The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-05
A COVERT THREAT.
BY WALTER f. GROGAN.
Copyrighted, 1897, by Walter e. Grogan.

And this is all the sympathy getw
BESIDES, four of them can't ride"
Then there is hope. Four from six
| leaves two Who are they?"
| There is Sir George Vernon"
ne man like an operate tenor with
| bad liver-yes?"
And the-the other one"
kitty"
''Wen?"
1T is not WE'LL
That's childish. The repartee is thread
pare. 1t is not worthy of you"
How can 1 think, with this awful man
staring me in the face?''
/ Hes not"
Mentally" said severely. who is he?
( Is he old?"
mo, young"
"A mere boy, just out of Elton. Does he
wear rundown collars and search for
moustache?"
Mr.. Harold Bridson must be neary 80"
Harold Bridson. the actor?"
You know him?' l nodded assent
How lovely! Oh, Diogenes, this is sim
ply delicious!'
Il liked him once" I unused sadly. HE
seemed above the average young man"
'Of course!"
we were friendly-Very friendly. The
ancient laws of friendship forbid my in
sisting upon his getting up early and
having pot shots at me- / cannot do it
It may be weakness-but I cannot do it,
On Kitty. that you should have come be-
| tween u.s."
so you know him. How delightful! We
can have no end of jolly time. we three
| you know"
Kitty. this is cruel"
what is cruel?"
You are simply casting my age In my
teeth. Because your father and l were at
Harrow together you think me a Methu-
| selah, and actually want me to play
| propriety to my rival> AS fact, Jack
your father-must be at least six months
older than l."
MY dear Diogenes, you are quite juve-
nile"
IF I am forty"
| Nearly" parenthetically
We'll, nearly forty, and my hair is
growing a little thin, have heart"
No! Really?" incredulously.
Yes, somewhere-I don't know where
exactly-and 1 feel this very strongly.
| Why. l have loved you since you we're
| four"
Yes and used to bring me chocolates
You never bring me chocolates now"
No. they have a nasty habit of melt
ing and getting mixed with the frilled pa
| per- | paused. us there no hope for
me?' I asked patheticalIy.
NO, Diogenes none
well, | must bear il. Other fellows
have had to bear that sort of thing What
time do you dine?"
Kitty laughed. Ever since she was six,
and knew the difference between boys
and girls, we had played at flirting 1t
has occurred to me since that outsiders
might have taken it seriously, for, after
all, L was little more than twenty years
older than she. and that is not so very
dlsproportionate nowadays. 1t was
more in our own temperaments that the
disparity was obvious. l was a confirmed
bachelor and cyncal-which is rather a
nice way of saying Selhsh-and she-well
she was very much like an honest Eng
lish-grown fairy, with a strong will and
love of admiration. So we went on
making mock love, and beneath all the
unreal sentimentality was a very real
affection.
So Kitty laughed at the mundane finish
to my sentimental pathos
mot until half-past eight Are you hun
gry?''
Hungry? How can you ask me that
now?"
why did you ask me when we dined %
so that might know when l should see
you in the arms of my favored rival-that
is--neXt his heart consuming SOUP"
Il did not say there was a favored rival -
you rejected me, you crushed this
something or other-I am not good at quo
tations-heart, you spurned my-you
known
Yes, but surely you have become used
to it, Diogenes?"
There always has been a favored rival
hitherto?
Mo- very emphatcally.
"Yesr' l went on modify. There was
Tom Harris-he was the first, wasn't he? p
fair hair, weak eyes, and cultured taste
in Coffee
"Oh, if you are going through the whole
list, you might as well change places with
Jamesr
Honestly, Kitty, which is it-sir George
or Bridson?'
Il don't know. 1t is very perplexing, they
are so evenly balanced. Sir George is very
handsome, and his moustache is really ex-
cellent. l think moustache such an i'm
provement to a face, don't your
Certainly not" | answered stoutly. Be-
ing a barrster L was clean-shaven. as is
the custom of my kind. 1T is useful in
the case of a badly cut mouth. that is ALL"
"Of course Mr.. Bridson is clean-shaven.
He is not handsome, strictly speaking he
has sunny, strong FACET think 1 rather
like It, ii makes me think OF blacksmiths
and saiors-but / am afraid it is too
rough, you know, for beauty"
"Bridson is much admired as a rule"
Eyes, he is an actor. One section of the
community always admires actors without
respect to faces"
You have not finished your analysis"
mo gazing steadily between the near
bays ears, Sir George is very rich and
Bridson isn't, but that hardly counts.
Then Sir George is very attentive and
pays compliments in such a delightful
manner, as though he meant them. which
is so comforting. Men should cultivate
the art of paying compliments-the mod
ern habit of treating us as though we
were rational beings is so absurd.
80 absurd echoed softly.
That's because you are jealous, Do
genes" she said, severely. well, Brid-
son is not attentive. he smokes when he
should be dancing with me, he visits the
stables when j want to play billiards, and
studies his parts when l am in the music
room"
"Yes, he is in the running"
"Yes-its about level. l think. / like
Bridson best in the morning and Sir
George in the evening. l think I shall
have to accept them both, and trust to
Providence to rid me of one Of them
cor both" l added darkly.
"Oh both" cheerfully. "Ah, here we
arep' as she ratified the pair up to the
heavily frowning doorway of the substan-
TALLY built house. and drew up with a