Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-06-03
A Philopena By BELLE MANTATES
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l HHY YLLlS was 1nJrOouced TO n1In al
 a dinner dance, and straightway forgot his existence. Later he re- called himself to her notice by danc- ing with her one of the absurd fig ures of cotillon in which they had to eat 8 philopena.
 Ut carries me back to my school days" she laughed.
 ''Not very far back" he insinuated
 ooh, yes; this is my third season!'
 ''Then I am right" he persisted. ''I should dislike to tell the number of seasons that I have been indulg. ing in cotillons."
 Thou hast all seasons for thine own," she quoted.
 Here the figure ended, and Phyllis returned to her partner.
 "Who is that man I just danced with?''
 ''He is a cousin of our hostess" re- piled her partner. "His name is steph- en Jerome, and he has recently come here from Philadelphia. He Is distin- guished for succeeding in everything he undertakes" >., ...
 "How fortunate!" she exclaimed. "1 just ate a. philopena with him. I had taken no interest in the fact, but ] shall. now. It will be an incentive to bring failure to so successful man.
 'How unlxind!"
 ss'No; 1t does a person good to be thwarted occasionally"
 ''I don't question your cleverness, Miss Courtney, but I warn you that you have brilliant anta gonist; he is | a Iinlarno%-S
 The subject of their conversation ap- I preached with & favor, which he of. fered to Miss Courtney.
 ''I regret to decline" she said, look ing up at him with shining eyes, "but you know Our philopena was give or take.'" ...,
 Some one claimed her partner, and Jerome appropriated the vacant chair.
 ''We might dispense with the favor, '' he suggested, "and yet have the dance. but if you gave me the dance, should be 'it.' No; shall have to await my opportunity to take q mean to gfve) you unawares." s..-
 "You will wait in vain," she re- piled.
 ''It's a challenge, is it?"
 "Yes," she laughed.
 ''I was tempted. he said, "to allow myself to be philopenaed in order not to forego the pleasure of dance, but shall fight 1t out to the sure end.''
 "You are so confident, then?" g
 "Why should I not be? You say this is your third season. have been counting mine, and find it is my thir. teenth. Should not ten years major ity be to my advantage? ?"
 "But B is the unlucky number, and This is the year you will meet your l Waterloo. I see I must leave you again. s.E
 Towards the end of the evening Phyl- lis came to him with favor, which he courteously refused to take.
 ''I didn't expect you to forget so soon," she observed. q simply want ed to return your compliment in offer ing me one" ...-.4-
 His partner having been favored, Phyllis occupied her chair.
 q want to ask your permission to call," he said. 'You see, in order to test this case thoroughly, we must have frequent opportunities to meet
 'I cannot give you permission" she replied. "If you call, you must come without it.''
 s'I certainly shall,' he replied, And he certainly did. His calls be- came frequent and informal. They met at the opera, at dinners and recep- tions. Phyllis enjoyed the novelty of devotee who could not present her with books, flowers, music, confection- cry and invitations to the theater. There was a zest in constantly being on guard and in triumphing over his adroit subterfuges to induce her to "take."
 She tried various devices to trap him, but was always met by that slightly cynical, aggravating smile.
 l Meanwhile, their intimacy grew amazingly. Tn spite of the ever-pres- ent little feeling of mutual strife, there was an irresistible charm in their com panionship.
 Spring came, and still they were both baf1ed in their quest. Their common acquaintances were aware ot their motive, and made the subject an amusing feature of conversation,
 One night Stephen Jerome pulled himself together and acknowledged that he must be up and doing and bring matters to 8 climax. He had allowed himself to drift pleasantly along, easily foiling her attempts to give, hoping to find her mapping. But he realized that she was ever on guard, and was not likely to forget, so he must resort to stratagen and force her hand. He had been content with the equal match through the early &C., quaintance, but 1t was different now He wanted the philopena question set tied before he asked her to give him something of infinitely more value tn an trihing philopena. He gave himself thorough mental shaking and worked his wits out of their sluggish state of inactivity. He pondered un. til late hour over the ways and means but was compelled to go to bed with no solution of the problem.
 The next morning was Sunday. Al breakfast the husband of his cousin and hostess announced that he was in.