The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-07-13
TWO FLATS AND
AN ACCIDENTAL
BY Edgar Temple Field.
SNS az SaSalSa lS M IN az M M a
THE suggestion that brought it all
about came from me, i believe.

about came from me, L believe.
Suggestions of any sort usually came
from me rather than Nargery, for
have in my veins the adventurous blood
of stanch New England ancestry, who
had burned witches and fought Indians
and later pursued relentless traffic in
wooden nutmcgs with the same high
courage and fine disregard of conse-
quences.
While Margery is of Dutch descent
and inclined to be cautious, if not bit
pig-headed, as | often told her.
But no one could help loving her, in
spite of her little Dutch obstinacy,
least of all myself, for of all the provok-
ing little women that were ever created
for the express purpose of charming
and tormenting their fellow men
Margery was the most deliciously DEAR
and loved her so well could forgive
her anything. That is, anything but
the way she treated Jack Beasley.
The dance she led that poor fellow
was something to move even bearded
Turk to pity. For a whole year she had
kept him dangling after her as abjectly
as a dancing doll at the end of a string,
and yet, as far as we could see. he had
made no progress whatever in her affec-
tons.
We had been talking things over,
Jack, Ned and /, in Margery's absence
II never dared mention Jack to
Margery. for fear of still further ex-
citing that famous obstinacy of hers),
al 3lo ,,,nSt hpnpfnl pf
tails, had to admit Jacks chances
looked blue Ned, be it known, was the
daring youth who had undertaken to
guide my New England enterprise and
other virtues (too numerous TO men
tom through lifes pilgrimage.
He and Jack were partners in law
office, and occupied the fat on the top
floor, where they INDUCED in certain
mysterious rites they called light
housekeeping, while Margery and 1
taught music and Delsarte and prac-
ticed the modest virtues of hospitality
i'm the fat below.
Nothing, therefore, could have been
more fit, suitable and otherwise to be
desired than to have Margery and Jack
fall in love with each other, even as Ned
and ! had done. Jack was willing
enough, poor boy, but Margery baked.
1t was too provoking.
As l said before, we three had been
talking it over the day before while
Nargery was absent teaching the luck
less children OF rich soap manufacture
er TO play Wagner on the piano, and all
agreed that the situation looked hope
dess
Jack had been in the depths of de-
spair because the tenor of the choir for
which Nargery played an organ had
called three times that week, and,
though | didn't believe she cared pin
for the tenor. l had never known
naughty Margery to appear more will
fully regardless of Jacks feelings.
We had parted, therefore, gloomily
enough, after a fruitless conference,
and l had relieved my mind by being
especially. cross to Margery all day,
though / must own she didn't seem to
mind much.
1t was an awful day, raining cats and
dogs. and IN the afternoon l got tired
OF being cross all to myself, and pro-
posed that we should shampoo our hair
and dry it on the parlor radiator, the
only one in the fiat large enough for
the purpose. OF course, Margery OBJ
jected. Visitors might come, she said,
and then who would let them in? L
secuted the idea of visitors on such
day, unless, l observed, with sarcasm,
shc was expecting the tenor again.
She didn't notice this stab, SO | pro-
-ceeded 10 say that as the radiator was
in the corner we could pull our big
japanese screen up in front of it, and
secure in our hiding place, let our en-
tre visiting acquaintance, including
messenger boys and duns, knock at the
door till they got tired and then depart,
blissfu.ly unaware of our proximity,
Accordingly it wasn't long before we
were snugly ensconced on pile of sofa
pillows on the parlor floor, wrapped in
our bath robes and with our wet locks
streaming cut behind us across the radi-
etor, over which we had stretched q