Frostburg mining journal., 1899-12-16
TWO FLATS IND :.
| IN ACCIDENTAL.
How a Lover BROUGHT a Dallying
Girl to the Point.

The suggestion that brought it all
about came from me, believe
Suggestions of any sort usually came
from me rather than Margery for |
Of stapch New England ancestry. who
had burned witches and fought Indians
and later pursued a relentless traffic in
wooden nutmegs with the same high
courage and fine disregard of conse-
quences, while Margery is of Dutch de
scent and inclined to be cautious, if not
a bit pig headed, as often told her
But no oEe could help loving her, in
spite of her little touch Of Dutch OBJ
stinacy. least of all myself for of all
the provoking 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-thHt is, anything
but the way she treated Jack Be&sley
The dance she led that poor fellow
was something to move even a bearded
Turk to pity For whole year she had
kept him dangling after her as abjectly
as dancing doll at the end of IL string,
and yet, as far as we could see, he had
made no progress whatever in her way
ward affections
We had been talking things over,
Jack, Ned and |, in Margery's absence
Il never dared mention Jack to Mar
gerry for fear of still further exciting
that famous obstinacy Of hers) and
even Ned. the most hopeful of mortals,
had had to admit Jack $ chances locked
blue. Ned, be it known, was the daring
youth who had undertaken to guide my
New England enterprise and other vir
tues (tOo numerous to mentiOn) through
life's pilgrimage
lie and Jack were partners in a law
office and occupied the fiat on the top
floor, where they INDUCED in certain
mysterious rites they called light house
keeping, while Margery and taught
music and Delsarte and practced the
modest virtues of hospitality in the flat
below
Nothing, therefore, coud have been
more fit, suitable and otherwise to be
desired than to have MaTgery and Jack
fall in love with each other, even as
Ned and had done Jack was willing
enough, poor boy, bnt Margery baked
1t was too provoking.
As said before, we three had been
talking it over the day before while
Margery was absent teaching the luck
less children Of rich soap manufac-
turer to play Wagner on the piano and
had all agreed that the situation locked
hopeless.
Jack had been in the depths of de-
spair because the tenor of the choir for
which Margery played the organ had
called three times that week, and,
though | didn't believe she cared a pin
for the tenor, had never known naugh
ty Margery to appear more willfully re-
gardless of Jacks feelings
We had parted, therefore. gloOmily
enough, after fruitless conference,
and had relieved my mind by being
especially cross to Margcry 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 ! got
tired of being cross all by myself and
proposed that we should shampoo cur
hair and dry it on the parlor radiator,
the only one in the fiat large enough for
the purpose OF course Margery object
ed Visitors might come, she said, and
then who would let them inY | secuted
the idea Of visitors on such day un-
less. observed with sarcasm. she was
expecting the tenor again
She didn't notice this stab, so pro
oeeded to say that as the radiator was
in the corner we could pull our big Jap
anese screen up in front Of it and. Sc
cure in our hiding place. let our entire
visiting acquaintance. including mes
senger boys and duns. knock at the
door till they got tired and then de,
part blissfully unaware of our proxim-
ity
Accordingly it WASH long before we
were snugly enscOnced on pile of sofa
pillows on the parlor floor wrapped in
our bathrobes and with our wet locks
streaming out behind us across the ra-
diatOr. over which we had stretched
steamer rug We were armed with
novel apiece, but soon got to talking
girl fashion and were deep in a discus
sion of Amos Judd when there came
loud knock at the door
Great Scottr exclaimed in a
stage whisper. the rosy advantages of
my plan suddenly fading in the cold
light of reality
''There, ! told You sol cried Mar,
gerry ungeuerously, sitting up abruptly
so that her hair fell all about her in
great shining coppery shower
"Sh-shut up | whispered, reach
ing ont with an agitated stockinged toe
for the bedroom slipper | had carelessly
kicked off moment before
Again the knock came. this time
more imperative
"What. in heavens name. shall we
doH" gasped Margery
keep still. | said sotto vcce
Then the door handle turned. and we
heard Ned's voice saying There's no.