Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1896-09-24
tete-a-tetc but Phil, with the man who

tete-a-tetc Dut Phil, with the man VINO
stood out the dances on nis arm.
"Oh, jack" he calmly and suavely
exclaimed, ."beforc you go. want very
much to introduce to you my friends
husband, Mr.. Huntington-Mr. Fen
way"
So you see know what those smiles
generally meant. Still, that was several
years ago. and Phil was now reminIs-
cling about Miss Lancaster.
"Yes, Jack, always thought good
deal of that girl"
He repeated this. wondering why
had not answered him before.
Eyes, know you did. And do you re.
member that Thanksgiving we went on
to New York to see the Yale-Princeton
game. and you took me to call on her?"
"Sure, that was just after the summer
first met her. And 1 remember, too,
that you were not so powerfully taken
with the original as you had been with
her photo on my desk"
mo, and I've always wished I'd never
made that call. Then wouldn't have
known her, and all those heated dis
cussions we used to have about the girls
worth or worthlessness would have been
avoided"
"Still, Jack, you'll have to admit that
she was terribly fetching and fasci-
mating girl"
Eyes, yes, Phil. I've admitted that
thousand times, but that isn't the ques-
: sion. My point has always been that
she wasn't ; girl who had enough in her
to warrant fellow of your good sense
| going crazy over her. Fetching and
| fascinating-Jov man, there are any
number of your tickle, Eighty, skin
deep sort of girls who are fetching and
fascinating, and she's one of them. But
| fiddlesticks, what do they amount to?
Nothing-never get married-grow up
| into dctestable old maids with sour
faces and still sourer dispositions. Come
now, Phil, I'll bet you ten to one that
| Pearl Lancaster never gets even en-
gagged"
mo. no, Jack, won't do it. It's bad
principle betting on girl, anyhow.
Besides. you might lose the wager, for
she came mighty near getting a man
last summer"
"Why, how do you know?"
| "I saw her at Bar Harbor" O.
Were you down there again last sum-
mer?"
| "Yes."
"And was she there?"
| Eyes"
Hum, then I'll bet you repeated the
foolish performance of your sophomore
year."
81 did, Jack, with compound interest
We were together most of the time.
Never had such jolly summer before in
all my life"
"And the other man you said she near
| ly captured-where did he come in?"
"Oh, he was a particular friend Of
mine, so 1 didn't begrudge him any
thing. Excuse me a moment, Jack,
| must get some more coal for that fire.
Better fill up pipe"
I proceeded to do so and casually OBJ
served at the time that Phil smoked
the same abominable tobacco. Expen-
sive stuff, but, gad how it burnt a
mans tongue. Phil was the only fellow
who ever smoked it without swearing.
The other men invariably declined It,
so we always claimed that he used that
| particular brand to keep his friends
| from pirating tobacco off him. But
then, that wasn't so, for Phil was the
most generous-hearted fellow of the
gang.
Having filled the pipe I went to the
mantelpiece for match; that was
where he used to keep them-when he
had any. 1 didn't find n match. but
| found photograph that had been laid
there. 1t was new one of Pearl Ian
caster-had undoubtedly just come
with the letter. I was holding it in my
hand when Phil came back from the
coal closet.
"Well, what do you think of it, Jack ?"
Grand, good-looking girl beyond a
doubt. And 1 suppose if you were with
her again all last summer you must be
more cracked than ever over her."
Phil surprised me by uttering a sigh
and sinking down into chair.
"Alas! Jack, am-fatally So" were
his Respondent words. "And now what,
oh, what, do you suppose she writes me
in this letter."
"Jove! not that she's engaged, is she,
man? Luckily for me you didn't take
that bet"
"Yes, Jack, she says she's the hap
piest little girl in the world, for she's
engaged to the dearest fellow in the
world. Engaged at last. Poor girl.
suppose you'd say poor fellow. And
such a fellow, too-oh my! Well, all
i can say is that I've seen worse fellows
and-and better Oh. dear!"
"But who is she engaged to2 What's
his name?"
"The man she was with down at Bar
Harbor last summer"
mot the other man."
"Alas, no, the others other man."
"Not yourself, you fool?"
Poor Phil covered helplessly down in
1 the chair and feebly held out his hand
as If expecting whipping.
Eyes, jack" he whimpered "congrat-
ulate and forgive me, old fellow, but
rm-I'm the man."
well! But say, Phil. you don't
| smoke any better tObocco than Won used