The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-09-01
A FLI-

VuG CNOA ANEW " ~ A35ShlNSu uNAVo0 l
the vase Of nodfing roses interroga-
lively.
She tapped the floor with her absurd
" pointed toe and failed to answer my
bled in the brass kettle and the teacups
executed q jingling dance as Fan
chette's ncrvou foot struck against the
tight table. poured out the fragrant
again.
ooh, dear!" she exclaimed.
Il am not going to ask you any ques-
%tions," l announced proudly as | drop
ped a lump of sugar in my cup.
mop said Fanchette, and we re-
lapsed into silence.
Il suppose" she said after a pause, (
'.you would not disdain to listen toto
a story, would you?"
Il should be delighted to hear it."
"Of course it is not about myself"
she faltered.
The girl had a fatal art of being SYM
pathetic, of drawing peoples conf
dences from them, Of saying sweet, COM
forting things. when they had laid their
troubles before her.
IA very dangerous gift"
Eyes; a two edged sword" replied
Fanchette savagely.
"Well a man came to see her one
day. He was engaged to a friend Of
hers, and they had quarreled. It was a
simple lovers quarrel and would have
mended itself, healed by kisses and ca
resses, but when the man told my
friend about it she happened to be in a
sympathetic mood and opened her eyes
very wide, shook her head sadly and
assured him Of the pain which it gave
her to know that her friend could be
SO cruel.
$50 the man felt very righteous and
much abused and decided that his
f1ancee needed to be punished. He did
not go near her for three weeks. and
she told my friend that life was not
worth living. So this professional
sympathizer told her to stand on her
dignity and not to write to him; that
she would bring things around all III
good time.
"All this time the disconsolate lover
paid regular visits to my sympathetic
friend. Sometimes she scolded him,
and sometimes she was kind. But to
her amazement she made no progress
toward a reconciliation. He was a big
blond, stubborn as a Greek, but just
the kind of man a woman can twine
around her finger. She tried smiles
and dignified lectures, she was coquet-
tishly sweet, but nothing moved him.
He said he was quite contented as he
was and would not forgive Mildred.
Then she told him he was inhu1nan, a
cruel brute, a monster.
And he only laughed!
"You see, the trouble was she had
been used to coquetting with young
fellows. He was older, shrewder and
even more of a flirt thar she, and he
understood her.
zone day his fiancee came and ac-
cused her of flirting with him. She
called her an INSCRIPTIONS coquette
and ragged and wept, and they both
wen. into Mysteries, but each declared
the man was not worth crying about,
but that it was each others reprehen-
| sible conduct which made them sor-
rowful. OF course the end Of it was
that my friend had to tell him to stop
coming 10 see her, and then-oh, and
them
swell. and them"
Fanchette leaned a hot cheek on a
| slim hand. 'sOh, it's a silly story-he
said he loved her and not Mildred!"
"Outrageous!"
"Of course it was. He said it was her
| fault that she had brought out all the
| arts and graces and smiles of coquetry
| to plead for Mildred, but had done the
very worst thing in the world to bring
! about a reconciliation. And he said he
would never cease his attentions until
! she said she loved him. Well. what
| could she do?"
"Do, Fanchette! Send him away with
a very sound scolding ringing in his
ears. What a question:"
We'll, she didn't. She was a foolish
girl and listened to him. And, well. of
course. she was fond of him. but she
said she was not and laughed at him,
laughed at his anger and his shame
and sent him away vowing revenge.
"Was that right? 1t made her unhap-
| py; 1t made him miserable; it lowered
his opinion of m But she graft
fed her scruples. That's all Of the sto.
| ~. Give MI another cake"
She leaned back in the wicker chair,
/ the tendrils Of golden hair clustered on
her white forehead. The freight shone
on her upturned round chin and white
! throat.
"And the sequel?"
"What do you think 1t is?"