The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1896-04-17
miscellaneous.
DRAWING ROOM PUPPET

DRAWING ROOM PUPPET
Mildred Warning considers hersel
an intellectual person. Her intellec
| tual capacities display themselves IL
the occasional perusal of uninterest
ing books and in the subsequent dis
tribution of fragments of their con
tents to unwilling listeners. Ordi
narily, the only result is to renGel
conversation impossible, but that
evening, in Mrs. Arkwright's snug
gerry, she annoyed me into argument
She had been reading some idiotlt
book about the Indian Mutiny, anC
| began to fabricate generalities about
men as the result. Generalities only
hurt their pcrpetratOr but | knew
| Mildred'S generalities were not gen
eral Little Dicky Whitbread had
been chatting Harold Pilllington, who
had lowered about Mildred for the
| last season and her remarks about
strong men and drawing room pup
pets obviously applied to them. Mr.
Pilkington is a large, dark man, with
a small, dark mind-the kind of man
who only smiles to show his teeth
and Dicky-well, Diclly is what you
| would expect in man whom men and
many women call Dicky.
Nicholson said Mildred, senten,
| tiously, in the course of our argument,
was a real man. He was IA tall, silent
man, who in Il great crisis rose to the
| OCCASION
THAT was a comfort, yawned Lena
| Dawson. He might have improved
| it"
He was probably" l said, without
the least notion who the man named
| Nicholson was, "a person whom men
| consider stupid and his wife brute.
And there was Lord Lawrence,
went on Mildred, with coIttemptu-
Gus sniff they were both heroes"
Its much easier to be a hero than
| a decent husband, = said Mrs. FrObish
err, who is so attached to her own hus
band that she is compelled to conceal
it with cynicism.
Thank you, Mrs. FrObisher,"
said, that's exactly what | mean.
| believe real good sorts are real good
always and the little things mean
most because it's so hard to make
them melodramatic."
"At Lucknow began Mildred.
Bother Lucknow | interjected
rather rudely Il never was in an In
| dian mutiny but if | were, I'd rather
| be there with Il man who's been nice
| when he's been wet through.
Let's play at it." said Lena Daw.
son, waking up. Lena makes life 4
kind of round game. We might
have hero prize. | should like tC
know whether there's Il real hero in
| the house.
Lena eventually arranged the game
| The next night there were TO be pistol
shots emanating from fictitious burg.
lar. and the hero prize was to be given
| to the man who behaved best.
Il wonder what the men will 90,
said Lena.
"Letme see. Old Major Turner viii
certainly God bless his-soul. And
| your husband will probably ut once
save you, Mrs. Frobisher. Aud what
do YOU think Mr.. Arkwright will do,
Mrs. Arkwright -
at would be a great opportunity
| for his fire grenades. | should think
he'll invent a new burglar trap that
will make the house uninhabitable.
suggested Mrs. Arkwr ght, malicious
| ". Her husbands inventions are Il
| trial to Mrs Ark wright, and he had
recently almost succeeded i'll pernan-
emily extinguishing two of the Ark
wright's with patent grenade.
And Mr.. Pilkington p went on
Lena.
There is a gallery in the affairs OF
men, | said.
I'VE shall see,' said Mildred.
He'll take good care of that, if he
does anything" | answered.
II know" said Lena, 1T will make
it better fun if we draw for the men
and make Il sweepstakes of it.
Lena always regulates the rules of
her games, and we acquiesced from
force of habit.
I've got Mr. Arkwright, she an
nouuced, as the result Of the draw.
Il hope he'll be heroic and not elcc-
tric. or anything of that kind. Mrs.
Miller, YOU and Mrs. Foulkes have eX-
changed husbands. You've got Major
Turner, Mrs. Arkwright. And I'm
afraid, Mrs. Frobisher, you'll have to
hope for heroism in your husband.
Mildred Dicky's fallen to you-l fear
he's not big, silent man. And you,
Kittie," she said to me, will be glad
that you've drawn Mr.. Pilllington.'
| believe Lena cooked that draw,
but none of US protested, except Mrs.
Frobisher.
The affair came off the next night,
Mrs. Arkwright went down and got
her husbands revolver out of the gun
room. Lena fired two shots, and Mil
dred and | were deputed to alarm the
| smoking ROOM
''There's burglar upstairs" eX-
claimed, breathlessly, lin Miss Daw-
sons room. He's tried to shoot Miss
Dawson"
"God bless my souln' said Major
Turner.
send for the police at once" said
Dean Foulkes, firmly.
Where's my wife p said Mr.. Fro.
| bisher.
us he in the house still?" asked Mr..
| Ark wright,
Il think So | said. We've locked
the door on the outside"
Hell get out of the window" re
marked Major Turner, with blood y
| thirsty look Make Il row at the
door. FL wait for him on the lawn,
which | believe he did, with double
barrelled gun.
There was rush up stairs. 1t was
| rather a funny scene. They all got
| some KIM Oh "edpOli tASSB t NJ I'm
ington and Dean Foulkes. The latter
strobe up with unrutiled pomposity
apparently prepared to combat the
foe in the mere strength of his Official
capacity. Dicky stayed alone in the
smoking room and smoked on.
"Dicky," | said, are you afraid ?
Il don't think I'm afraid of the
burglar" he replied but if those
idiots are going to fire about bed
room promiscuously, I'd rather be
here"
| cast whitening look on him anc
followed the others up stairs. saw
Mr.. PilkingtOn up to the door and un
lock it, while the others paused.
You'd better surrender quietly,
he exclaimed.
Helooked the ideal of quiet bravery
Let the ladies go away" he wen
on, when there was no answer. 1--WE
must search the room"
II lalIIyr m and Thp thpr