Evening journal., 1905-05-31
THE KID
loriginaL1

bDNtu " RNht heA AdNc AshllHb UP
with a smile.
Il had to take that kid" said Dick,
"home from church last night. Her
father stayed to help count the contri-
button"
There was something in the sweet
smile that the girl gave him to make
me feel as if would like to punch his
head. Sun. was very fond Of him,
though be was very "klddish" himself.
"Who is she?" asked.
"Grace Lincoln"
Eleven years passed. Dick Norval |
had spent the greater part Of the pc
riod ont of my life, then came back in
to it again. He was dining with me
one evening, and | asked him why he
had not married. We were over our
coffee and cigars at the time. Dick
blew a smoke ring and looked through
it in a melancholy way into vacancy.
"Had a disappointment" I asked.
"Ten me about it.
4 don't mind," he said and gave me
the story.
a good many years ago, before
left this region, used to know a very
young girl Of the name Of Grace Lin
coin"
had not thought OF "the kid for
years. but remembered her and prick
cd up my ears.
when first knew her l was twenty
and she was scarcely fifteen and alto
.gcther too young for me. She went
away to school and to college and when
she came back was twenty-three, while
was twenty eight. There was a lot
Of difference in her, though not a great
deal in me. In one respect / remained
precisely the same. / still considered
q girl from twenty to twenty-five about
the right age for me. ! was thrown a
great deal with Grace Lincoln, and we
became fast friends. Her father had
grown very rich. and she could have
shone in society. but size preferred to
devote herself to an object. She un-
dertook the dispensation Of the amount
her father set aside each year for char
ity, and. since she investigated every
case thoroughly. the work took all her
time. Society tried hard TO get hold Of
her. but she said she had no time to
give to 1t. She was very intellectual
girl, and 4 was never better entertained
than when in her company
GAS years went on I grew more and
more deslrous Of home life and com
forts. and in thinking Of a woman to
preside over my household, be my life
companion and all that l was not long
in coming to the conclusion that the
only woman wanted was Grace Lin
soln. If | couldn't get her, home life
could not be for me. The more my
mind dwelt on this view Of the ques-
ton the more attractive it became to
me. suppose ] had loved the girl
for some time without knowing It.
Had any mau stepped in between her
and me l should have known it at
once. But something else than man
had come to keep US apart.
after beating about for a time with
out getting any encouragement l final
Iy determined to tell her what / had
on my mind anyway. She listened TO
what / bad to say without appearing
to be in the least moved by it, then
told me that she had determined to
devote her life to the work In which
she was engaged. / replied that she
must have given her heart TO some
one she had lost. whereupon she ad-
mitted that she had and would tell me
about it.
"'When l was between fourteen and
fifteen. she said, I met a young man
Of twenty who captiyated my unso-
phisticated little heart completely.
remember one night at church be saw
me home, and was the most delighted
girl in the world. / ran in TO my
mother and exclaimed that l had had
a grownup young man to see me home
"'But the grownup young man evil
dently was oblivious to having caught
me. At any rate, he didn't want me-
] was not much Of a conquest for him,
for 1 was but little more than child
He never paid me any attention. and
when I was thrown with him, though
exerted myself to entertain him. be
always seemed bored. went away tc
school treasuring his image in my
heart, but by the time had been grad
uated from college it had largely pass
ed away from me. If he had recipro
Gated doubtless should now be g
wife and mother. taking care Of my
own children instead Of those who need
me in much larger numbers. AS II is
am in love with my work and shal
never marry
"'And who.' I asked, is this stupiC
hss. this natural born fool. this drib
bling idiot, who permitted your hear
when young and tender TO slip through
his unappreciative fingers
"She looked up with a smile and re
piled;
You
ut was some moments before / coulC
understand that she really referred e
me. but when / did wanted to hir'
a strong man with cudgel to belabo
me for an hour every day that / nigh
have some satisfaction upon the per
son who had so blunderingly lost MT
the woman / wanted"
He blew another smoke ring, sighed
slipped his coffee and turned the sub
5ect
considered this romance my owl