The Opelousas courier., 1900-09-01

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and she Is; they had not Q each
other since he had turned 40, and she
had availed herself of her majority to
marry foolishly, SO their early rela-
tions, if familiar, were unromantic.
Thanks 10 the line of forbears wearing
in succession the wig Of iurisprudence,
he had been already bald and serious
when she had cast her child's glance
upon him; and now, a quarter century
later, her widows scrutiny found him
much the same, save that the frame
of his badness, like his moustache,
was gray, and the seriousness of his
face become gravity, almost sternness.
If he had changed not very greatly,
in the shadedlight of her own STRATEGY
cally planned drawing roo she
seemed to him to have aged not at
all. The girl was grown full woman.
and, indeed, a widow Of 40 cannot
properly affect righteousness; but her
weeds were rather becoming to her
beauty than %illuminative of her sor-
row.
They were alone, and would, inten-
tionally, remain alone; for the game OF
hide and seek of chastened hearts Is
not to be played in company.
"You are looking WE'LL" she OBJ
served. 'Better than when / saw you
last"
The occasion to which she referred
was her wedding breakfast, and GER
tainly the then captain Of foot was
not looking his bost that day.
"Thank you,"' said he, nodding
sti fly; '.I'm pretty fit. And you
you're as we'll as ever, I suppose?"
She smiled ut the awkward speech.
"you are rs ironical as ever, l per-
ceiye."
"Me ironical!" he blurted-''not I!
But I thought you seemed so we'll, and
/ remember you always seemed well.
We're you not always well?'
She had not intended herself to
open a Irritation with him, but this
temptation was irresistible.
She was silent, with fire cast eyes,
before she answered: "Yes, when you
knew me I was we'll" A little pause.
"5ince then I have not always felt so
very, very we'll" Another brieipause.
Then, as the eyes travelled gayly from
the fire to his face. to fall demurely on
his watch chain: 'But you see I am
quite myself again"
Colonel Jemmett was entranced;
wrinkles Of % years standing faded
from his countenance, and he tried TO
recall speeches imagined before the
wrinkles came; but the futility of the
phrases crushed him now, and he said,
with o very little emotion: so you
missed grandpapa, after all?"
"fUsed I to call you grandpapa?"
she asked; she really had forgotten it.
"Nhy should | have called you grand
papa?"
His right hand assembled to his
crown. 81 think, ct first it was be-
cause of that" he said.
She stared. because Of what?"
she begged.
Colonel Jemmett writhed in his
chair. because of not having any
hair on the top of my head. I wasn't
so very old, don't you know?" he an
swered.
Laughter rippled from the widow.
ssYou are avenged, she said; "myown
hair is growing thin now, and I'm
only 49,"
In spite of himself, he started; he
had just ordered a bracelet to be given
her on her 41st birthday.
She saw she had made o slip, and
fastened to recover her balance. Don't
tell me you know BETTER" she rallied
him-'tsince my birthday lis in Febru-
airy I may be forgiven for keeping it
only in leap year. But truly, I shall
very % have less hair than you.
Don't you believe me?"
He shook his head incredulously.
She deliberately loosened some half
dozen pins and took from the centre
of her couture aplait of not very great
proportions. 1T is my own" she re-
marked incidentally. cit was cut of
when ! was very-not very, very we'll
II had it made up. Now,
come and look at my bald spot"
AS one who approaches 8 shrine,
Colonel Jemmett did her bidding.
Two of her long fingers diving into
her hair discovered to him a perfectly
bald disk, certainly not bigger than q
sixpenny piece; perhaps it had been
once tenanted by contumacious patch
.can you give me nothing to make
it grow aaaaAa" she asked pitifully.
Colonel Jelsmett's heart futtered as
he stopped and kissed the place, but
the kiss itself was reverential. The
widows surprise was divided evenly
between his galiantry and his auster-
ity. She wondered what he would do
next
81 hope you are not offended with
me-" he said.
.Oh, mol dear grandpapa," she an
swered, with a trace of malice. 'sSit
down and tell me all about yourself;
about your exploits in the East. /
want to hear parti nlarly about them.
for the newspaper reports are so stu
pid I never can understand them"
"Exploitst' said the colonel; 81
never had one to my name"
LUZ BG MluutS Will an Old
crony,a she returned. heard oil
what you did in the Black mountains
-or were they Blue2-although /
confess / conld not make out exactly
what it was.
Upon my honor" declared the
colonel. II never did anything at all. y
"What?" exclaimed the widow.
laughingly. Yon never marched
from some place to the relief OF some
other place. carrying your guns over
& snuw mountain? pa