Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-03-17
"A RESULTANT THOUGHT:
BY r. H. LANCASTER.

promise me something.
What is it,
That you will sit here with me until
the moon rises"
Certainly"
Thank you. But then you ought to
sit down"
why, the moon has already risen."
"Is that SO? All, but please stay. If
you knew how good it is to be here
after that hurly-burly down town! Be
sides, if we go in we shall have lights,
and my eyes are tired. Please, | want
to talk over some of the recent psy-
Geological discoveries. You are inter-
csted in thought waves, aren't you?"
Il have done some reading on the
subject recently" she admitted, and re-
sumed her seat.
Tell me about it," he said comfor-
tably.
Why, l thought you wished to do
the talking"
"Oh, no." cheerfully. 'I've been
talking all day. 1t has been bargain
day at my counter"
You poor thing. Shall bring you
fan or an ice?
"Oh, you can taught" he responded
good-naturedly.
"A Pegasus in plow!'
please don't. I'm tired
rs bargain day so very bad, then?'
she asked with a touch of sympathy.
Very bad" he assured her, smiling.
Let me bring you something rest
full"
Nothing on earth could rest me
more than the delicious repose of your
presence:
"'Ye had better than all the ballads
That ever were sung or said,
For ye are the living poems,
And all the rest are dead
Wait-don't move! l will shut up.
Please tell me where you learned the
secret of keeping silent. How many
owls did you sacrifice to Minerva be-
fore she endowed you with her full
heritage of wisdom?"
owls to Minerva"
Didn't the Greeks use to sacrifice
owls to her? They sacrificed doves to
Aphrodite."
ITO begin with, Minerva was a
Latin goddess"
WAS she? Well, what did the an
clients sacrifice to her?"
Pretty much what moderns offer UP
at her altars-miGnigh oil and medi-
tation."
Whatever 1t was, wish you would
let women generally into the secret,
for can assure you that few of them
| possess it. | saw poor fellow at the
! opera with a girl a few nights ago.
I've seen something of him on the
street; he's been travelling a rutty
road, and | imagine he had taken the
| girl to the opera thinking she would
keep quiet and give his frazled nerves
n chance to knit up their ravelled ends.
| But you can bet your life she didn't.
! She talked q blue streak from the
| time she took her seat until she left it,
curtain up or down. And he had to
listen and answer best way he could,
You know l caught myself wishing
the poor victim could sit down by you
and rest. He looked an age older when
he went out and felt ten years young
er You can't imagine what boon it
Is to tired man to feel that he can
sit down by the woman-he-well, en-
joys being with-and needn't talk un-
less he wants to-"
Il thought" she commented dryly,
that we were going to discuss psy-
chological-what do you call it? Phe-
nomena?"
"If you wish. Yes, we were That
Is, you were to talk and | was to sit
here and listen and forget that it had
been bargain day at my counter"
We'll, let me get my thoughts in or
der"
She leaned her head against the ban.
lister and looked away to where the
early stars were struggling against
the stronger moonbeans. The linger
ing after-glow touched her hair tc
warmer tints and fell with exquisite
softness upon her upturned face. Ber
looked at her wistfully and his pulses
quicllened. If only he dared to hope
that his good news would be goo(
news to her! She had forbidden ever
the suggestion of sentiment between
them, yet they had never met within
the last year that he had failed to re
mind her she was to him queen of al
women. He suspected that the sizt
of his salary was what stood between
them.
Once he had asked her abruptly i
she would marry poor man and sh,
had promptly replied:
NO it would be doing him too grea
an injustice"
Since then he had fancied, until re
Gently that he held the key TO the sit
uation that she preferred to wait TO
him without being asked to do it. Blu
of late? Well, she had become yer
much dearer to him, and she did nc
seem to know it.
, will you tell me something?' h
: asked suddenly. "Why is it that in a
the time I've known you, you hav