The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-12-11
WITS CHRISTMAS DIFFICULTY.
ny ELAINE cARrwRIoHT.

Lila sprague seemed to blow In at the
door with gust of wind and drift of
snow. and. as the door was hastily shut
behind her in the teeth of these unwel-
come companions. she asked the servant
girl where's mamma?'
up stairs, writing, I believe, Miss Lila
Then, having kicked a pair of snow-en-
crusted overshoes into corner of the hall,
Miss Lila ran upstairs in a hurry, while
the servant girl stared after her.
"See here, mother said Lila, whirling
into her mothers room, tits all over now
What, dear?' Mrs. Sprague asked look
ing up absently from letter she was writ
ing.
Its all over-I say, it's all over between
Randolph-oh, what a foo-foo-fool I've
beenl' And she flung herself. sobbing, on
big horsehair sofa.
But why, Lilla?''
Don't ask me like that, mother. DON'T
sec-sec-second time. Oh!' More sobs.
IT don't understand you, daughter said
her mother, leaving her batch of Christ
mas correspondence and going to carry
comfort to the tragic figure on the horse
hair sofa..
He's done 1t again. Lila moaned
"But done what, dear?"
1.-THE same as he did before"
"What did he do before?''
Mother, I told you, day before yester-
day-ran away from me. He thought l
didn't see him.
"Mr. Watts ran away from your
Eyes, mother, and I'll never speak to
him again. Day before yesterday he at
least had the politeness to bcI. This
time he just turned and went down side
street. He was with that trump of a
cousin. l just hate her. and h m, and
the whole lot
Now, my dear Lila" said Mrs. Sprague,
''you are making yourself unreasonably VI
client. Mr.. Watts certainly never meant
to run away from you like
''Then suppose his legs just carried MIN,
mamma He couldn't help himself, like
the man with the cork leg in the song
Don't be foolish, child. Mr. Watts Will
be here to explain it all. You'll see
In answer to this Lila only rose from the
sofa, grimly took off her wraps and nat,
muttering, Yes, I'll see," and disappeared
through the door which led to her own
ROOM
Mrs. Sprague did not follow her daughter
with any further attempts at consolation,
neither did she guess what Lila was going
to do, and that was, to write note:
Dear Sir:-In case you may wish to
make any explanation of your very strange
conduct on two occasions this week, l wish
you to spare yourself the trouble OF doing
any such thing, either personally or IN
writing I refuse to receive you or your
! letters. Your ring shall be returned by
| mail, registered.
LILA SPRAGUE."
| Then she folded and sealed the note, and
| ran downstairs with 1t, and told the servant
| girl to call in the boy who made himself
| generally useful about the back premises.
| And the generally useful boy was given the
| note-to carry to, r.-Watts, without delay,
| which he did, neglecting number of i'm
| portant duties in connection with Lila S
mothers kitchen and Lilla's fathers bug
gy.
| and wept bitterly and vehemently for half
| an hour after which she fell asleep.
| But the little note.
| Well, it is not to the purpose to dllate
| here upon the terrible effect which little
| note written by a girl can produce 1t may
| be compared to one of those smooth pol
| ishcd projectiles which modern science
| forms for killing, and which can work
| more havoc than a dozen of the rough, dull,
| old-fashioned slugs of past generations.
That little projectile which Lila fired
| at her fiance by means of the generally use
full boy very nearly ended the life of Ran
dolph Watts; at least so Watts said. He
| could not think or he might have seen an
easy way out of the horrible maze into
| which he had got himself. His transgres-
| sion stared him in the face. He had run
| away from Lila-twice-and had even COIL
graduated himself on his escape from her