The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-06-26

Il
rang for the baldheaded old nousekeep,
annoy.
'Beeton, did Mr. Heldar dine out at
all while l was out of town.
| "Never laid is dress clothes out once.
sir, all the time. Mostly e dined in, but
e brought some most remarkable fancy
| young gentlemen up ere after theaters
once or twice. Remarkable fancy they
| was. You gentlemen on the top floor
does very much as you likes, but it do
| seem to me, sir, droppin' a walkin'
stick down five flights of stairs an
then goin down four abreast to pick it
| up again at half past in the morning,
singing Bring back the whisky, Willie
darling'-not once or twice, but scores
| o. times-isnt charity to the other ten
ants. What say is. DO as you would
be done by. That's my motto.''
| "Of course, of course. I'm afraid the
top floor isn't the quietest in the
! house."
| 81 make 10 complaints, sir. l have
/ spoke to Mr.. Heldar friendly, an he
| laughed an did me a picture of the
, missis that is as good as a colored
print. 1t 'asn't the Ugh shine of a
! photograph, but what l say is, Never
look q gift horse in the mouth Mr..
Heldar's dress clothes 'aven't been on
him for weeks
Then it's all right" said Torpen-
how to himself. "Orgies are healthy,
and Dick has head of his own. but
when it comes to women making eyes
I'm not so certain. Binkie, never you
be man, little dorglums They're
contrary brutes. and do things without
reason"
Dick had turned northward across
the park, but he was walking in the
spirit on the mud flats with Maisie.
He laughed aloud as he remembered
the day when lie had decked ANON
mas horns with the ham frills and Mai
sic. white with rage, had cuffed him.
How long those four years had been,
and how intimately Maisie was con-
nected with every hour of them
Storm across the sea- and Maisie in
gray dress on the beach, sweeping her
drenched hair out of her eyes and
laughing at the homeward race of the
fishing smacks; hot sunshine on the
mud flats and Maisie flying before the
wind that thrashed the foreshore and
drove the sand like small shot about
her ears; Maisie, very composed and
independent, telling lies to Mrs. Jen-
nett while Dick supported her with
coarser perjuries; Maisie picking her
way delicately from stone to stone,
pistol in her hand and her teeth firm
set. and Maisie in a gay dress sitting
on the grass between the mouth of
cannon and nodding yellow sea pop
py. The pictures passed before him
one by one, and the last stayed the Ion
gest. Dick was perfectly happy with
quiet peace that was as new to his
mind as it was foreign to his expert
ence. 1t never occurred to him that
there might be other calls upon his
time than loafing across the park In
the forenoon.
There's good working light now"
he said, watching his shadow placidly.
OOAC pOOl uCNll " Dc RIdlcl
And there's Maisie!
She was walking toward him from
the Marble arch, and he saw that no
mannerism of her gait had been chang
ed. 1t was good to find her still Mai
sic and, so to speak. his next door
neighbor. No greeting passed between
them because there had been none in
the old days.
what are you doing out of your
studio at this hour?" said Dick as one
who was entitled to ask
'Idling. Just idling. l got angry
with chin and scraped it out. Then
1 left it in little heap of paint chips
and came away"
81 know what palette knitting means.
What was the piccy?'
"a fancy head that wouldn't come
right-horrid thing!'
II don't like working over scraped
paint when I'm doing flesh. The grain
comes up woolly as the paint dries"
Not if you scrape properly" Maisie
waved her hand to illustrate her meth
DDS. There was dab of paint on the
Wnltel cu1. DICK laughed.
you're as untidy as ever"
"That comes well from you. Look
at your own cuff"
"By Jove, yesI It's worse than yours.
] don't think we've much altered in
anything. Let's see, though" He look
ed at Maisie critically. The pale blue
haze of an autumn day crept between
the tree trunks of the park and made
background for the gray dress. the
black velvet toque above the black
hair and the resolute profile.
''No, there's nothing changed. How
good it is Dyou remember when
fastened your hair into the snap Of o
handbagY'
Maisie nodded, with twinkle i'll her
eyes, and turned her full face to Dick.
"Wait a minute" said he. THAT
mouth is down at the corners little.
Who's been worrying you, Maisie?"
"No one but myself never seem
to get on with my work, and yet try
hard enough, and Kami says
"'Continuez, mesdemoiselles. Con-
tinuez toujours. mes enfants.' Kami is
depressing. l beg your pardon"
"Yes, that's what he says. He told
me last summer that l was doing bet
ter, and he'd let me exhibit this year."
''Not in this place. surelyw
"Of course not. The salon."
"You fly high"
eve been beating my wings long
enough. Where do you exhibit, Dick"
81 don't exhibit. SELL"
in