Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-03-12
THE HEART OF A GIRL.
By Frances Wilson.

comfortably in her chair. Then, look
ing at her companion in a speculative
manner, she began.
Its a sort of fairy tale, and it's
about a girl. She was neither very
beautiful nor very interesting, but |
think l may say truthfully that she
was a nice sort of girl, with warm
heart, boundless enthusiasm and an i'm
plicit belief in her fellow-creatures.
| shall have to confess, though, that
she was one of the kind who blush
furiously at the slightest provocatlon-
you know the type-and that she was
earnest and serious-horribly so-and
a o-worshipper to her finger tips!"
Sanford nodded his head understand
ingly.
"She was trifle too much upon the
| Sweet Alice STYLE" Miss Wentworth
resumed candidly, "and yet with all
her absurdlties, I myself was rather
| fond of her. OF course you have
| guessed before this that there came a
mani" Her voice dropped into tragic
| whisper. linen she burst into a merry
laugh, in which her companion joined
| somewhat consciously.
"Methinlls the air grows icy! | feel
the approach of the villain of the
story!" he announced.
mot at ALI" protested Miss Went
worth in an injured tone. He was
simply a nice, agreeable man of the
world-such as one meets often enough
to make life pleasure. He was many
years her senior, and the girl mistook
him for god"
She looked at her companion with in
nocent eyes, but the wicked little
CLEAN that lay back in them did not
escape him.
did the man do anything to give
rise to such a-er-delusion"
There was an unmistakable hauenge
in the inquiry.
mo questions allowed" cam. the
battling answer. "You must let ne tell
my story in my own way. To pro-
ceed."
"a girl of this stamp is likely to
idealize a good deal, and you would
have been-yes, you would have been
highly edited could you have heard
some of this ones rhapsodies. "A head
so noble she would say exultina4y to
herself, was never seen before, and
Were ever eyes so splendidly com
mending?" Silly, wasn't it? Bat it
was the outcome of her conviction that
god among men had deigned to hold
out his hand to her. And whoS he
opened his lips!"
Miss Wentworth paused with eapt,
listening look upon her face which
convulsed her hearer. who lau Shed
rather foolishly.
"Of course the man read the sect ct of
the girls heart, and her native worship
amused and fiattered him. So ha de-
voted a good many Of his spare mo-
ments to deepening the impression he
had made and the girl used to ltsten
breathlesSly.
Their eyes met, Miss Wentworth's
trimming with mirth, while Sanford
felt that he was guilty of a grin. Then
she shook her head at him and RON
tinued with severity:
"As l was about to remark, the girl
listened to the pearls of wisdom which
dropped from lne mans lips and be-
lieved in them as she did in holy
things, and her foolish heart was
thrilled by the joy of the love which
she thought was hers. Certainly the
man, in a high-handed, negligent sort
of way aid manage to give her some
such impression. How she ptied less
fortunate girls, and how full of plans
she was to make herself worthy of
him.
A reminiscent smile lowered about
Miss Wentworth's lips, and she looked
off across the lawn as if she had for
gotten her companion.
Girls are not usually $3.50 impress
sionable," he hazarded in q defensive
manner.
'lnis one was" she responded sue
| cinctly.
Experienced people like you and
me-" she went on, continuing her story
once more, "can see that there was
trouble brewing for the girl. She never
expected it, and it came like thun-
derbolt from a clear sky. | won't go
into details. He had wearied of his
plaything Then, there was lady
with fair hair and the eyes of saint
and what was girls heart that it
should stand in the way Of mans
fancy?"
Miss Wentworth's small head rested
against the tips of her fingers, and her
great eyes locked calmly into San
ford's as she asked this question with
the impartial air of one who seeks
abstract truth.
He shook his head.
THE girl was heartbroken-horr
fed; for in the innocence of her heart
she thought that she had made ter
rlble, immodest mistake, and that he
never had made love to her-really!
Her face used to burn at the thought
and she would have given her head
for chance to convince him that she
too, had only been amusing herself
She was wounded in her pride and in
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