The Advocate and news., 1898-12-07
BY MABLE DIccs.

proach. She told herself that hers was
a legitimate longing for healthy recFea-
tiOn.
"And that's all can get out of my BIZ
cycle. Duty and pleasure can't both ride
It. It isn't tandem" She laughed, but
she found herself making mental notes
to this effect: when / have my space
annihilator l must go often to see Mrs
Jarvis. Poor, lonely old soul! The mere
sight OF friendly faces, and an Opportu-
nifty to talk, Is a pleasure to her. / must
be Obliging about home errands. And oh,
the boys! am afraid their rides to races
and games are too frequent, and they
stop for refreshments where beer, II not
stronger drinks, circulates freely. be-
IleVe they would give up such excursions
IL we girls would enter more into their
plans for innocent fun. And those Sun
day rides. Surely, tact and principle are
strong enough to put them down"
She planned so many pleasant excur-
slons and bicycle picnlcs that the boys
grew almost as impatient as she for her
to enter into possession Of her wheel
And then-well, of course, you foresaW
that disappointment was to come, and
come 1t did. 1t was Adelaide's own hand
which pulled 1t down on her head.
When Mr.. Brownson came in evening
after evening with papers to work over
till bedtime, his wife demonstrated.
"Well, don't feel quite up to the mark
Of day work and night work, too," he
confessed. But business Is very slack
lately, and | told Allen & Co. l would
post their books. Money must come
especially when there are bicycles in the
wind, Ell! daughter?"
"Oh! don't do extra work on my aC-
count, father, said Adelaide, not very
heartily, however. After all, 1t was only
a few weeks extra work for her father,
and she did so want a wheel.
But the next night his tired face smote
her to the heart, and she drew the books
from him with, "Allen G. Co. will have to
find some one else to post their books
/ will not see my dear little daddy kill
himself over such work, not for all the
bicycles in the country. Some other
time-some other way-but not this"
Mr.. BrownsOn was too worn out to re-
sist and It was with sigh Of relief that
he dropped back in his easy chair. An
afternoon or two later Adelaide was on
the veranda when her father came In,
meeting DR.. Sanders at the gate.
"Ah, Brownson, glad to see you with
out chose papers. You couldn't have
stood much more of that night work,
not much more. There would have come
breakdown-a serious breakdown,
fear"
And so the bicycule money was not
earned.
For awhile Adelaide cherished a Sc
Cret hope that somehow her father would
manage 1t. But as she saw the ec0nO-
mics necessary by hard times her hope
failed and she sOrrowfully announced
that she wasn't to have bicycle, and so
was TO be counted out Of all the plans
made.
"Then they'll just fall through, that's
ALL" asserted VIII Page, positively. mot
another girl In our set has go enough to
start and carry things through as you do.
We boys will just have to keep up the
baseball and horse race racket. Sunday
riding? OF course, wen not stop It,"
Then Adelaide set herself a hard task.
1t was that Of deliberately and system
atiCally urging on bicycle plcnics and
pleasure excursions, in which she had no
part except the Onerous one Of helping
about luncheons and planning routes.
And so the weeks went by.
Her birthday came, and her last hope
faded when her father gAve her little
trtnket, with the hope that next year he
could afford the bicycle. Next year! And
1t was this year, aud her companions
were mounted on their hreless steeds!
Perhaps Aunt Adelaide win give you