The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-01-27

that Mat wCS cross that Afternoon
Just by the way he slammed his wheel
against the veranda and came charg-
ing up the steps.
"See here, Molly" was his only
greeting,-always having lived next
door, he is not always very ceremoni-
ops,-"why don't you girls Take the
nonsense out of Mabel Rogers?
| asked him, what nonsense" |
knew we'll enough, but Mat has such
an exasperating way of breaking into
a subject.
Don't be unnecessary Dense" was
all the satisfaction | received. Il tell
you, Molly, I'm sick of Mabel's city
airs and affcctetions, and so are all
the other fellows. They're all begin
ming to keep shy of her"
1t was wicked of me, but | could
not resist
And yet" said, when Mr.. Matth
ew Bronson came home from college,
about two weeks ago, he said It was
refreshing to find one really stunning
girl in town-a girl with some style
and manner, a girl who knew what
was what. And he considered 1t such
a pity that the rest OF the Harwich
girls couldn't visit somebody in New
York, and"
But that was as far as got, for Mat
was fairly snorting something about
its being just like girl to remember
everything a fellow ever said, and
rake It up after he had changed his
mind.
Then, when he felt a little more
comfortable, he said he thought 1t was
somebody's duty to make Mabel "cut
1t out" as he expressed It, Her faith
er did not care to, 1t seemed, and her
aunt did not dare to, so he thought 1t
was left for us-his sister Nell and
meas Mabel's most intimate friends.
She was too fine a girl to be spoiled
by such Stiffness. If it were one of
the boys, now, the other boys would
take 1t out of him mighty quick!"
Nell had come upon the veranda dur
ing the Grafton, and she asked Mat,
sarcastically, what method he would
suggest Would he advise us to put
Mabel on the floor and sit on her until
she promised to be nice and natural
again? She believed that was the u.s.
usl mode OF procedure with boys.
But Matthew only shook his head
and hinted darllly that girls had
ways" he did not know how they
did things, but he knew they did. He
could not tell, for instance, how they
had made Ned Bates stop smoking
but they had
Nell gave me a funny little look and
said that she guessed Ned could rot
tell, either, and / hurried to ask If
Mabel had been doing anything new
and striking. She was certainly inter-
esting in those days.
Il was over there little while ago, u
said Mat, "to see If she would go to
Edith's party with me- That new maid
held me up at the door for a card
wouldn't let me in without It, either
and ordered mo to walk into the
drawing room while she took the card
to Miss Mabelle. Mabel had seen me
from the window too"
"Oh," | interrupted, did you hear
how she tried. to make Timothy wear
livery when he took the horses out?
Fancy it-Old Tim! OF course he
wouldn't, and for once Mr.. Rogers in
terfered. He said that he would pay
the extra maid and change his dinner
hour and call her Mabelle, but he
wouldn't Jet her make a fool of Tim
too"
Mat said. Good for him! | didr't
know he had the spirit
Then he told how ho asked Mabel to
go to the party, and she wanted to
know II he did not think that sort OF
thing 80 country" Mat asked heI
what sort of thing, and she said, think.
ing you must always go to places with
boys. And her aunt preferred her tc
60 Just with one of the maids.
Then Mat had said things. He told
her that was all right In a city, but IL
the country, where they have beer
neighbors all thoir lives, it w2s sim
ply ridiculous. He finished by tellins
her that she could go with one of thu
maids until the ond Of her days, so fal
as Mr.. Matthew Bronson was concern
ed. Then Mabel told him not to &C
like a small boy, and he came away
Nell and | screamed To be called
a small boy is SO irritating-when on,
is! And Nat is undeniably undersized
But he did not see the cause of oul
mirth. He said severely:
'It's, all very well to laugh, but
think It's your duty to make her dro,
It. II you can. You think 1t over"
So Nell and thought 1t over. T,
toll the truth, We felt fiattered b.
Mats confidence In our power to d,
something, end we agreed with hin
in thinking that something ought to b
done.
Mabel Rogers used to be CONSIDERS
tho prettiest. brightest. most popula
girl In town before she went to visi
her New York cousins; but that visi
nearly spoiled hor. When she cam
back hor aim In LIE was to look an