Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-03-10
By EDWIN J. wEBsTEI
Copyright. 1908. by Daily Story Pub. GO.

they had known the girls of that pretty little village since childhood, had grown somewhat careless and in- attentive. Possibly the girls of Ab- beyville were too particular and de- manded more than was their due though an unprejudiced observer would have said this would have been almost impossible in the case of such attractive girls. Whatever may have been the right of the case originally, the girls of Abbeyville, under the leadership of Laura Hopkins, decided that they had not been treated in a satisfactory manner. Something must be done to cause the young men of Abbeyville to repent and to remorse- fully regard and regret their lost op- portunities. Clearly an offensive and defensive league of the prettiest girls in Abbeyville would quickly bring about this much-to-be-desired result. And this was the reason for the forma- tion of the Abbeyville Bachelor Girls trust. i-.
 Laura Hopkins, as the leading spirit in the movement, was chosen president of the new trust. Laura had just quar- reled with the man who thought her as near perfection as girl can be- which in his opinion was very, very near--and in whom she had taken more than a sisterly interest. Per- haps this was the reason why she plunged into the work of forming the, Bachelor Girls trust in such an eager, not to say vindictive manner, needless of the fact that all the evils claimed by the opponents of nan-made trusts would be small compared with those which would be wrought by this new one if it should become firmly estab- ushed throughout the country
 we can have club as well as the men," declared Laura, in sterner tones than one would have expected from SO pretty girl We can have our own dances, little parties all by ourselves, and all kinds of fun. We, will show the men of Abbeyville that they are not one little bit necessary to our scheme of life, liberty and the pur- suit of happiness.'
 They did. From the first the Bach elor Girls trust had a career of tri- umph com pared with which the ca reers of ,man-made oil, coal, steel, rubber and other trusts were check cred. The trust had scarcely been started ere it's victims were anxious to capitulate. They pleaded that manufacturers and producers who were crushed by other trusts were at least allowed to take stock in them. But the Abbeyville Bachelor Girls trust was differently managed. It would hear of no compromise. Its victims must be crushed and thor oughly punished for their previous neglect of the fair members of the trust. Soon the poor victims were ready to listen to any terms. And then, just when the trust seemed to have everything in it's own hands, when complete and unconditional victory seemed assured, the trust was ruined, and ruined by the treachery of Nettie Williams, one of it's prettiest and most prominent members.
 Nettie had originally regarded the trust project with much favor. But with the advent of Jack Wilson in the village of Abbeyville things had grad ually changed. Jack was a distant cousin of hers. She had met him at college commencement two years before She had watched him plunge through the Yale line in the big foot ball game. Even before Jack decided to pursue his profession in Abbeyville it must be confessed that he had oc- cupied a larger place in Nettie's thoughts and day dreams than was safe for such an ardent member of Bachelor Girls trust.
 While Jack was deciding on the sit uation for his office and apartments he stayed at the Williams residence. One must be civil to cousin, even if he is distant one and you are a prominent member of a Bachelor Girls trust. So Nettie accepted many invitations to walk and ride with her big, athletic-looking cousin. Jack Wilson was not g. believer in pro- crastination. When he wanted any thing he wanted it very badly and very quickly. And one evening, as they were returning from a drive, he asked Nettie question, a question she had been longing, yet half afraid to have him ask. And then Nettie suddenly remembered her half-forgot- ten duty, her solemn, but unheeded VOW as 8 member of the Abbeyville Bachelor Girls trust.
 Fortunately jack Wilson was g law yer, and still more fortunately, as he assured Nett;e, he had made a spe- cial study of the antitrust laws. He pointed out the danger Nettie had run Tn joining a combination which was so plainly illegal. The Sherman law, the laws to prevent the restraint of traffic, innumerable state and fed eral laws explicitly pronounced such trust as that of the Bachelor Girls to be illegal, as striking at the dear est rights and privileges of free-born American citizens which had been guaranteed them by the constitution. Nettie in terror crept closer to Jack and slipped her hand in his. Would she be arrested, cast into jail, per- haps sent to prison for life for her fragrant disobedience of the Sherman, l