New-York tribune., 1903-07-05

occupation became afectionately known as THE
bookkeeper" Finally, in a moment Of in
splratlon when the fat cashier was rapping
sharply on her desk, they called her Speaker
Reed and the family was completely named
The breakfast conversation during those bliss
ful days. had it been overheard, must have
sometimes seemed to those around the acme of
inanity. Two well dressed, intelligent young
men, sitting down to their eggs and coffee,
would enter into an apparently bitter dispute
"Oh," one would eXclaim. Dolly is perfectly
divine this morning, and she looked at me and
smiled! She didn't smile at you"
She didT' the other would reply. You are
always appropriating every glance meant for
me, If weren't here she wouldn't look within
mile of this table"
You" the other would contemptuousy re-
mark why, even The Farmers Daughter
laughs at you"
But the careful observer would have noticed
that both of them in perfect good will, looked
then at Dolly. and two faces lit up happily if
she smiled back impartially both. Indeed,
their jesting Quarrels meant nothing but a de-
sire IN each to cover up the influence that their
little Dolly was exerting over him. Every
morning on rising, they hastened eagerly to
breakfast, cheered by the thought that they
should see her glowing, girlish prettiness and
sweeten their day with the delightful thrill that
came 10 them across the bakeshop in her smil-
ing glance Of recognition. Sometimes, as they
dropped off to sleep at night one would ask the
other, DO you think Dolly will wear the pink
or the blue waist tomorrow Perhaps she
viii have a new one" the other would hopefully
reply. And one day, when she appeared with
her hair done down her neck, after the latest
Rialto fashion. they We're greatly dispIeased.
and told her SO by eloquent gestures. She ran
at her b1rtt ba
day the hair was arranged in the DID, ideal
fashion, Neither openly expressed to the other
how much this pleased him; but the whole in
cident was a theme of conversation between
them for days
1t would be indeed strange if by now some
reader had not asked, We'll why didn't they
speak to Dolly, talk with her. take her perhaps,
to a jolly little dinner? It would have pleased
the miss" Perhaps, dear reader; but they were
not men like you me. They called such a
direct, practical. New-Tork fashion of doing
things by the blunt term "PhiIistinistic"; at
least, one Of them did when the other hinted
that they speak with Dolly. And the other
readily agreed, and made humble apologies.
They would not even be on hand to watch Dolly
come forth from her days work, to see whether
she went to her home not because they would
nave cared where she might live, but because
they would not run the risk that lay in seeing
her feet!
Think they told each other, "our Dolly the
ideal mail, may have feet that are anything but
IDEAL We never see them now; kindly coun-
ter hides them Of course, they may be-very
likely are-perfection, like the perfect parts Of
her We see. But let US not hazard the possible
Jar that would come from finding our idol i'm
perfect"
Nor would they speak to her either even over
the counter. They often laughed to think how
the richly dressed girls about them might feel
II they knew that two young men, born and
bred as well as they, sat in their midst obIivious
Of them. conscious that one far fairer than they
was dispensing buns with unjewelled fingers,
such as theirs could never hope to be. But they
both feared to try the hazard of bad grammar.
and, to give them the credit Of their mood, to
break the spell Of their intangible sweet, pure
intimacy Of a few daily glancas and smiles from
afar. When they spoke Of Dolly, 1t was as os
something fine and subtle, an essence, a dream
as well a person.
What Dolly thought Of this aloofness is an
other question. She was a girl; perhaps she
was puzzled, perhaps she was even piqued. One
OF them suggested in fact, the horrible posi-
bility that perhaps she thought them SLOW"
Well, thus the weeks passed and from their
Dolly gradually gentle awareness Of her fresh,
sweet presence in the world crept into all their
waking hours. New-York was good to live in