Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1898-01-21

ting the question, and so setting my
fate one way or the other, here he
must come and upset everything with
his COMPOUNDED Our dance, Miss Bel
linger, believed Deuce take the
man and his dance, toow
My gaze followed the pair as they
passed between the double row of
palms toward the ballroom. For q
moment the music swelled higher, and
mingling with it in my ears came the
silvery ripple of Joan's laughter. Con-
fusion seize the clown!-he seemed to
have the knack of amusing her, if
nothing else. Then the door of the
conservatory swung to behind them.
rose from the settee, frowned with
eringly at a big hydrangea bloom and
thought things not TO be found in the
category of polite proverbs. From
this genial mood was reused by the
frou-frou of a woman's dress and q
tripping football which caused me to
glance round quickly, half-expectant-
ly. But it was merely my sister Ber-
tina.
'What's amiss, Tom?' asked she
merrily. "You don't look extrava-
gantly amiable tonight"
Don't /, indeed? Well. I feel
even less cheerful than look"
"You couldn't, Tom, DEAR" Bertha
protested, fippantly. "Come, now,
what is it? Anxiety about Aunt james
health?"
ooh, hang Aunt Janet"
"Tom-Tom!" and Bertha's hands
went up in simulated horror. "Your
own blood relation, too. How utterly
depraved of you p
AS matter Of confession I never
could bring myself to due state of
honest sympathy where Aunt James
neurotic ailments were concerned.
True, they were the only only relax
ations the poor old soul allowed her
self, but then she ever and inexorably
worked them for all they were worth.
Among other instances, whenever she
felt one of her attacks" coming on,
nothing would do but that she must
have her favorite niece to wait upon her,
hand and foot, from morning till
night. II was precious hard lines on
Bertha, maybe; yet it is the penalty a
girl has to pay for being gentler
nurse than sister.
"Not Aunt janet Bertha went ON,
after pause. "Then it must be
Joan. That was she l saw just now
with Captain Moston, wasn't it /?
Have you and she been falling out or
what?"
"Quite the contrary. We were
getting on famously together until
that conceited jackanapes thrust him
self forward and carried her Off.
"Why, what can you complain of in
that? l suppose he simply claimed
the waltz she had promised him.
What are parties and dances for?'
"The only rational use of them is to
keep people out of the way of those
who don't want to dance. Otherwise,
they're nothing but stupid circuses,in
my opinion,
"Tom, you're grumpy bear "A
downright morose, irritable, surly, rude
person!--and I'm sorry uncle ever in
vited you down here at all. You've
scarcely been - hours in the house
yet, and already you show temper
---that-that - There, Joan must
be an angel to have tolerated you for
five minutes
/ did n. feel called upon to find
fault with the classification. Ny
quarrel was not with Miss Bellinger-
nor yet with Bertha.
"Well," said l, quickly, "this
swash-huckler fellow - this army
bounder-who is he, anyway"
"Captain Moston is nothing more
than gentleman" retorted Bertha.
with what she considered an air of
delicate irony. "He isn't one of your
sort at all, Tom"
whoever he may be, he needs
lesson in manners" l rejoined hotly.
"The way in which he has been hang
ing round Miss Bellinger ever since
I've been here is absolutely insutier-
able. OF course You haven't noticed
it; you've been upstairs with Aunt
Jane all the time. But | have, aud
by Jove! there'l be ructions soon if
-"
''Oh, now begin to understand,
interposed my sister, amusedly.
"That's how the wind blows, is it?
You're jealous, Tom. Gracious me,
it's clear you don't know Captain Mos
ton since you wonder at that. Just
wait until you see him flirting with
me. You forge you haven't had an
opportunity of witnessing that yet"
81 don't care twouence whom he
firts with, so long as it isn't Miss BEL
linger," replied |. "Besides, it isn't
firta her. No man has Il right to
mo plize any girl rs he does, unless
he sal gusly thinks about-means to
to"
"And how do you know Captain