The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-01-23


lamb!'
"He @as a Kansas City meat man.
said the colonel Indignantly, "and
should think you and your aunt might
hna something better to spena your
time In than gossip"
WIZ lever the conversation shifted tc
the subject Of the widow, Captain Tai
oot feit himself at great iisadyan.
tage. IA IL always the case witt simple
innocence when It Ia called upon to
race adrois irsinuation and the suspi-
cion that iGsks in tone gather than in
the spoken words. 1t "a true that he
aumired Mrs. Bronson, for she was
pretty and drassed In modest, becom-
ing style. sca she was bright and en-
tertainiEg talker. Yes: he must admit
that he liked her best Of all the women
ut the Balboa. The others who were
of suitable age for companionship were
sco Gull or were taken Up with daugh-
teIs or devoted to complaining hus.
bands.
Her Gather had been q Loyal Legion
man, as he was, and she could remenl-
Der something or the war, just enough
for him to fix her age az Is years less
than his own. and this gave one fruit
full topic Of conversation. She admired
Scott and Dickens and disdained the
new stuff." as he did. Longfellow
wns her c::rrSSSS::..s Poet-and mis-. Her
tastes and interests were simple and
domestic, yet she was greatly diverted
by the colonels experiences In busi-
ness end politics. The ether women
were civil to her, but q little distant.
This may have been due to the susp!-
cious hints let fAll by Josephine and
her esc:. c= :t may have arisen simply
from the fact that che 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 In
dim fashion. t
the. next morning. the colonel betook
himself to the bowling alley. whittier
none but few old enthusiasts ever
came. At one end OF the long room In
little alcove there was 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 soft Grape
shawl over her rounded shoulders. and
she was busy over beaded purse.
She scarcely looked up from her
work as he approached and seated him
self at her side. care you going to
play" she asked, and he replied ac-
cording to the regular formula: "Pres-
emily. May sit here"
Certainly" She looked innocently
beyond him toward the alley. did
your daughter come down with you?"
Miss Josephine never played.
"She has gone fishing with her aunt
and the rest OF them. Why didn't you
go too?"
AS q matter Of fact the widow had
not been asked. 81 do not care for
fishing" she said, and as she did SO
she baited her hook with a sweet smile
and threw 1t out toward him. The
colonel's old heart gave a youthful
jump. and his hand trembled n littlci rs
he readjusted his eyeglasses.
81 took pains to find out whether you
were to be OF the party" said he, "and
when found you were not going I
decided that I did not care for fishing
myself"
This was nibbling ut rather close
range. but the widow pretended not to
notice 1t. She did not lift her long eye
lashes 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 reason 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 :, Liked this dis
tance one small detachment, consisting
of Miss Josephine and Mr.. Grandln,
fell eo far behind and moved so elowly
that even the sympathetic Aunt Har-
riet glared fiercely at them as they
came upon the steps.
Mr.. Grandin was another whe did
not care much for fishing. He was
saying "People were altogether too
thick In that beastly little boat. Ihave
not had a word alone with yer all
| day."
Anything to sayY'
"Only the same thing"
| "You may say 1t Just once"
81 love you."
walk faster. can see my father
looking at us from the corner of the
piazza"
"And the widow is with hIm-your
stepnamma that Is to be.''
"Don't you dare to say 1t. IL l
thought 80; I would NARY the first
man that asked me-"
II will be the first"
"Oh. Mrs. Fuller. we have had such
a lovely day. Mr.. Grandin and stop
ped to see if we could arrange to have
all the fish we caught sent to the poor
| people"
Next morning letter and newspa.
per lay beside the colonel's plate when
he came down to breakfast little In
advance of his daughter and sister. He