The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1897-06-04


''You cannot?" she asked, with a
touch Of hau5eur that brought me alb
iectly to her feet.
81 cannot2" I fastened to say, ''be-
cause do not know it. only know
that Mallon worships the picture Of a
girl that hangs on our wall, and that
he calls her Josephine. know that
she ia very pretty; that she has dark,
smiling eyes, an imperious mouth and
a pair of plump, white shoulders.
Indeed" said Theo, disdainfully.
SIT occurs to me that you know
enough" / was surely a blunderer.
Theo IS clear skinned and brown
haired, and her mouth is sweet and
her eyes blue. We had spent the
evening conjugating the verb "to
love-" / indifTerently we'll, because /
am man she with skill and dignity,
because she is a woman.
"Do you mean to tell me that you
have not yet heard all about her ?" she
asked, after she had properly shown
her scorn for my clumsiness.
"Men do not tell one another all
their heart affairs, answered, indig-
nnntly, whereat, after the manner Of
women, she looked incredulous.
/ was sitting in my room a little
later, smoking my pipe, in my hand q
book-upside down-on every page of
which I saw a picture of Theo that
changed, in keeping with my thoughts.
Mallon came in without greeting. For
the first time since we had shared the
room he did not look at the picture of
Josephine. I said nothing, although
1 was shocked. Something serious had
surely happened. He threw himself
into chair, even forgetting to take
his pipe from the mantel. For long
time he stared at the floor. Then he
looked at nee a moment and said:
swell, have seen her.
"Ahl" said /, with assumed indiffer-
ence, although knew he meant Jose
phlne. l wanted him to have time to
consider before he said anything he
might afterward regret.
81 have seen Josephine and for the
Inst time" he said, after short inter.
val, during which he seemed to be
considering deeply.
"Not as bad as that, hope, ole
chap" said 1, namely, for l knew
nothing of the case, and besides was
busy with love affair of my own.
This is the story OF Josephine as he
told it to me after he had stared at tn,
floor for some minutes.
''I am Western man. Born in
frontier town, passed my boyhoot
amid scenes of rough prosperity ant
lawlessness. Ny father was a physi
clan, and he was the nerviest man
ever knew. When the cowboys ant
gamblers grew uncomfortable he wa
elected Mayor, and in month he ha,
tho town as quiet as a New Hampshir
village. was with him most of tn
time and ever since then ! have ad
mired Western men. My father ha
been college man and loved his ease
but he was also brave. My mothe
had been an Eastern girl, who ha
married ,pocr man because she ha
loved him.
"When I was old enough I wer
away to school and then to college
after which 1 spent three years in tn
East. I came back more o Wester
man than ever. My father, beside
being doctor, is a cattleman, an
when I came home he sent me out
his ranges to look after his interests
On this business went to Oklahomi
My fathers range was near sma
/ town in which lived, riding out eac
morning and back at night.
zone morning as my pony racke
along sat in the saddle dreaming.
heard the hoof beats of horse comiI
towards me and looked up. TIL