Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-10-19
The WOOir1g of Ss Buster
Tale of a Maids Way With a,Man

DIRDS of feather may flock togeth- n CT, but they do not always fall in love with each other. As rule, it takes birds not of a feather to do that. Atany rate this was the case with Miss Chris tobe1 Merlin and Peter Funston; and yet, so different were they that the whole affair seemed altogether hopeless up to the time that, Miss Merlin catboat came between them. It is strange that any, thing coming between two people who love each other should bring them to- gether, yet this may happen if the wind be in the right direction.
 At Sandheaps, where Miss Merlin's father had a cottage, and where Miss Merlin, with her dfminutive catboat, had learned to be one of the best sail- ors among the summer contingent, there had been lack of visitors owing to bad weather, and the hotel, usually crowded, looked lonesome up to the first of July, when the guests all seemed to come at once. And among them came Peter, or, as his class familiarly called him, Buster
 They met at Saturday evening hop He was brought up and introduced by Christobel's cousin, Jack. He bowed awkwardly.
 May have this dancer" he mutt tered
 with pleasure she replied.
 Tn a moment they were whir1ing around the room. or, rather, they were trying to whirl, for Funston, with his 1sO pounds, was not the best dancer in the world. After awhile they stopped. 1 sT'm not much of dancer" he ob" served, apologetically. His partner tried to smile.
 Never mind,' she said; i've will sit It out" They strolled on the piazza, where the wind from the ocean, cool and refresh 1 ing, famed their cheeks The contrast between them was striking. Funston, heavy, clumsy, almost giant, lowered above his slight, ethereal companion, whose delicate, classical, sensitive face | could express every shade of meaning. 1 She looked up at him half shyly, even | in the semi-darkness. His stature awed her. She knew instinctively that he was everything she was not, and the thought made her love him. As for Tun- ston, he could not have described his feelings if he had tried. Self-analysis 1 with him was an unknown quality. He 1 only knew that he felt uncomfortable.
 s'I'm a beastly dancer he half stammered, as they sat down. T never tackle it if can help it, but Jack said that"
 Said she repeated, that I was dying to dance, suppose. Well, Jack doesn't know everything. How do you like it here?"
 s'Bully beach. Good surf-seems like a decent sort of place. said Funston.
 t'Do you sail?"
 'fNot much. play ball a good deal in the spring and fall, water polo in the winter, and in the summer-well, these dinky little boats don't appeal to me-
 She smiled
 That's what I've got-a dinky little boat"
 He colored.
 "Oh-beg your pardon. didn't know it."
 Don't apologize. It's all right can understand how you feele But enjoy 1t hugely. Papa got me my boat last year, and go sailing in it every day"
 "Alone?"
 "Oh, yes. That's the fun.'
 The propriety of young man go- ine sailing with young girl alone in a small boat has often been discussed, and probably never will be determined. It is all right, of course,- to take girl for long stroll up the beach when the elder people are having their afternoon nap and where there are plenty of shel- tering rocks, though the prudes sniff even at this. But to go out in boat alone with young man, at the mercy of sea and wind and tide, is quite differ ent matter.
 Miss Merlin's father might have ob- jected to such proceeding, had he not such confidence in his daughters judg- ment and her sailing powers. As fol Miss Merlin, she was more or less above such things; American to the core, sht believed in doing as she pleased-ant generally she did it.
 At the end of a week she felt that sht had no more power over this great fel low than when he had first come into her ken. She knew that she loved him and in some subtle way it was conveyed to her that he must love her yet all hel arts were in vain. Thev haa-walked fhs x@#$&