Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-10-05
ONE WAY TO WOO

child grown under the glass OF repression
through which beat the merciless raw
of an abnormal conscience always at
tropical zenith. Had she lived in the
good old days when liberty and the
stake were planted side by side on New
England soil. she might have obtained
a comfortable solace by burning witches
and exhibiting other devotional graces
indicative Of q deep and discerning epir.
ituality. But this pious sedative to q
restless conscience was denied her. I'm
fortunately her mortal advent had been
delayed until this grosser age when the
most spiritual lawgiver would think
twice before condemning a hereto TO
the flames and when many are SC weak
and vacillaring as to admit that they do
not know the whole truth. She pos.
sessed an unreasonable reason, which
had to be satisfied with the plain food
OF transparent mOralities and would
TAXI no other. To her obtuse spiritual
vision abstract right appeared in the
gulse of an inevitable rule of conduct
ard this curious mental deformity natu.
rally drew her into endless predica.
ments OF the most uncomfortable kind.
AS she came up the steps OF the
Wells street station and pushed past the
bus drivers and cabmen along the curb,
she was rushing forward into the vortex
OF IL of these conscience whirlpooIs
more swift and turbid than anv which
had yet tossed and swirled her frail but
venturesome bark on its black waters.
Far from being weighed down by auy
premonition of this impending comb.
ion. she was conscious onlv of the ia.
mlllar smell of roasting coffee which
came ON the lake breeze from the whole
sale coffee houses to the east. The
fragrance made her hungry and she
found herself tempted. at a s~candalouslv
early hour. into the refectory of a big
State street department store where she
went 20 shop. Her appetite always
seemed to suffer a sudden imitation on
coming from Gray Willow into the city.
Grace Shepherd"
Tins exclamation arrested the delicate
china cup on its initial trip to her lips,
as she caught sight of a tall young man
at her side standing with his napkin in
hand. She responded:
iiyait! i Dug you
were i'll London reveling in fog, ale and
other bohemian ct c~eteras, victimiziny
publishers and writing yellow literature
for yellow books"
II guess you've been reading the
Gray Willow Gazette, Grace. eh? The
country editor at home was simply prac-
tIcing for my obituary. They're delight
July antlclpatory creatures. I'm panied
to make the confidential report. how
ever. that at the present time I'm grasp
ing after a few literary gems with which
to illumine the select advertising page
of a magazine:
"She said she never, never would e,ope
And spurn a fathers care. a mothers signs
So long as Golden Lily toilet soap
Vas kept among the family supplies.
more on application. And it floats
me at $40 per. I've used no other
since. incidentally l am writing a nov
el-but that doesn't even float itself.
But tell me about yourself. Grace. Are
you staying i'll town now:''
Il begin today. I'm to be q compan-
ion. or something of the kind, to Mrs.
Chester z. Graves and her daughter in
Prairie avenue"
"Yes?" And he smiled guilty. Il
think you'll find the position rather
pleasant. In fact, I've worked at il a
bit myself. Call there once or twice a
fortnight. Phoebe is u rather pretty girl
stylish and all that-but, well, I'd
hate to leave a package of .tuty fruty'
i'll any of her secret haunts today if 1
cared as much for it as when we three
used to sit in the back row at the Gray
Willow school,"
In the disturbing recollections of her
J chance encounter with one who had
been constantly in her thought since the
first time when he had ''seen her home
from conference meeting i'll Gray Will
low she almost forgot that she was to
meet Mrs. Graves in the silk depart
nlent and be driven TO her new home in
the Graves carriage.
This" said Mrs. Graves after they
had gone to the chambers of the Prairie
avenue mansion, lis TO be your room. I
hope you will like it. Let me stay and
chat with you rs you unpack your
trunk. Goodness, what q stack of white
paper! One would think you wrote for
the papers"
A noncommittal smile on the part of
the young woman was u practical plea
of guilt.
How lovely! Why didn't you tell
me of this? It's just the very accom-
piIshment l most desire in q compan-
ION for Phoebe. But / hope you write
poetry. Yes? Splendid, l shall have
that lovely writing desk which we no.
tlced down town sent up to YOU roo
tomorrow, and yorll do me some verses
right away. won't you. dear? OF course
shall pay you extra for them. want
S-well. they are just what l want"
Had it not been for something which
startled the speculation out of her mind
Miss Shepherd would have spent her
hrst night as a fashionable companion
In solving the riddle of why Mrs. Graves
should be III such frantic need of poetry.
ihat something was a confidential in.
'efview with Miss Phoebe in the l~a,ter's
room With a childish and ceuerou,
'mpetnoslty the girl slipped her arm
aoou' Miss Shepherds waist and ON.
4 faaa.