Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-10-16
!, CINDERELLA; !;
By Eugenle UhIrich :
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By Eugenle Uhlrlch
Copyright. 1901. by Eugenie Uhlrich

Young Hetheringtoa filed his brier
wood pipe.
you don't mind. do you? You are
always so jolly and chummy."
She smiled little deprecatingly.
There were times when somehow she
wished Hetherington did not find her
so jolly and chummy, though these
times had nothing to do with the brier
wood pipe The comfortable house was
hers in effect, and she, the friendless
and kinless kindergarten, must of
course have felt it good fortune to be
saved the lot of the boarding house and
given the companionship of pleasant
and well set up people. All the other
young women she knew told her over
and over again and reminded her that
she ought to be grateful for her mer-
cies.
1t is true that if Mrs. Hetherington's
oldest daughter had not married and
gone to live in a distant city and her
youngest had not died she perhaps
would not have felt the need of a girl
ish presence in the house enough to
take in Winifred.
Winifred watched Hugh Hethering-
ton lift his fine length and move across
the room after light for his pipe. As
the match flare 1ickered on his clean
features she thought, as any woman
must have, what handsome fellow he
was. But Winnie thought also that if
her own mouth had not been so big, her
tendency to freckle so hopeless and the
tint of her hair so uncompromisingl
red Mrs. Hetherington might not have
liked her quite so well. Moreover, she
looked a bit older than Hugh, too,
though she had carefully figured out
that she, in fact, was year younger.
But, then, Hugh's childhood had
passed in the flush of pleasure and the
sunshine of affection, and hers?- She
was too humble TO be sorry for herself
and too wise not to see in the worst
that had ever happened her the posi-
bilities of still worse and thus be
thankful for the Providence that had
kept her in its hand.
But yet this evening she thought
more sharply than usual of another
girls symmetry, her gowns, her ac-
complishments, her opportunities, all
the things that are dear to the heart
Of woman. And why not? Venus her
self was not irresistible until she put
on the right girdle. Hugh had asked
her to help in comparing some lists,
and she knew very well that every
minute of help she gave him this even
ing was an extra minute for the other
girl.
She bent her head over the papers
before her, for the things she was
thinking must steal into her face in
spite of herself
'.Are you very tired?' said Hether-
ington kindly, but yet altogether i'm
personally. She raised her head and
smiled. What was the use? If it were
not this misery, it would be something
else for a waif such as she. "Oh, not
at ALL" she said.
II do not believe there is another
girl who would be as patient as you
are with all my tiresome stuff and
with me too. Even mothers endurance
gives out once in a while, and she
scolds about my den. If it weren't for
you, 1 don't know what would happen.
If you're really not tired, l want to go
over these lists with you now, and then
I'm off for the Kendrick reception.
ID 10 hn
said, happy little smile playing about
his lips. "Seems to me she is getting
more beautiful every day. Don't you
think soY'
Hetherington did not even look at
her for his answer. He was indeed in
sisting on being even chummier than
usual this evening, and Winifred bent
her head close over the papers once
more.
"Of course" Hetherington went on,
Gertrude is popular, very. Sillington
has mint of money, too, but l don't
think she's the kind of girl who would
stoop to anything like that"
Winifred had to listen to that and
much more in snatehes and mono
logues, and she was glad when at last
Hetherington left There are times
when it is singularly harder to be
"chummy" than at others.
The next morning Hetherington had
gone when she came to breakfast,
something most unusual for him. In
the evening he did not ask her help.
He talked very little, and Mrs. Hether-
ington later said to her husband, "Can
it be that Hugh is not well?'
Her husband looked up retrospective
ly over his glasses.
"Maybe he's in love. Maybe he has
proposed to some girl, and she's turned
him down. Every young fellow has to
have a lesson or two. 1t won't hurt
him, suppose"
"Oh, how can you talk so? am sure
Hugh would not propose to a girl with
out talking to me about it first"
Whereupon Mr.. Hetherington senior
smiled behind his paper and went on
reading. A long and comparatively Sc
rene matrimonial voyage had taught
him that arguments only fill the sails
with head winds.
Winifred herself neither questioned
nor seemed to take heed of Hugh's
moods. After several evenings he came
down and asked her once more to come
and help him.
! "What do you think, Winifred," he
said abruptly after awhile, fought to be
the test of lovew
81 should think if some one loves you
all the time, whether you are fresh or
tired, pleasant or not pleasant, success
full or not"
"Fresh or tired, pleasant or not pleas
ant, successful or not Then he
laughed little jarringly, she thought.
"But what do you know about it, after
all? Ycu never loved like that, did
your
She looked at him with startled, al
most guilty eyes, and Hetherington had
queer feeling of having entered un-
Willingly into sanctified presence.
He rose and walked around the room
aimlessly for few minutes. Then he
said he had some nasty experiments to