The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-05
THE DANGER SIGNAL.

She was that most disagreeable of
persons, the mother of an eligible
young man. AS soon as a woman be-
comes the mother of an eligible young
man, says the New York Press, the milk
of human kindness dries up in her
heart like the flowers in August. Ev-
cry other woman under As who is neith-
er a hunchbaCk nor cross-eyed Is her
chosen enemy, and she looks out upon
the world with the views of setting
hen. 1t is as safe to leave your repu-
tation lying around where she can put
her hands on it as it is to leave the
chicken salad to cool where the cat
can find it.
For weeks this NJ o. A. e. NJ. had
kept her boy fenced in at the apart
ment hotel where they were living, eye
ing every woman who entered the am
ing room as If she had engaged board
there for the particular purpose of Kid
mapping. He was a nice boy and ne
couldn't stand it long, so he now is in
Europe, where he has taken his doll
rags and gone to play by himself. she
reads me all his letters just Ito see
if see anything suspicious in them.
The very first week after he left she
came to me, holding out scraWly
note on hotel paper.
1Nedu 1t, SHE cACldlilGus 40 IL - 'i'AA
been his obituary or chapter from
the "Kreutzer Sonata" Il knew l
oughtn't to let him go 1 knew it,
/ The letter was a wild effusion in
praise of 'stunnin girl with gold
! pompadour and yellow eyes. 1t told
how and where he had met her, what
they had been doing, who her father
was and many other particulars.
MY dear" l said. you are perfectly
safe and so is he. AS long as he tells
you everything, as long as he raves out
/ loui, he doesn't need a keeper. Wait
until you're hurt before you cry.'
| His next letter mentioned the girl,
! but he spoke of her as Miss Ayers,
and was very much more reserved. His
mother seemed to feel better and SO
cid not think it necessary to ruftie her
! feelings.
Last week she brought me a letter
with "A triumphant smile. WELL" she
! remarked, you were right about that.
/ i was too quck. He's tired of the crea-
ture already. They always do tire of
| those creatures you know" and size
handed the note to me. In it there
( was not one reference to the "stunnin'
girl" nor to Miss Ayers" 1t was the
bl;efest, highest. most uncommuni, a
tive letter he had ever written her. 1t
told in short sentences of how h had
done a certain mountain with some
people," of how some people Wdosed
| him to go with them to Nice, of how
some people" asked him every after
noon to tea, of how some people" who
| had invited HIM to their country house
IN England, etc.
MY dear" / said "can you be ready
to sail tomorrow morning."
why, what do you mean?"
| 81 mean that the moment a man be-
| bins to grow reticent about a woman,
to close his mouth whenever her name
| is mentioned and to eye others sus-
! piciously when they speak of her-the
moment he begins to avoid any topic
which might bring her under discus
| sion and to mention her only in the
vaguest and most general terms such
! as "a girl | met" or some people"
| he either needs a woman-or he needs
a guardian. A woman cannot keep
! from talking of the particular man she
! is in love with Steer the CONVERSE
! ton in any course you like and IL
will anchor upon him. Talk about the
! trouble with Germany or the transmit
/ grafton of souls, and you will get his
| opinions of it. But a man has some
where in his soul a holy of holes
where he hides anything that he really
! feels. He is as afraid of showing an
| emotion as he would be of exhibiting
| a black eye. Some people Is his tav-
orite and most useful term. When in
doubt he always runs for it. Some
| people is the Vaguest, most indefinite
| phrase he can find. 1t always is the
| danger signal. My dear, your son needs
| you, and there is a ship at noon to-
morrow"