Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1905-01-06
The Eyec Of
Cupid
- kEITH GORDON
oopmIohI. Iaol. BY Alarv MeKeon

"Give me a sensible girl" said Billy
as he unconsciously began TO respond
TO Mrs. Jacks artful promptings Of
the last half hour. which bad. however.
been so deity administered that lie
did not 50 much as suspect that he
was being pumped dry on the subject
Of his ideal "Glve me a girl
with no nonsense about her"
He paused imprcssivcly and stared
drcamily into the haze OF blue smoke
that surrounded them us IL striving to
call his Ideal clearly Up before his
minds eye.
venus de Milo waist and common
sense shoesT' suggested Mrs. Jack.
who for reasons Of her own wished to
get the outer scmblancc Of Biliy's
ideal woman clearly impressed upon
her memory.
Biliy's glare withdrew itself from
the shadOwy haze aud rested upon his
friends wife. For a brief moment his
taste wavorcd. DETECTED by the be.
witching thinness Of her daintily shod
foot, which had an apologize air OF
being more ornamental than useful.
Then lie reverted steruly to his ideal
once more.
"Er-yes," he began-";hat is. II
Il IS necessary" he added weakly. find
ing his companions appearance fatally
a~ntagOnlstic to his theories.
AS she had explained to her husband
while dressing for dinner that even
ing, she felt responsible for Billy. and.
though the former had assured her that
Billy was n "husky brute" n could
take care OF himself. she had not been
convinced.
VI took you away from him." she
had argued with soft persistence, and
of course he must be awfully lonely
up there In the old rooms. 1t isn't
as IL he had you,'' she had ended. with
nm infection That had caused her hus-
band. who was at the moment deftly
manipulating his hairbrushes. to fash
a half humorous glance at his image
IN the mirror and then cross the room
10 her side.
With an orange wood stick In one
hand and the finger tips Of the other
rosy with pOmade. she had reached mp
and recklessly pulled his head down
beside her own. Temporarily the Lone
ly Billy had been forgotten. Then the
very exces Of their happiness had
made her heart smite her.
at must be awfully lonely for him.
she had resumed as II their conversa-
A., HI w...F-,I -. s.t..~.-Nf.. al.,l
since it's all my fault l feel as If /
ought to find him n wife,"
Now, encouraged by Mrs. Jacks
sympathetic, questioning eyes. Billy
rambled on, explaining that. though lie
was not n marrying man, there were
moments when he hoped that some
time he might have n hearth Of his
own. etc. Though apparently listen
ing with sweet interest, his hostess
was I'm reality reviewing the list Of
her friends in search Of the possible
girl. One by Il they seemed to pass
before her, u smiling, teasing process
sion Of blonds and brunettes. But none
OF them, she realized with some dis
appointment. could exactly be descrlb-
ed as n 'girl with no nonsense about
her" and from the feryor of Billy's
convictions 1t was apparent that no
other need apply.
Then, just MS two worried lines of
thought began to appear on her smooth
forehead and as Billy was winding up
with. You see how 1t Is. Mrs. Jack
the girls of today are too brilliant md
worldly for a humdrum fellow like
me!' the face of Virginia Blair arose
before her. and the lines disappeared
in the radiance Of a bright, assured
smile.
"She certainly is good looking in n
drendfully noble manner" the young
matchmaker thought to herself as she
reyolved schemes for bringing the two
together. but l suppose Billy admires
that type. And she doesn't pinch her
feet or her waist. Obviously she was
made for Billy"
At the dinner party which she gave
soon after for that particular though
unexpressed purpose Of bringing them
together Billy took Miss Blair out. she
was a tail, handsome girl, with dark.
serious eyes and smooth. heavy hair.
Before tile first course had disappeared
Billy had discovered that she and life
took each other seriously. and he had
an uncomfortable feeling when her
serious gaze fell upon him that he
was a trivial soft Of fellow after all.
When she asked for his views upon
municipal reform, lie was sure of 1t.
He wal as confused and nonplused as
II n canary bird had suddenly begun
10 bark.
For years he remembered that din
ner with a sort OF horror. He ana
Miss Blair. Il seemed to him aftcrward.
had worked like galley slaves, discuss
ing all the knotty problems Of the day.
Around them were llghtness. gayety
and laughter. especially on the other
side Of the table. where Tessie Loring,
who was the very embodiment OF fem
inine frlvolity. bubblel and dimpled
aud cast languishing glances about her.
Mrs. JACK had often wondered wheth-
CT there would be anything left OF
Tessie should the dainty gown, hats.
shoes aud wells be swept away. for she
seemed nothing more than n spirit
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