religiously at every meeting,
they were greeted with silence. Each
man suspected the other; each man
seemed to have secret that was burn