Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1900-01-12
THE MIND OF A MAID
cHARACTERs

CHARACTERS.
Margot Carpenter .....A young lady
Reginald Oldercheek ..............
........ A young gentlemen
Grimes ...............t.... a tramp
seene-Margots houdoir, afterwards
Woodchester High Road, and after
wards Margot's bedroom.
1.
Margot had no very particular reason
for refusing the young gentleman who
was so desirous of being her Reggie.
Yet had she spoken that fatal mono
syllable which has struck cold to the
hearts of suitors since the days Of the
stone age.
Margot looked at her rings, and her
face assumed an expression that was
meant to represent compassionate
negative The shake Of her head was
Intended to Imply sympathy with Mr..
Oldereheck's feelings; the tap Of her
little foot gave him to understand that
no amount of imploring on his part
would affect her decision 1t was not
her first refusal. Already she had said
fat one of 40 nay; already she had
turned her heel on the obese man'e
thousands, his dog-cart his high-step-
ping horse, and his unlimited expecta-
tions So, In a manner she was an
experienced maiden, and so when Reg
nald proposed to her she did not hut-
er and blush to any great extent, al
hough she did flutter and blush a
title.
Reginald Oldereheek was not wise to
propose at 1890 in the morning. l do
not intend to discuss the hour at which
1 man may most prudently suggest
matrimony to the lady of his choice;
I will limit myself to the statement
that 80 a. m. is certainly not that
hour
With considerable trepidation, clean
ly shaved, irreproaehably clad, but, as
regards his inner man, very vacant
(for he had eaten no breskfast) Mr..
Oldercheck was shown into the draw
ing-room, where, being too nervous to
sit down, he toured the apartment, gaz-
ing at the pictures (but not taking
in their merits to any appreeiable ex-
tent and looking out of the windows
without observing anything there
FROM, until indications of Miss Car
penter's approach fell on his ear. For
Mai got collected new three-penny bits
bearing interesting initials, and wore
them on a silver bangle, and these in
lnNh JAh6Ah6 bNICAoAAg hOA aA0Nu AOA
advent.
When she entered looking, as Regi-
nald could not fail to observe, very
fresh and nice, Mr.. Oldercheck, scorn-
ing PREDATORY remarks relating to moth
ing, intimated that he. would like to
marry her. He said it stammerlngly,
working a button off his waistcoat in
his agitation, and then started intently
1t cameo near by.
81 am very sorry" began Margot.
Yes" said Reginald, II know I've
no chance. l know you don't-per-
haps in time"
This was an indiscreet interruption
on Reginald's part, for it made Mar
| got's task the easier.
"Yes, perhaps in time" she returned,
| playing with the bangle, .'but-but not
now"
do you like me?" demanded Regi-
nald, letting his eyes steal up her form
until they reached her neck, but not
| daring to look her in the face.
'Oh, yes-I like you," she replied
in a tone that Reginald didn't at all
| relish, but nothing more-at present.
Thank you," said Reginald. "Er-
good-byl"
"Good-by, Mr.. Oldercheck"
And SO Reginald went out into the
morning breeze, feeling that at any
rate he had broken the ice.
Six months passed away. During
that period Mr.. Oldercheck proposed
five more times to Miss Carpenter, but
to quote a common phrase, to no avail
for on each occasion he suffered what
amounted to rejection. Miss Carpen-
ter did not summarily say mo" AS
Reginald put it to a friend:
She seem to play about with O
chap-doesn't send me clean away, and
yet won't have me. / can't make hei
out, old man"
"Ahl" responded the old man, a sage
youth of something under twenty, "wol
men are queer cattle"
The fact was that while she was de
oidedly partial TO Reginald's society
Margot (although she tried hard, ever
so hard) couldn't bring herself to fee
ny particular longing for that society
s fixture rather than as a movable
Tor that, after all, is what marriage
1eans. Men who make extremely
ce movables often fail altogether al
xtures.
So Margot dilly-dallied with Regi
aid, and Reginald had not sense
nough to demand a plain reply. Had
le done so. there is little reason tC
suppose tnat 1t would have been Other
han another hesitating negative.
II.
Miss Carpenter generally went ridinf
\ that dreadful ihyention of moderr