Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1904-11-16
Elva blusLssi furiousiy.


ings are bound to form the subject Of
comment. Mollie Richards always per-
sists in wearing maize with her particu-
lar shade of red-auburn hair, and-I
could see her from all over the garden"
Almost without looking?" I sug.
gested, carelessly.
Elva passed over this remark with con-
tempt, but couldn't help noticing that
the flush deepened.
We'll, as it's not Mollie, she observed
with dignity, "and as you've called on
purpose, perhaps you'll be cbliging
enough to tell ne who it is, SO that may
congratulate or con6one with you, as
the case may be-"
You'll condone,' said l, with con-
viction
why, please?"
Because she-this girl, who isn't
Mollie Richards, you know. doesn't care
straw for me-in that way, and the
whole thing is hopeless"
Elva softened instantly.
How can you tell if you've nevef
asked her?" she demanded. "She may
be simply pining away for your sake,
II you only knew"-her gaze wandered
through the window and settled on a
bed of brilliant begonias in the front
garden-"girls don't always wear their
hearts on their sleeves, even in these
matter-of-fact days, Monty"
l raised my eyes. They had been
busily engaged in tracing the pattern of
the carpet.
DO you think it's likely" asked,
that any girl would really fall in love
with man twice her age. if
'Oh. she's young" interrupted Elva,
hastily. do you know, I'm rather glad
of that"
held up deprecating hand.
please let me finish," 1 implored.
Twice her age, when she's tyrannized
over him, leased him and looked upon
him as an old fogey for the greater part
of her natural life?"
Elva eyed me sharply. The color
came and went in her cheeks in a way
that had never seen it before. Iput my
eyeglass in order to better admire the
effect
You said you'd seen her only once
or twice." she resumed, severely; but
the culver in her voice robbed the Sc
verify of any sting.
waved my hand.
Lovers license!" l said, airily. 1
couldn't divulge everything at once"
"If you've known her so long. how
comes it that you Only-well-discov-
cred the state Of your feelings yester-
day."
There is a tide in the affairs Of
| men," l quoted. Likewise, there is a
psychological moment when a man sud-
denly realizes fact that may have been
staring him in the face for years"
"And that psychological moment oc-
Cured at Lady Follet's?"
Occurred at Lady Foilet's," I
echoed. And then there was long ST.
! lence
let my eyes wander slowly round the
room. They fingered vaguely on the
! ridiculous blue cats with which Elva
aGOrns her mantelshelf. and SKINNED
the photographs Of her numerous adj
! mirers-some of them thrust carelessly
into the cvermantel, and some, the N ore
! Ava Ct.L1'C oIllll Mug At me ItOiH GIdU~
! crate frames.
think Elva's eyes must have been
wandering, too. for they came to an
Choir at the same moment as mine. and
! then. without any rhyme or reason. they
filled quite suddenly with tears.
! Now | can never see a woman cry
without feeling that something-some-
thing drastic must be done at once
started up. and then the rest seemed
to follow as a natural and easy conse-
Quence.
In less time than it takes to chronicle
Elva was crying quietly on my Shoulder
and the blue cats were grinning diabol-
fcally from their several coigns of van.
| tage.
And when" asked. after we had
become more or less normal, and re-
turned to earth once again, when was
your psychological moment. Elva?"
Elva fingered a gardenia in my but.
| tonhole-took it out-smelt it, and re-
! placed it carefully.
When you pretended-I mean. when
1 thought you were pretending, and that
1t was Mollie Richards, you know" she
said incoherently.
! And the blue cats grinned more than
ever. as much as to say: eve know
something about human nature. though
we are only china. Free Lance
| RAMROO NNRa RIoAo-rn