The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1904-04-14
"Deuced G:
Awkward
LAWRENCE HENRY
Copyright, 1901, by Daily Story Pub. Co.,

Copyright, 1901 by Daily Story Pub. Coz
TIT WAS on q small steamer in the
Mediterranean, sailing from Nice
and bound for Cairo. Aboard among
other passengers, was small party OF
Americans consisting of Mrs. Travers,
her enhancing daughter Marie. a Mr..
Howard Lamont and Freddie Twom-
bly,. The Travers and Freddie had been
leisurely doing the continent for several
months. At Nice, some weeks before,
they met Mr.. Lamont, and he gladly &C
cepted an invitation to accompany them
to Egypt. His readiness could be &C
counted for because of any of number
ofvreasons. Among these several might
have been: that Mrs. Travers, though
of the parvenue, was widow; that her
daughter. her only heir. was of that
charming type of American girl where
In beauty of face. symmetry of form
and piquancy of manner cause admira-
ton wherever found; that MIR. Lamont.
q bachelor, possibly somewhat blase.
still was open to the seductions of
the sex, and further, that he wholly ap-
preciated the intrinsic and extrinsic
worth of good American dollars; that
well, there may have been other rea-
sons why Mr. Lamont was there, but
sufficient have been enumerated.
Freddie should also be accounted for
In some manner. He had been with the
Travers ever since they left New York.
Freddie would be called by some peo-
pie chappie, and maybe he was. The
girls called him peaches and cream, be-
cause of his complexion; the men, ex-
cept in his own set. never grew seri-
Gus because of his presence. Nobody
seemed to know exactly whether he was
a fool or not. :: One thing. was certain,
he. had been doing the lackey part for
the. Travers all over the continent, and
was still at It. But Freddie had pur-
pose in this; it was qualification that
put him in the man classic loved, yes,
he loved, deeply. profoundly for all the
littleness of the surface indication of
his nature. He demeaned himself, he
sacrificed his self-respect, he received
orders and reprimands, was coddled
like poodle or snapped up like serv-
ant, according to the moods Of his task
mistresses. and he stood for 1t all, be-
cause he thought it was the way to Sc
cure the love of the woman he loved.
OF course, it was beautiful Marie that
Freddie loved, and it was sad day for
him when Mr.. Howard Lamont came
upon the scene. Not that he had ever
received what other men would have
called encouragement from Marie, but
at times when in real sentimental re-
taxation, she would hold long tete-a-tetes
with Freddie and languidly pick the
strings of his heart like harp, until
the boy fairly stifed with emotion. His
speech was always with stutter, but
on these occasions he would reach the
stage where there would be only the
stutter without speech. They always
ended with ripping laugh on Marie q
part, but often her heart would fail her
and on parting she would extend her
hand for Freddie to kiss.
But with Mr. Lamont's appearance
these riffs in the clouds for Freddie
ceased. Marie's tete-a-tetes were mo-
nopolized by Mr.. Lamont, the debonair,
the impressive, accomplished man of the
world, and by the time they found them
Ielves On the deck of this little Mediter-
ranean steamer he was the apparently
ACKNOWLEDGED sutton for her hand.
Mrs. Travers was delighted, for she
loved her daughter with all the strength
of an honest mothers heart, notwith-
standing her own little failings She re-
garded Mr.. Lamont as the genuine
type of sturdy manhood. and she appre-
ciated his position and lineage. 1t was
because of Freddie's position and line
age that she tolerated him, but it was
his apparent lack of the other quality
that caused her to hold him in semi-con-
tempt.
Itwas the second day out. Freddie was
below, slipping an absinthe and whisky
as surcease for the achings of his
wounded heart. Mr. Lamont and Marie
were on deck enjoying the soft breezes
from the Italian shore.
DO you really think the man who
truly loves a woman will sacrifice his
life for her if put to the test?" inquired
Marie, the conversation apparently
having grown somewhat animated OF
her part.
Undoubtedly" replied Mr.. Lamont
in tones that thrilled with the conviction
of the thought. Il sincerely believe
that no woman can ever be absolutely
positive of a mans genuine love until
he has been put to such test"