The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-12-15

the men Of his acquaint-
~ ance, but he often wonders
ll9l lgI if any OF them proposed
marriage on impulse. as he
did. If so, he would like to know
the circumstances. He is not thus
curious through a desire for sympathy.
He does not need sympathy. Mrs. SUIT
ton is a woman OF such infinite tact
that she makes him think he is very
happy. Still, when he falls into a
mood at once retrospective and intro
spective as he is wont to do when left
alone, he puzzles over the complex ex-
istence of himself and neighbors.
Sutton is not an impulsiYe man by
nature, therefore his actions between
and p. M, on the 22d of June. 1897.
were all the more inexplicable. At 3
o'clock on that eventful day he was
writing letter to his friend Hardy in
Boston.
II was forty-siX years old yesterday"
he wrote. II celebrated the natal day
by renewing my oath never to marry.
Old bachelorhood may entail a certain
degee Of loneliness, but that is infinite
ly better than the domestic squabbles
in which / see my married friends
constantly embroiled. Women are well
enough at distance, but when- it
comes to taking one Of them for
wife"
Sutton stopped to study out the most
convincing way to wind up his sem
tence. AS he pondered, woman came
in, and he pushed the letter under the
blotter.
Hello, RuthP' he said. "How are
you? I'm glad to see you. Won't you
sit DOWN"
only for few minutes. I am on
my way to Brooklyn and thought /
would stop in and see you as passed.
But / don't want to bother you. l see
you are busy"
ooh, no, I'm not" said Sutton. "Busi- |
ness is dull / was just writing a let
ter to my friend Hardy, in Boston. 1
was telling him what / think of the
ladies'"
Yes And what do you think?"
THAT they are all angels. 1 wish |
could marry them all"
you might find that inconvenient. |
But il you really have such Mormon
lstic tendencies, you don't seem to be
doing much to crafty them. You don't
even make start by marrying one"
Sutton grinned you needn't say |
anything" he said. You're the last
person in the world to find fault with
a person on account of celibacy. When
a charming woman like Ruth Decker
skins through life to the age of thirty
four"
Forty" corrected Miss Decker at
was forty my last birthday"
well, then, forty, if you must have
1t so, and refuses to bind herself with
conjugal ties, she has no right to re-
buke an old sinner like me for plodding
along in single harness."
Miss Decker leaned her elbow on the
desk and rested her chin in her shapeIy
hand. "But can't help myself" she
said.
Neither can l." said Sutton.
"Yes. you can help It. You can ask
somebody to marry you"
And you can marry somebody who
asks you"
Miss Decker brought her other palm
to the support of her chin. Nobody
asks me-" she said.
THAT is because you give the fellows
such scant encourag cement. You
shouldn't do it, Ruth, upon my word
you shouldn't. A nice-looking girl like
you ought to have married long ago.
All nice girls ought to marry"
Perhaps they would" remarked
Miss Decker, IF they got chance"
"Oh, that's all nonsense" returned
Sutton. "They get the chance, all
right. / don't believe the woman ever
lived, no matter how ugly and unin-
teresting. who did not get at least one
offer of marriage. At any rate, never
saw one"
Yes, you have seen one" was the
reply. 'You see one now. Nobody
ever asked me to marry him"
Sutton dropped his half-bantering air.
He looked at his caller curiously. ooh.
come now, Ruth" he said, "you can't
expect me to believe that. Why. you
are an unusually popular woman. I
don't want to give you any taffy, but
Facts are facts, and hope you won't
take offense when tell you that you
are the very incest girl that / ever
knew. You are pretty, you are bright,
you are entertaining Do you mean to
tell me that woman of your type
never had a chance to get married?
Why, I never saw you when you hadn't
D pack of men at your heels"
Miss Decker sighed softly. "But they
didn't mean anything she said. "They
liked me well enough up to a certain
point, but they never wanted to marry
me. 1t is a sober fact that nobody
ever wanted to do that"
Sutton's guardian angel gave him a