Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-05-22
THE EVOLUTION OF A STEADY"
BEGINNING OF AN AFFAIR OF SENTIMENT
BY Fl. j. O'HIGGINS.


answered his look with it's fellow.
pleased with the compliment of his
laughter.
They went down the walk so, to the
tigers cage, where a crowd had gath
cred to watch the small boys in the
| front row who We're teasing the big
| brute with sticks and nutshells. The
couple clbowed a way into the press
OF people and were crushed together in
| IL. He had an excuse for putting an
arm around her.
There's Tammany fer yeh," he said
of the tiger. Hello, Dick"
He'll get out she was afraid.
mot on yer life" he reassured her.
The tiger beat the floor of the cage
with its tall opened its pink jaws and
yawned melancholy roar. She pre-
tended to be nightly frightened,
caught at his free hand and was imme-
diately wrapped more tightly in his
protecting arm.
Say" he chuckled, "yeh're not
scared, are yeh?"
We'll, wy don't they leave the poor
thing alone?" she said. 1T might
break those little bars"
He made no answer, having his arms
and mind full of other things. She felt
quiet, too and they stood gazing,
speechlessly contento1, at nothing at
all. The boys poked sticks between
the bars, and the tiger roared dismal
ly; but these two did not heed it. They
We're in stupid daze of happiness, the
usual condition of Central Park lovers,
who will sit, SO, on bench for hours
together without speaking A police
man fpally stirred on the stagnant
stream of sightseers again with his
keep movin', there; keep movin',
now" and they We're elbowed out of
their stupor.
"FIe keeps movin'," he said, resent
fully
She busted herself with peanut,
doubtful whether she had not given
him too much encouragement, whether
he had not been sinply amusing him
self with her.
They drifted down to the cage where
the eagles and the buZzards were shut
up together. There had been trouble
among the birds. and they were sulk-
ing in all corners of the cage.
"ook as if they'd been three years
married" she said.
He regarded her doubtfully. He
would have liked to reply to her sar-
casm, but marriage was an awful sub
jcct to discuss in such circumstances.
He held his breath at thought of it,
and fell bacl; on the peanuts. She not
ed his silence.
When they came to the ostriches he
said Rubber neck" and they both
laughed as heartily as if the ostriches
had not heard that same remark from
every wit who had passed that day.
Gee" he said of the rhinoceros,
"Tm glad | amt got an upper lip like
that to shave" and che was hysterical
again.
He grew bolder, and when she called
to the deer with a Kissing noise of the
lips, he said "Yeh're scared to do
that teh me-"
This sounded too fippant. She
turned on him quickly But you amt
deer" she said snappishiy.
He was fatty crestfallon. She blew
hot and cold in a breath. Why did
she speak TO him like that? He had
been only joking,
He followed her in sulll. She
watched him from the corner of an
eye, going over the evidence she had
! accumulated in the process of emotion
o1 N-it-ir11+iN4, iob el, ho1
tising on him. 1t amounted to this:
That he would put on his overcoat to
please her, even when he did not need
it; that he looked at her with full
eye of admiration; that he avoided a
cheap discussion of marriage; that she
should change him from the highest
of good spirits to the lowest of bad
| without word.
This promised something serious
She slipped her hand into his pocket
for a nut again. He did not follow it.
"Yeh're mad" she said
"No, I amt" he contradicted sullen-
ly.
yes, yeh are" she repeated with
great cheerfulness. "An wouldn't be
so silly if was you"
But yeh're not me-" he retorted.
Eyes, yeh are" she said irrelevantly.
"Who is? What?" he
frowned.
what said yeh wasn't" she said
slyly, biting a peanut.
That bewildered him. "Eh?" he que
ried. puzzling over it.
would yeh rather be one of them?"
she asked, taking his arm again, and
nodding at the bears.
"A bear?" he smiled "W'at'd |
want teh be bear fer?"
81 dunno" she said, "w't did yeh
want teh be a bear fer?"
He grinned 81 wasn't, was -" he
said, rather proud of it.
Yep" she nodded Come on, now
an give peanuts to tn other bear"
He went jauntily up to Bruin. and
fed peanuts to it in the most daring