The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-07-31

story a love story insipldly sentiment
tai, a nat account Of the most hare
faced anectlon between two young pec-
Die of opposite sexes-an affecti6n un-
relieved by the slightest cOqhetTy. un-
disturbed by any parental interference
and undiSmayed BY the evident fact
that marriage win not be potable to.
either OF the pair for years 70 come.
1t Is an unusual case in that way, but
Miss Margaret is an unusual young
lady, especially In AFFAIRS OF the heart.
She is plumply positive In her likes and
dIslikes, and she expresses either al
ways unreservedly. She has been known
to receive q young man With q cold
ness which he demanded should be eH-
planned And she explained L. simply
with: II don't like your face" In her
mothers presence once she walked over
to visitor Who had not been introduced
to her and sat herself frankly on his
knee, smiling the most open admlra-
ton. When she was asked TO explain
her action she replied, Hes nice"
Her meeting with Master Berthe was
OF piece with that. He was visiting
with her next-d0or neighbor for the
summer months, and he came out on
the lawn one fateful morning with q
sugar stick and book OF pictures
when Miss Margaret and her doll were
watching the gardener cut the grass.
He also watched the gardener, till Miss
Margaret, having decided that he was
mice" condescended to relieve his evil
dent curiosity.
He is cutting the! grass" she ex-
al ka, kluI
all cut he waters II and makes II grow
again. so that he can cut 1t again"
Master BERTHE looked at the gardener
with new wonder. Then he looked at
Miss Margaret. She returned his gaze
demurely. It was "love at first sight"
Within five minutes they were sitting
on the veranda steps, with3 helr heads
together over the picture, hook, each
nibbllng share OF the sugdt-s stick. And
Miss Margaret's piece was the larger.
as was proper. Between bites he ex-
planned the pictures, referring occa-
slola.ly to the printed documentary
when his memory was at fault.
II must be understood that Master
Berthe was a dollhouse plant He had
never seen his bare feet plhBtered with
healthy mud, and he had been taught
that the whole duty OF elboy was to
keep his pretty clothes carefully I'M
spotted. Fate had denied him u broth
er and his parents had denied him a
playmate among his nGtghbors. But
Master BERTHE. being solitary, had dis
covered the consolation OF solitude. his
Imagination; and 1t was this astonlSh-
ing faculty that won the. first admira-
ton OF Miss Margaret. -
She discovered that heeknew more
about the stories in the picture book
than the author Of thet When there
was castle In the background OF an
Illustration he could w exactly In
what room OF 1t the princess was I'M
INJURED. He could picture, the ogre, who
was her jaller. to theovery wart on
the knob end Of his n6sei and be de-
scribed every article of the gold and
silver furnishings Of ttepalace with n
realistic detail that nude Miss Mar
garet see the ordinary furniture OF her
own apartment changed TO silver ILL
gree and cloth Of gold.
She was captivated She did not hide
the fact and her expressed enthusiasm
opened the ilOodgates OF his confidence.
Before the book was finished they had
attained to such friendship that she
allowed him to wipe his .stlcky fingers
on her handkerchief. ''Yqtf have forgot
ten yours" she said. ~
Boys never have them" The e%-
planned.
She thought the matter over. She
said: You can always borrow mine"
Thnt was so dellcatelys put that his
masculine obtuseness quite overlooked
its meaning. II was Miss Margaret's
surrender. -
1t would be tedious to follow the
course OF their companionBhlp through
the two months which Succeeded their
meeting Miss Margaret deserted the
rough youngsters with which she had
romped heretofore for the more congo
Mai company OF her neY friend. She
learned to storm block forts with bat
tallons OF OF colOred napbl6a that were
at one moment cavalry and the next
cannon balls TO make siege guns OF the
pithy elderberTy bush andSt0 lay out
national cemetery for Ieaden soldiers
with dOmlnoes for grave stones. When
she was promoted 10 the game OF I'M
prlsoned princess she had ALREADY be-
come more than passivstpupll, and
she dictated the behaYoTe5ef the regal
prisoner with more coquetry than the
manipulation Of the prince could under
stand. They came near 10 quarrel
at the fourth repetition Of-that make
believe, when she inslstedH that the
prince should die OF his tFoands after
he had killed ten dragons and an ogre,
and leave the princess to weep out her
youth beside his tomb. MaSter Berthe
could see no fun In that,1a Her con-
tempt was CALLING. They compromised
by ngreeihg to give the quest an un-
happy ending every third time they
played 1t, and Master Berthe even con-
scented to the substitution OF q present
able princess. a china doll, for the
faded Noah's wife. shaped like a
Clothespln, whom he had uHed hereto
fore as the imprisoned beauty
Their friendship ripcned Elth the
constant intimacy OF these sRaJncs till
Master Berthe distinguished himself by
climbing UP the posts OF side yeranda
to can "Good morning" through the
window to his lady before she had
arisen; and Miss Margaret at dinner
Refused to eat stewed corn. dish OF
which she was rnvenously fond, be-
cause he had told her that II had made
him III, When the miserable day came
for his departure she gave him the
choicest Of her handkerchlefs worked
with her monogram In pale blue silk,
u picture OF herself In her winter furs.
and the promise that she would write
to him every day He gave her-no-
body but themselves knows what. And
her mother stlll wonders why Miss
Margaret turns her left cheek always
10 the bedtime kisses.
Win ms departure HtT NTuuDleH ue-
gan He had mt had a photograph to
leave behind him. He promised faith
fully TO send one in his earliest letter.
He discovered. on searching through his
home, that he had not n picture OF
himself alone In the family group he
figured Inconspleuously. But sometime
in the early summer he had gone 20 a
school picnic with the members Of his
class, and he stood notably In the front
rank ~ the thirty-four young people
who had been photographed on that eH-