The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1902-05-09


ing with that red-headed Slason girl,
Joe, Now Serena, she is all right;
she's a real nice girl, though she's
most too young to settle down yet,"-
Irene had the air Of a grandmother
and Kitty Tompkins Is pretty and
smart and Mimy Estes can make better
pound cake than I can. and that's
sayin' something; if you set your mind
on any of them I won't say a word.
But I 'aint goin' to have you margin.
Min Slason. I'll marry you myself
first"
"Who's said anything about Min
Slason?" said Joe irefully, edo you
think I'm fool?"
"Why, no, not exactly" said Irene
reflectively; 'but Pm afraid you're one
Of the kind that can turn fool on tur-
rible short notice, Joe.'' s
eth be your fault if d." retorted
Joe. "If you'd agree to have me with
out any more fuss I'd keep away from
the other girls"
'No you wouldn't, Joe,' affirmed
Irene gravely. ''That's just the
trouble,-you don't know your own
mind. And what's more don't know
it, either, in this case. II I did we
could manage all right. But l shan't
run any risks"
Joe had finished his pie. He rose
and. came around the table. He was
six feet in height and the tiny kitchen
seemed in danger of total wreck every
time he moved. He came and stood by
Irene's chair. ..---.
"What be we goin to do about it?"
he demanded. eff I don't know my
mind an you don't know it,, how be we
a goin' to find out what it is?"
"We'n get at it somehow replied
Irene.
Joe looked down at the Bingham clad
figure and at the expressive hands that
were folded on the table.
"I'm goin' to kiss you, Irene," he
said abruptly, bending over her.
mo, you aint," rejoined Irene calm
ly without moving. :~<'s /
"Why not?v he demanded. g."
Because you might want to kiss
Serena this evenin',. and then you'd
think of this and wish you hadn't. 1
amt goin' to have you wishin' you
hadn't. Besides, it wouldn't help you
to find out your mind, ii that's what
you're thinkin' Of. Good land! you
wouldn't have any mind, in a week, If
you took to carryin' on like thatv'
Joe Strengthened himself up sulkily.
II b'lieve you're WITCH" he said.
"I'm e'enermost ready to say that I
won't have nothin' more to do with
you.' 49, r.
Gail right, Joe," responded Irene
cheerfully; 'sbut mind you steer clear
of the Slason girl, and tell Serena
A bang of the kitchen door finished
the sentence. Irene was alone with
her meditations.
Joe's evening at West Lennox was
not a success at first. Serena inform
ed him merrily that he was too late
with his invitation to the picnic as she
had already promised to 60 with Thad
Whitman. Kitty Tompkins had gone
to party and Mimy Estes was enter
tanning the Ryeboro town clerk in the
parlor. The strains of her accordion
foated out tantalizingly through the
open windows. Joe was beginning to
lose his temper. He told himself
that girls were Eighty lot, anyhow,
and a man would better keep away
from them unless he wanted to be al
ways in stew. He might have known
that Whitman fellow would be after
Serena, but he wouldn't have thought
that Mimy would have taken up with
a man that was growing bald headed
even though he was the town clerk.
AS for Kitty, it was no use bothering
your head about girl that went some
where five evenings out of a week.
Not that he cared! Irene needn't
worry about his head being turned by
any. They
He pulled up his sorrel suddenly at
sight of a figure coming up the road
in the soft spring moonlight. 1t was
Miss Loring, he knew. by her walk.
Miss Loring was summer boarder at
West Lennox in those days when sum-
mer boarders were YETI novelty. She
came each year with the first violets