The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1901-01-26
awhom do you mean p he asked,

eHe was Kansas City meat man,
said the colonel Indignantly, "and should
think you and your aunt might find some
thing better to spend your time IN than
gossip.
Whenever the conversation shifted. to
the subject of the widow, Colonel Talbot
felt himself at great disadvantage, as is
always the case with simple innocence when
it is called upon to face adroit insinuation
and the suspicion that turks in tone rath-
er than in the spoken words. 1t is true
that he admired Mrs. Bronson, for she was
pretty and dressed in modest, becoming
style, and she was bright and entertain
ing talker. Yes; he must admit that ne
liked her best of all the women at the
Balboa The others who were of suitable
age for companionship were too dull or
were taken up with daughters or devoted
to complaining husbands.
Her father had been LOYAL Legion
man, as he was, and she could remember
something of the war, just enough for him
to fix fer age as Is years less than his
own, and this gave one fruitful topic of
conversation She admired Scott and
Dickens and disdained the ssnew stuff,
as he did. Longfellow was her fayorite
poet-and his. Her tastes and interests
were simple and domestic, yet she was
greatly diverted by the colonefs expe-
riences in business and politics. The other
women were civil to her, but little dis
tant. This may have been due to the
suspicious hints let fall by Josephine and
her aunt, or it may have arisen simply
from the fact that she was widow. All
single women and most married ones think
that the widow should take her place on
the funeral pyre beside the body of the
husband, after the Indian fashion
When the fishing party had departed
the next morning, the colonel betook him
self to the bowling alley, whittier none
but few old enthusiasts ever came. At
one end of the long room in little alcove
there was a window that looked out over
the ocean. The widow was fond of this
quiet, secluded spot, and on days when
| Josephine and her aunt were away the
colonel usually found her there. She had
a soft Grape shawl over her rounded should
ers, and she was busy over beaded purse
She scarcely looked up from her work
as he approached and seated himself at her
side. care you going to play ~ she
asked, and he replied according to the
regular formula Presently. May | sit
here 2
Certainly" She looked innocently
beyond him toward the alley. ''Did your
daughter come down with your Miss
Josephine never played.
''She has gone fishing with her aunt
and the rest of them. Why didn't you
go too
AS matter of fact the widow had not
been asked 81 do not care for fishing, .
she said, and as she did SO she bated her
hook with sweet smile and threw it out
toward him. The colonePs old heart gave
youthful jump, and his hand trembled
little as he readjusted his eyeglasses.
81 took pains to find out whether you
were to be of the party said he, land
when found you were not going | de-
cided that [ did not care for fishing my
self.
This was nibbling at rather close range,
but the widow pretended not to notice it.
She did not lift her long eyelashes even
the hundredth part of an inch, which gave
the colonel all the better opportunity to
admire them And through the whole
morning he circled round and round the
bait, but he did not bite, perhaps by rea-
son of an instinct that had come down to
him from the gay days of his youth and
perhaps because she was not ready to land
him yet
1t is about half mile from the boat
landing to the entrance of the Balboa As
the fishing party walked this distance one
small detachment, consisting of Miss Jo-
sephine and Mr. Grandin, fell SO for be-
hind and moved SO slowly that even the
sympathetic Aunt Harriet glared fercely
at them as they came upon the steps
Mr. Grandin was another who did not
care much for fishing. He was saying
''People were altogether too thick in that
beastly little boat | have not had a word
with you all day
Anything to say?''
"Only the same thing
''You may say it just once, -
Glove you.
s'Walk faster. l can see my father
looking at us from the corner of the piaz-
"a.
"And the widow is with him-your
stepmamma that is to be. >
"Don't you dare to say it. fl thought
SO, would marry the first man that asked
me. -
II will be the first.
"Oh, Mrs. Fuller, we have had such a
lovely day. Mr.. Grandin and | stopped
to see if we could arrange to have all the
fish we caught sent to the poor people
Next morning letter and a newspaper
lay beside the colonel plate when he came
down to breakfast little in advance of
his daughter and sister He recognized
the same address on both, that of his attor-
ney in the eastern city where he resided,
and he broke the seal of the letter with
some eagerness:
Ny Dear Colonel got the stuff printed in
The Times, just as you asked, though they
would not use your name. It points to you
plainly enough, however. don't understand
the game, but you probably know what you
are doing. Is there hen on in the Blue Ell
ephant2 Should buy or SELF Sounds fun
ny to read that the failure of the mine will
effect your fortunes. remembering, as l do,
how clevely you sneaked out of it unscathed
year ago.
As you requested, have started an inquiry
about the young man Grandin and will be
ready to report on him in a few days. What
is the matter? Another moth at Josephine's
fame? My dear fellow, | have told you a
thousand times that yeu are too suspicious
Yours, A. G.. w.
Then the colonel unfolded the newspa-
per and finding the marked passage, read
as follows
Politics Is Money.-It is rumored that the
trna raason for tho suddap ra of q