Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1904-01-27
Loves Labor Lost
BY GEORGE wilson.
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IL is name was Frederick Algernon
G.. Pinkington, but by his associ-
0tes in the swell set in which he
moved he was Familiarity addressed as
Freddy Pinkey, and when out of
hearing as Sissy Pinkey; and well did
the name seem bestowed, for a mere
pink and white complexion than
Pinkey's it would be hard to find of
the stage or outside doll shop.
His little, round, expressionless face
was adorned by soft, downy mus
tache, which, when he puckered up his
cherry red lips, preparatory to utter
ing his favorite ejaculation, "Oh, mer-
cyl" kinked up in the center and down
at the ends like cupid's bow.
His hands were soft, white and felt
like bunch of wet cigarettes. He
wore his hair parted automatically
In the center, letting it ripple back on
either side in series of glossy wave
let's. which, with a gold chained
monocle, he considered irresistible.
Pinkey was an only son and lived
with his parents in the brownstone
upon Swell Hill. He had tried EIar-
ward, from which he had returned he
first half, and when questioned by in
terested friends had replied in a weary
tone, "Oh, bwain fag, dontcherknow?'
Besides living with his parents, Pix
ey's chief occupation was studying the
fashion plates, of which he was liv-
ing prototype, and attending the nu-
merous social functions of his set.
Never was he more in his element
than when gliding over the polished
floor Of a ball room to the dreamy
strains of waltz, or helping dish out
the ice cream or pass the sandwiches
at an outing, when the girls would tie
q big apron on him and tell him how
good he was
Besides dancing, Pinkey's one other
accomplishment was singing; he could
sing, and no sailing party down the
bay was complete without Pinkey and
his guitar, when they would perch him
upon the edge of the deck house,
where, to the tinkle of the guitar, he
would MARBLE sentimental ballads and
throw ravishing glances at Maud
Chalmers, who, watching the little
rosebud mouth and the curving mus
tache, would think of an with a
breve over it, and smile broadly at his
most touching passages. But this lid
not disconcert Pinkey; for anything
that Maud did was CONNIE II faut. 3"
In fact, Pinkey would have most will
lingly laid down and let Maud plant
her dainty foot upon his four-inch-col-
lar-incased neck, or. for that matter,
tramp promiscuously all over him, for
he was desperately in love with ner
But, then, in this respect he was no
different from whole lot of other fell
lows, who gladly would have done the
same thing; for tall, handsome, genial
Maud was prime favorite with every
one.
Pinkey was a frequent caller at
Maud's, and when Rose Denison re-
monstrated with her for allowing him
to come, thus encouraging him in a
hopeless cause, she had replied:
Yes, l know, but he is really inter-
esting and l like to study him. l real
ly do. as he is species of the genus
homo, and then, he is such a harm
less little creature, / really haven't
the heart to hurt him."
But" persisted Rose, you know
that he will pop just as sure as the
world"
'Oh, yes, l suppose So" exclaimed
Maud, YEARLY; they all do sooner OF
aater, but l haven't given him the least
reason to, and if he will, he will, that's
all. l don't believe he is quite the kind
to Shuttle off this mortal coll through
the agency of broken heart, any
way"
And sure enough, as Rose predicted,
Pinkey did pop. He had now been
paying her every attention for some
time and, as far as he could see, his
suit had prospered unusually well. TO
be sure, whenever he mentioned any
thing touching the subject, she had al
ways in some def way led him to talk
of other things, but then this was most
natural in a girl of Maud's refined
temperament, and was no criterion of
her true feelings at ALL In fact, his
sky seemed unusually bright, the only
cloud appearing therein when he found
Smith or some of the other fellows at
Maud's, which. of late, was getting TO
be a rather frequent occurrence. But
then, moths and other bugs are always
attracted by bright light, anyway;
however, lest some of them might, in
some accidental way, damage his SUIT,
he would effectually remove even
those remote chances by proposing
without delay.
With this end in view he called one
evening and. after some circumfiuous
gossip, suddenly drew his chair square