Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-10

anything. One time 1 had an awful head
ache and couldn't brace myself up and the
other time l had had a cocktail with my
dinner and / wouldn't insult any girl by
asking her father for her at such a time.
Then she began to treat me rather oddly,
and / saw that something was wrong. I
could not imagine what 1t was, but after l
had surprised her in tears a few times, I
made her tell me. She told.
Il made a clean breast Of 1t. was deadly
afraid OF her parent and admitted 1t. I
would rather have faced a den of lions with
the door open than go down and ask for
Fans future of her father.
1T rather amused her for she had always
bullied her p~aternal relative a little and
could not believe that anyone would be
really afraid of him. / argued with her.
but 1t made no difference; she was simply
obdurate, unconventional in everything else.
she was conventionality itself in this.
Il must ask him; that was the sum and
substance Of 1t all.
FINALLY a brilliant idea struck me.
write to him. 1 announced gayly.
THAT would be fne," she answered
knows you are here every day. 1t is so
WV W a 6AAb AaNICE lOT nGE
In a typewriter letter.
1T don't have to be typewritten.' I re-
sponded gloomily.
"'Do you suppose pa would give UP his
evening paper to worry over your hand
writingT
That was a facer, but it was deserved. I
had to give up the letter-writing scheme.
Solving the Problem.
Couldn't 1 Just drop into the ONCE
casually. hand him a good cigar and ask
him Them
She sighed YEARLY.
"'Pa would Just look over his spectacles
at you and growl out: well, young man,
I'm very busy. What can / do for your"
You'd run, l know you. Besides he always
has three clerks In the once with him; you
don't want to ask before them, do your
Couldn't l meet him on the corner7'-
this was the desperation Of weakness and I
showed 1t in my voice and manner.
He doesn't wait on corners, as a general
thing. for young men to come up and ask
for his only daughter
Then l meditated a little. AS long as It
had to come, 1t seemed to me that perhaps
it might just as we'll come then.
II had not slept for two or three nights
worrying over it, so I said with assumed
| SOhAd "hNAO u mo- ~ POluICO NOhdIu
the door chat led into the library. Then she
turned away and buried her head in the sofa
cushions.
II thought at the time she was a little
worried herself Notwithstanding her appar-
ent surety, but l believe that she was in
fts of laughter; in fact, she confded to me
that she never saw anyone with such a woe
begone face on as / had. and her sense Of
humor is wonderfully acute.
1T is easy to imagine that a man who has
lived through his days OF sentiment and is
busted with money-getting and the rise and
fall Of stocks only must find It a little RE
diculous to have a young man speak Of his
daughter, with whose shortcomings he has
been acquainted for many years, as the
hreside angel or. l should say gaslog angel,
the only comforter, the Joy OF the home and
similarly complimentary terms.
But so long as It was incumbent upon
me TO do as Fan wished. I had determined
to do 1t in style. l would make Just as
fiowery a speech as 1t was possible, one
that l would not be ashamed to repeat to
Fan when / returned. / had practically
tabulated 1t In the night watches. but, in
the trip from drawing room to library, /
went all over It again; II ran as near as /
can remember something like this:
Have sowed my wild oats; not an oat
since l met your lovely daughter.
Attracted many times; susceptible to
beauty In its various phases, perhaps, sir,
you can understand this, having been-sh!
Never really loved but once-her.
bright star Of hope; the only girl.
"a dutIful, loving son-to be.
Income-S3.000.
MISREPRESENTATION. 81, feeble.
""~Family-simply delighted. She will be
a daughter.
1--WE love each other
Now, I don't think hat was bad for q
, starter. OF course l intended to amplity
1t a little and make It less staccato IN
style.
But some way, when / looked In the der
and saw him sitting there reading a book
his feet in his slippers and the evening
, paper by his side. my new-found eloquenc'
simply dried up. / couldn't think Of
- thing to say.
II felt in my pocket for a cigar. I re
membered ell at once that Nip had gon'
down two shares and I remembered tina
Fan in a burst OF confidence one day told
me that pa was deeply interested in Nip.
n Hitting the Pipe.
"He had his pipe in his mouth and he wa
4 biting II hard. l ratified the curtain
d little. but he apparently did not hear.
Then coughed; still he aid not hear.
"At last l mustered my few nickerini
8 CLEANS OF courage.
i Would you be SO good I stammered.
He looked up then and glanced at m