Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-09-25
CHAPTER vi.

affair was rather impressive in it's ele-
gance. Lamps shone everywhere, and
punches of candles blazed and sput-
tered in hooks hung about with ever
greens. The girls were becomingly at
tired in light evening gowns, and many
of them were good looking, refined and
graceful. All were soft spoken and
easy in their manners and either wore
or carried flowers. The evening suits
Of the young men We're we'll in evil
dence and more noticeable to the wear.
ers themselves than they would have
been to a spectator used to convention
al style Of dress. They could be seen
In all stages Of inadaptability to fig
ures too large or too small, and even
after the dance began there were sew
eral swaps and due amount of con-
graduation on the improvement from
the appreciative fair sex. The young
lady accompanying each young man
had pinned small bouquet on his
lapel, so that it would have been i'm
possible to tell whether a man had a
natural taste for flowers or was the
willing victim to taste higher than
his own.
Rayburn Miller and Alan sat smok-
Ing and talking in the room of the
latter till half past 8 o'clock, and then
they went down. AS general rule,
young men We're expected to escort
ladies to dances when the young men
went at all, but Alan was often ex-
cused from SO doing on account of liv-
q nfrvv nd In
broken down every precedent in that
respect and never invited girl to go
with him. He atoned for this short.
coming by contributing most literally
to every entertainment given by the
young people, even when he was out
of town. He used to say he liked to
Craze and nibble at such things and
feel free to go to bed or business at
will.
AS the two friends entered the big
parlor Alan espied the girl about whom
he had been thinking all day. She was
seated in one Of the deep, lace cur
tained windows behind the piano.
Frank Hillhouse was just presenting
to her faultlessly attired travelling
salesman. At this juncture one of the
floor managers with white rosette OH
his lapel called Miller away to ask his
advice about some details and Alan
turned out Of the parlor into the wide
corridor which ran through the house.
He did this in obedience to another
unwritten law governing Darley's So
cial intercourse-that it would be i'm
polite for a resident gentleman to in
trude himself upon stranger who
had just been introduced to lady. So
he went down to the ground floor and
strolled into the Office. 1t was full of
tobacco smoke and throng of men,
some of whom were from the country
and others from the town drawn to
the hotel by the festivities. From the
Office a door opened into a bar and
billiard room, whence came the click
ing Of ivory balls and the grounding
Of cues. Another door led into the
large dining room. which had been
cleared of its tables that it might be
used for dancing. There were saving
of fiddles, the twanging of guitars, the
Jingle Of tambourines and the groan-
Ing of bass viol. The musicians,
black and yellow, occupied chairs on
one of the tables, which had been
placed against the wall, and one Of
the floor managers was engaged in
whiting paraftin candles over the
floor and rubbing it in with his feet.
Seeing what he was doing. some of
the young men, DESTROYS of trying their
new patent leather pumps, came in
and began to waltz singly and in cou-
pies.
When everything was in readiness,
the floor manager plotted the dancers
downstairs. From the office Alan saw
them filing into the big room and TAX
ing seats in the chairs arranged against
the walls on all sides. He saw Frank
Hillhouse and Dolly Barclay sit down
near the band; the salesman had dis
appeared. Alan threw his cigar away
| and went straight to her.
"Oh, here you are!" laughed Frank
Hillhouse as Alan shook hands with
her. II told Miss Dolly coming on
that the west wind would blow you
| this way, and when saw Ray Miller
| Just now I knew you'd struck the
town."
1T wasn't exactly the wind" replied
Alan. "I'm afraid you will forget me
If stay on the farm all the time"
eve certainly are glad to have you"
Emiled Miss Barclay.
| II knew she'd say that--I knew it.,
I knew It," said HilHlouse. "a girl
can always think of nicer things to
| saw to Teller than his rival can Old
Squire Trabue was teasing me the 9TH
er day about how hard you was to
beat, Bishop, but told him the bigger
the war the more victory for some
body. and, as the Teller said, tote fair
and am aboveboard."
Alan greeted this with an all but Wis
ible shudder. There was much in his
dignified bearing and good appearance
to commend him to tile preference of
any thinking woman, especially when
contrasted to Hillhouse, who was only
a little taller than Do, ly- and was show
| Ing himself even at II greater disad
vantage in his unr etiled illusions t.
his and Alan's att entions to her. In
deed Alan was sorry for the spectacle
the fellow was making of himself ant
tried to pass it over.
II usually come in on Saturdays" h,
explained.
That's true" said Dolly. with ont
Of her rare smiles.
Yes"-Hillhouse took another head
er into forbidden waters-"hes abou
Joined your church. they tell mo"