La Junta tribune., 1899-08-05

| she sadly inspected her letter OF credit
and followed II by sum In subtrac-
tion. The result was iisastsoua. for the
colleen fell by the wayside. and the
| prize article was uatoucheA HN
In our little dining room that night
the cuckoo clock had piped ont II calls
before pens were thrown down and the
tall one and the ,chaperon sought us to
| read their stories. Just then the Har.
ward mans ring at our door was also
heard as he. too. entered. dozen sheets
duttering in his hand. aa
II tell you that catacomb story prize
is mine, just Ms il l already had 1t. he
whispered to me.
Meekly and in subdued Christian
spirit snt there-yes. eat and listen
ed TO every word.
When all had finished. there was a 81
lence such as precedes a cyclone. and
then l heard:
.'You took began the chaperon.
my Thought continued the tall
one.
about life and death. :" finished the
Harvard man. l
But the colleen. whoee article still
reposed in her notebook Impressions.
cried ont in husky tones:
''Since each of Your three sneaky ar
ticles embodies every idea of mine
therer' And the meaty notebook was
hurled to the floor.
The scribes were hardly on speaking
terms after this. The Harvard man
passed No. II every day with girl
who was known to make cross for her
name. ''Im very tired of female writ
ers, J." he was heard to say.
In the pretty apartment in the Rue
de Chnillot the frost, though slight. was
none the less enduring. for. true to the
Inconsistency Of the female mind. they
all turned upon me and one morning
addressed me thus 4
II could have forgiven You any
thing" all began in one breath.
"but''--
.'But whntr' asked. outwardly
calm.
"But giving away that great Thought
upon the littleness. the nothingness. Of
life, said the chaperon. bristling.
'"Thp certainly"- began the tall
one.
''Was minel" they cried in choruA
l no longer wore the Harvard mans
fraternity pin. which In tender mo-
ment he had loaned me- To and from
my French lesson walked alone. and
in the pretty apartment. No II. the
Harvard man 9 step and ring were heard
no more. go
It was one month later walked
briskly along the brilliant avenue.
watching the beautiful horses. with
their silken coats, and the chic
Frenchwomen. clad in gowns to make
a MN covetous The sound Of familiar
voices made me turn my eyes toward
the footpath. and with start saw ap-
proaching me my three compnnions-
and the Harvard man. They were en-
joying some huge joke immensely.
while the tall one was pointing to
something in newspaper. When they
saw me. they hurried over. and j could
see the soulful glance my erstwhile Har-
vari friend cast upon me az he sp-
proached
"Have you seen itf" asked the chap
eron.
''Scen what2'
1.-THE catacomb prize has been award
ed to an American. and-and-oh. you
tell her to the tall one. ff E
.'Well. it's inst this-it seems that
oh. read 1t yourselfr' cried the col
leen. I'm fairly ashamed to own mp
having been so silly.
They handed me the paper. and amid
a dead silence read every word Of the
article. As did so many familiar
friends greeted my eye namely. 1.-THE
nothingness. absolute pettiness. Of life
in the presence Of the great ruler, " and
so forth. and so on "Pluto's domain"
was also touched upon. and mention
was also made Of some "grinning
skulls. though to be honest the writer
endowed these latter with teeth.
"To think we misjudged her sol" !
heard them murmur as read on in
tently. feeling thrill Of vindication
sweep through me. But. alas. it was
short lived for when read the name
signed to the story-the name OF the
winner Of that much desired prize-my
satisfaction ooxed from my soul and left
me pnllid and heartsick.
''All the waters in the Eve oceans
| won't wash me clean In their eyes when
| they discover. muttered as handed
back the paper.
We've all been very silly. - said the
cnaperon cheerlly. "Dut after THIS we II
say no more about IL This Is only an
other instance VI great minds running
In the same direction Now for brisk
walk home
For q moment felt saved from ex-
posure. but at the next query I again
grew numb.
"Wonder who tho winner isf" was
the colleen's idle remark. ES 9
| ':Leonard Lanei Never heard Of
himY' said the Harvard man briskly.
a. if that settled the question Of his re-