The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-03-04
4 CONTRARY CoUR1SHIp

T HATE you" she said, clenching her
small white teeth.
Mackenzie, head and shoulders
taller than she, looked down and
smiled at the vehemence.
The laugh irritated her beyond en-.
durance
Just because other people decide to
make fools of themselves, we are ex-
pected to-" she went on scathingly.
''Of course, the world thinks it an ex-
cellent arrangement that we should
marry each other, divide the money,
and say nothing more about it-where-
Whereas Ronald Mackenzie
stroked his moustac che, and looked in
terrogatively at the speaker.
1--WE shall just do nothing Of the
sort" she finished In decided tones.
1.-THE money of fathers old friend
Sounds like a German grammar
book, doesn't it?" put in the other
coolly.
Phyllis Farrell took no notice Of the
untimely interruption.
1.-The money of fathers old friend
can go to-"
ITO the dogs" Mackenzie was dis
tinctly In teasing frame of mind to-
night.
ITO the poor" corrected Phyllis,
with stamp of her dainty foot.
Perhaps" Mackenzie's drawl was
more than ever apparent. Perhaps 1
shall not ask you to marry nae. 1
haven't done so as yet, you remember,
although you have assured me seventy
seven times, that nothing will induce
you to marry me! You hate me?
don't remember ever having been gull
ty Of asking you to love me!'
Tableau!
height, which wasn't more than five
feet at the most. This was turning
tables on her with a vengeance! Her
cheeks flooded with an altogether
charming color, her eyes shone sus-
piciously.
I'll" she began. And then,
woman-like, she fed from the room,
leaving himself anathematizing him.
self for brute and boor.
And yet" he soliloquized with a
grim laugh, IF 1 hadn't said some
thing of the kind, this state of things
would have gone on forever. It's no
use. II were to propose she would
refuse me; It's just what her contrary
nature would prompt her to do. Be
cause don't appear to want her at all,
she may fall in love with me! But
she will have hard fight of 1t, poor
little thing. Why couldn't the friend
of my father leave the money to her
Internationally? And yet, I'm glad he
didn't, for 1 might never have met
Phyllis, but for that will.'
A tender light came into his blue
eyes. Phyllis Farrell represented all
the world to him just now, though, as
he said, it would be simple madness to
tell her so. In spite Of his apparent
coldness, he loved her, from the top of
her curly. bronze gold head to the sole
of her dainty foot He turned off to
the billiard-room, and sought the COM
pany of his genial host, Miss FarrelPs
guardian, and an old college friend of
his fathers Mackenzie himself had
only come back on long leave from In
die a month ago, to find that bride
and fortune were awaiting him In
the old country. A mutual friend of
the young peoples fathers had thus
arranged matters ere he shuffled Of
this mortal coil, with an idea Of bene-
fitting both, In more ways than one!
Neither Of the legatees. however, up
to the present had seemed to regard
it in that light! Phyllis openly de-
elared that nothing would induce her
seven to see the young man, and was
only persuaded into tolerating his pres
ence in her guardians home by the
consideration that she would thereby
be able to refuse him every day!
And refuse him she did-even before
the fateful words had passed his lips.
It was all the more odious to her be-
cause Ronald turned out to be hand
some and gentlemanly, and under 9TH
or circumstances she might have cast
q favorable eye upon himl He was
horrid- perfectly horrid and hateful