The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1896-11-21

0@e tAo cAA4SAN
in delicate rings. he pursued his re.
marks:
Last season was the first fol-
years when a man had the ghost Of
a chance to escape from their
clutches. They couldn't all ride
wheels. But this sumer they'v got
them, Lord bless you-yes. to a pet.
ticoat-and I a hear their assur.
ance rising up over the land, Width
or thou goest, I will co."
Its leap year, too" said a still,
small voice tinged with desponden.
oy. Fellows, you won't believe it,
but I have had three proposals al.
ready since January, and Agreat
burst Of laughter interrupted the
speaker, who paused and stared pen
eivoly at his golf stockings, import.
ed at untold expense and chastely
designed in the blue and green Sun
derland plaid. An Adonis of middle
GLASS society, 6 feet 2 in those very
stockings, as finely proportioned as
q Greek athlete. and further en-
dowed with close cropped chestnut
curls and sleepy blue eyes, he felt it
would be unreasonable to expect
even a new woman to contemplate
such charms unmoved and put up
good naturally with ordinary ado
ration. These later aggressive atten-
tions had been. too much. Why was
this amusement at the turning of
the worm?
whats the joker" he asked,
sulking.
"You don't mean that?" cried
Louis inoredulously.
tits gospel truth. Why, what if
I told you that NJ Well, l can't
mention names. but if I only limited
at a girl who has as good as asked
me to marry her within a month
nobody would believe me, and one
of you would knock me down if he
could"
"The beginning of the end" A
solemn note crept into Dicks tone.
reggie is right; there's no joke
about it. This is the sort of thing in
store for every man jack of us unless
we make q determined stand. / tell
you, I have a presentiment that one
or all Of us will we wooed and we'd
this summer if we don't take meas
ures for self defense at once. Laugh
away. It's true"
"Cassandra in knickerbookers,"
rmiled Morris, whose remarks some
times had a surprisingly classical ia
vor.
Dick growled. "What is the better
part of ~valor?" said he.
"D%iscretion." responded the liter
airy member briskly, a youth who
had won that proud distinction by
reporting ball games ami yacht
races and now felt all the mental
citation of a witty repartee.
EXACTLY" agreed Dick, land
where a woman is concerned one
CANT be too valorous or too discreet.
The question is. Are we ready to be
sealed in the bonds of matrimony, or
are we not?"
1--WE are not" The reply was
unanimous, coming from the much
proposed-to loudest of all-from lit
tie Louis half heartedly.
1.-THE nays have it," And Dick
rose to his feet, a gallant figure in
his homespuns. A melancholy
brown mustache effectively hid
whatever expression might steal into
the lower part of his face, and his
eyes were by turns sharp. ~quizzical
and kindly as they fingered now on
this lad, now on that, always re-
turning lovingly to the meerschaum,
which he often declared was the
only thing that had stood by him
faithfully in life. He held it in his
hand, and his fingers closed upon it
with sudden energy as leaning
against a post he presently took up
the theme again in a convincing, lazy
drawl.
II an no orator as Brutus is, but,
boys, l know what I am talking
about. They're a poor lot-girls-
and they're after us like a pack of
hounds. AS Reggie there says, it's
leap year, and mighty preparations
are making. Silks and muslins and
fummadiddles we are proof against
those, for we know them of old, but
this new woman who rides after ,s
on a bicycle and takes the counting
into her own hands, I tell you ! am
afraid of her. 1t seems to me there
is just one safe course to pursue"
The others waited, not quite sure
how much of this was chaff and how
much earnest, Reggie pitching the
end of his last cigar out on the sand
and stretching his mighty frame
preparatory to blowing up his tires.
1--WE must fly from the enemy
retreat as she advances. That is not
manly, but it is discreet. If we
don't want to be caught, we must
keep out of reach of the Dollys and
Doras, or, hang it all, they will have
us. What do you say?"
Half 1a,,oh;pu ho bodoo~od ood