The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1905-03-03

,~SCG> HE messenger boy waited
Y F1 Y while Jack Powers wrote
6 9 his answer to her note.
y She might have telephoned,
3FC%W but it was her way to send
messengers with her misslves.
Very well, Kathleen" wrote Jack,
"Ill be there. You say for the last
time. 1 wonder why?'
He sent boy with this note and an
order on florist for box of violets,
as the messages accompaniment, and
then he turned to his work again.
But his eyes failed to do more than
stare at the figures before him. His
brain could not grasp their meaning.
Kathleen's face persisted in dancing
about the ink-well, in a twostep that
played havoc with business.
''I'm a beastly cad" cogitated Jack,
sand that's what. But it must be done
For the last time, she said. Perhaps
she's heard.s It would help things a
lot if she had"
He looked meditatively at a photo
graph which he fished from a dark
pigeonhole in his desk.
"She's a mighty nice little thing" he
said to himself. Out
And then he took another photograph
from an inner pocket of his coat, and
kissed it tenderly.
s"'violets"
Kathleen buried her nez retrouse in
fro ct,iff wiz
satisfaction.
sack always sends viOlets," she
said to no one in particular, though
her maid sat near by sewing some lace
on the dinner froek her mistress had
babe her lay out for her to wear.
Kathleen looked gloomily upon a tall
vase of longstemmed American Beaur
ties that stood on the table.
That's the difference in men. Law
renee sends big Beauties because they
cost money, and Jack sends viOlets
because they're my favorlte flower.
Poor Jack! How can l break his heart
for l suppose it will. You say for
the last time. l wonder why?' Heigho.
We must take our medicine, Marie.
Because l prefer millions to love in n
cottage-thats why. Hurry with the
waist, Marie, I must not be late at my
last dinner with Jack"
"'No, I didn't think we needed
, 1chaperon tonight, Jack"
"Why not tonight"
nPnoausa we'll
~ "Life is too short to quarrel,
Life is too short to sigh
i xPll tell you by-an-by, Jack-after
the fish, perhaps"
81. too, have something to tell you,
Kathleen"
For the space of ten minutes, while
the garcon placed the soup before
them. Jack felt uncomfortable. Every
body hates to attack disagreeable
duty. When the duty involves a pretty
woman. it is doubly distasteful. How
ever. he took a surreptitious peep at the
photograph in his breast pocket and 1t
neryed him to his task. Nevertheless,
there was no hurry about 1t.
.Isnt it absurd, Jack, to say that
love makes the world go round?" asked
Kathleen.
In her diplomatic, feminine way she
had wished to lead up to the subject
she had come to discuss.
"Of course it is" he answered, H'when
pllampagne-if one has enough OF it
will do the same thing"
4Salmon-oh, Jack, do you remem-
Der how we trolled for salmon at Del
Monte last summer"
Did he remember? He had to pat
the photograph in his pocket to forget.
81 read the other day." Kathleen was
saving. chat girl who couldn't make
I'D her mind between two lovers hasn't
a mind worth making up"
She looked at him from the corners
of her eyes.
Jacks face lighted up. She knew.
then. and that was the meaning Of her
desire for farewell dinner. How easy
il would be now to explain.
But Kathleen was not waiting for an
answer
"They say there's no skill in winning
a game where one holds all the trumps.
But in the game of hearts, JACK, sup
nose one held just two. Don't you
think it would be hard to know which
to discard?"
Bravo! thought Jack. What clever
little diplomat Kathleen is!
But she veered TO the other side.