Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1904-11-09
The *
COnquerOr
By KEITH GORDON
Copyright, 1901. by VI. MeKen

{ Manice looked at his watch 1t was
n ten minutes past a. and he was al
o ready late for an engagement Never
!. theless he dashed hastily into the big
r department store. determined to pro-
, cure the driving gloves that he sorely
E needed.
:, The tired clerks and shining pneu-
, matte tubes seemed to be In league to
' detan him, and he was strolling inn
patiently up and down. inwaydly re-
! Wiling the system that made such delay
possible, when the sight of tall, fair
girl, also waiting for change, trans
formed his feelings like the touch Of Y
fairy wand. His impatience vanished;
his engagement was forgotten. He
had seen his ideal woman!
A weaker man might have failed to
detect his chance In the mere passing
glimpse Of face In the crowd. Not
50 Manice. If fate In effect, said to
him. Don't you wish you knew her?"
he indomitably answered Trust me
| shall know her. And so the game
began.
Social customs he regarded as so
many fences inclOsing and dividing the
field of action. Under ordinary circum-
stances he respected these defenses
and skirted them decorously until he
came to gateways. like any other well
bred individual But the case in hand
was comparable only to cross cOun-
. Paw, 10 l.A yhn .nt1l1 hn
in at the death must go over the
fences. jump the bitches and stay him
Not for gateways and bridges.
All of which means that Floyd Man
ice, usually the most dignified and con-
sentative of men, spent the rest Of the
afternoon following slim, erect young
woman at a very respectful distance
and utterly without her knowledge.
At D. In. he had the satisfaction
OF seeing her enter smart trap at
Moristown, n. j., whittier she had
unwittingly led him, and satisfied |
| from her manner that she was at home !
lie paced the platform waiting for the
train back to town and making plans
with an eAultant confidence born of
long success
"Going to Morristown for the sum-
mer eh?" exclaimed his partner in
some surprise when he announced his
intention a week later. II thought you
loathed New Jersey
Mistaken idea Of yours" responded
Manice. with nlendacious brevity. by
the way, do you know any one there"
Events usually moved with business
like precision when Manice started to
accomplish an end. Within two weeks
from the day on which he first saw
his star. as he called her to himself.
lie was established in MorristOwn.
waiting in strong, serene, yet humble
expectation for her to appear once
more upon his horizon
Tie days passed like a procession
though through the kindness Of city
friends lie had a number Of introduc.
tions, he made no effort to discover s
her identity. He had a strange. sweet {
consciousness-to which he held In
spite of disappointment and the de- S
plorable sentmentality into which 1t l
was leading him-that she was surely +
drifting toward him and that each day
brought them nearer together.
Near the end Of the third week his
faith was rewarded. 1t was OH the .
golf links. and ripple Of peculiarly q
clear, frank laughter somewhere near 8
Linn caused him to turn his head. She 6
and a companion were sauntering to. =
ward him, every line of her 1.-the ,
graceful figure standing out gorlously -,
against the pure background Of the {
sky, her brown hair framing her face
IN bcwitching disorder. q
On this glimpse of her Manice lived Q
for another week. and then his friend, 4
duncan Brown. descended upon him p
for the weeks end stay. Duncan would n
have been welcome under any crcum- =
stances, but when he announced that a !,
great friend Of his. Betty Aston, lived 6
In Morristown and offered to take =
AIanice to see her the latter pressed
the freedom of his bachelor quarters 3,
upon him with added feryency, Won h
iering If by chance he was entertaining
III angel unawares. r.
So indeed 1t proved. +,
II think | saw you on the links the ia
other day" Miss Aston remarked. T.
turning TO AlaniCe after the greetings
were over. and that gentleman always
" wondered what he said In reply The
)ne impression that he carried away NJ
rom that meeting was confusing OF
sense Of having been projected unex. +,
)actedly into the very midst OF heaven. -,
That impression. however, was not ~.
asting Time revealed that II Miss ~.
Aston was guiding star others be- ~
sides himself were looking. raising their n,
yes to her and following where she tb
cd. od
Still he drew sigh Of relief at the 9,
thought that lie had two rivals instead
If one Always In these matters there ~
vas safety in numbers. II,
Keeping watchful eye upon two
ivals is wearing work even for a n,
strong man. If Manice had been fas- -,
.inated by Betty Alston's face at the n,
nd of two months II was lovelier to IT,
lin than ever. for the better lie knew ro
Ter the more assured he became of her -,
weetness and womanliness. Counted %
~ conventional standards. 1t was 40
'ltfully short time that they had 6,
.nown each. other but he felt as II h< M
lad been aware Of her through all the ~,
hlrty-hvc years Of waiting. u.
Thus his love. like Il mighty wave,
whose crest. poised for moment
must inevitably spend Itself In foam,
roke into words. Simple, manly VI
words they were. lei
"You are the only woman in the so
orld for me-" he concluded. the color ui'
lat usually glowed under his tan 'ht
-. ..,,,o.,, a., a.. = va