Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1900-02-20
*sEIOW!''

There are number of ways in which
YOU can test a woman's beauty and prove
that it is vain. You can see her after she
has danced until dawn and drives home
in the cold, blue light. You can drop in
upon her when her negligee is such in real
ity and not a matter of rutfies and lace.
You can see her rise dripping from the
surf, no daughter of foam and fire, but
Il creature Of dank locks and purple lips.
Or yon can look at her after she has gone
twice round the links in the blazing sun
and dust-fraught wind. All these are
likely to convince you of the deceitfuiness
of beauty. But some women are so fair
as to bear each and all of these tests.
Yet if you were to put them in smoky,
close sleeping car. anywhere between,
say, Tucson and Yuma, at the middle OF
an August day, they might then become,
rs every one else, so ugly that 1t would
increase your uglinesS and bad temper to
be forced to look at them. When 2 WONT
IN under these last conditions Is still
pleasant to contemplate you may set 1t
down that her charms are real and en-
during.
Harrington did so in the case of the
girl in Section . He was in Section
himself, and her back was turned to him;
but she faced the beveled mirror, so con-
siderately built in the end of the car, and
he sat so that he could watch her reflect
ed in it. Besides which he could see her
back hair, which was brown and looked
soft, and which escaped in wlsps that
curled up tighter and tighter as the day
grew hotter and hotter. Harrington
thought about a French novel he had
once read, whose heroine had "bOucles
folles qui frissaient autour de sa nuque.
He had always liked that idea, but had
never seen it realized until now.
There were only four people in the
Pu1lman-a man and a woman who were
not interesting. Harrington and the girl.
Harrington entered the train at Ell PaSo
The girl was there already. The only
mark on her traps was silver tag
strapped to her satchel, and Harrington
had not been able to get within reading
distance Of it. He had tried hard
enough Neither had he been able to
screw up his courage to the point of
questioning the conductor He did not
believe in discussing women with the
first conner So he put his feet up on
the opposite seat and leaned back and
watched the boucles folles, and noted how
prettily her skin flushed. and what a nice
shadow her lashes made on her cheeks.
Life would have been far pleasanter
thing if he could have talked to her.
was so monotonous. That, Of course. is
putting it very much more mildly than
Harrington did ben Bolt began to
run in his head, which is bad enough
IN itself, but when it times itself to the
te-rumpety-rump. te-rumpety-rump OF the
wheels. is enough TO drive a sober man
to drink. The only reason Harrington
did not drink now was because he had al
ready had one bottle of beer, and he was
afraid of the opinion of the girl. Be
sides, it flushed his face. And trem-
bled with tears at
your froWn the
wheels were turning more slowly. There
was that ugly hush of uncertainty, of in
terruptiOn N the natural sequence Of
things that falls when a train slows
down in the midst of the prairie. The
sensation Of dying must be rather like
it. The train stopped and the airbrake
Kissed. Then all was a silence that let
you hear the blood running in your veins,
until there was the crunch Of footsteps on
the cinders beside the track.
Harrington put up his window and
looked out. A group of men STOPPING
about a wheel of the forward car,
and the ringing taps of a hammer upon
iron told the story. 1t was hot-box.
Harrington said, Damn it, and drew in
his head Pretty soon he got up and
put on his hat and loitered out. When
he had joined the group he glanced along
at his car The girl was leaning out of
her window. He felt that in a time of
emergency one should not handle a situa-
ton a Ia Somers or Peter Gray. He
put his hands in his pockets, which is
always the way you show that YOU are
just being casual and offhand and making
no particular point of it. and sauntered
back along the cinder bed until he stood
beneath her window. Then he raised his
hat and told her it was hot-box. She
said THANK you very much" and hoped
it would not delay them, and was very
sweet and civil about it, but it was borne
II upon him, for ali that, that it would
not be expected of him to continue the
conversation. And Peter takes the
north again; and Somers takes the
south, +" he murmured as he continued on
down to ask the conductor how long they
would have to stop, and lighted a CT ar-
cite. The conductor did not know.
Harrington had not supposed that he
would. But he went back into the train
+. thoroughly Disguised with everything
He flung himself into Section & with q
sigh that could be heard in Section 2.
prairie, so dull and dreary to those who
see it with dull and dreary eyes. The air
went in heat waves SO that the distance
seemed to culver, and the whole prospect
was vile. He sat up ard pressed the
electric button. The bell fairly pealed
zon. The girl started and looked away
from the window. Harrington told the
porter to bring lin some iced beer. The
girl was watching him in the mirror. 1t
was the first time she had paid the small
est attention to him. He caught her eye
and, perhaps she did not smile, but it
was not quite a stony stare either. He
felt encouraged. And that to the extent
of ordering another glass, filling it, and
taking it to Section 2. Might he Offer
She looked startled, but also uncertain.
Its awfully cold and nice
She reached out a hesitating hand and
flushed yet more pinkly at the reckless
brazeness Of it. She raised her glass and
Harrington raised his hat and said
How
Then both stopped with the cups at
their very lips. and there was an interval
of sound which her eyes filled with beau
tiful light
Why didn't you tell me?' she cried.
Are you'-he began.
''Yes Of course. My fathers Maj.
Hill. [ might have known you were, too,
if | had seen your academy button
You never took the trouble to look at
me-" Harrington suggested; I'm Har-
rington, of the Fourth. 1 came on from