The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1905-01-19
The
OGLESBy
BRIDE
BY KEITH GORDON


4 -
Copyright. 1905. BY I. C. Mcclure ]
&>s~s-s->-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-
When the senior partner is young.
handsome and unmarried and the wo-
man In the Office Of quiet elegance
Of face and form, subtly suggestive Of
drawing rooms. 1t Is apparent that
complications become possible.
Oglesby himself had a vague con-
sciousness OF the fact at the end Of
Miss Wentworth's first year there.
1t was not 20 much that, under the
charm OF her personality. Turkish
rug. not originally included in the plan
Of Office furnishings. had found Its way
into her room-that was q small mat
ter! But that he perceived q certain
incongruity In the fact that her slen.
der. well sh0d feet rested upon q pol
lshed floor. while he and Stanton
When incongruities Of this sort attract
q business mans attention he should
beware.
Miss Wentworth, to be sure. had IN
atmosphere all her own. which seemed
to demand proper setting for her.
To this silent demand of her individ-
uality Oglesby made u good many con-
cessions from time to time, almost
without knowing that he did so. He
had whimsical theory that she was
Ike fine china and should be treated
with tho greatest delicacy.
She herself never seemed to suspect
that there was anything unusual in the
attention that was paid to her COM
fort. II rug were put down In her
room. well. surely it was no more than
proper that there should be a rug
there. II Mr.. Oglesby showed a real
she occupied was as comfortable q
one az could be procured, Miss Went
worth supposed that 1t was but the
usual kindness displayed by employ
eES for their employees.
Il was not until the little room occu-
pied BY her contained every Office con-
vsuisnce that Oglesby was brought to
. consciousness Of the fact that there
might be some personal motive In his
thoughtfulness.
I'm! Seems to me, old man. that
you're daft on the subject OF our fair
assistant" observed his partner when
Tor The third time In as many months
b. had suggested some improvement to
b made In the stenographer's equip
ment.
OHaesby answered him somewhat tart
II and In q manner meant to convey
thst IN Oglesby could under no CIR
eumstances whabever become interest
cd In woman not Of his own class
otill the fact that Stanton had noticed
anything unusual in his behavior iFri-
tated him. He remembered. with sharp
discomfort, Z number Of times when
he had worked hard-harder by far
than he ever had with any woman Of
his own world-to win a smile from
her. He even found relief In the
thought that with tact rare In a girl
unframed to social life she had added
xest to his efforts by her calm, well
bred, but by no means encouraging
manner.
AN Oglesby and daft on the subject
Of stenographer!" he repeated to him.
self with scorn as Stanton's remark
ranked In his mind II guess not!''
It was fortunate that he should have
encountered Miss Wentworth on the
street one day while this resentment
was still warm In his mind. At the Of
nee. In spite of his resolutions. his man
ner was unchanged. Over and over
again he forgot that the cold. serene
young woman who looked ut him very
much n IL he were q mere detail Of the
Office furniture was simply his stenog-
rapher.
But when he met her on the street
that day a sudden remembrance Of
Stanton's speech embarrassed him.
After all, the Oglesby pride whispered,
"Stanton was right" With this thought
In his mind he checked the smile Of
greeting that rose to his lips and
bowed with elaborate and somewhat
patronlzing gravity.
AoS&AAu0 ~ OC JUDI u0 (VuI NCOuO "
mo as II did not write his letters for
% much per month";" was the thought
that flashed wickedly through Miss
Wentworth's mind. Her acknowledge
ment Of his greeting was reduced to Q
flicker Of the eyelids that came peril.
ously near to being imperceptible.
The effect was by no means lost up
on Mr.. Oglesby and produced in him q
queer mixture Of triumph and indigna-
ton.
"Jove." ran his thoughts apprecia-
lively. 'she has the air Of a grande
dame!"
Then a quick transition took place In
his view of the matter, and he expert
enced thrill of righteous indignation
ut her treatment. Had he not bowed
to her precisely as he would have done
to Miss Ten Eyck, with a mere trining,
impalpabie difference Of expression,
which a person in her position could
scarcely be expected to detect?
Just what was going to happen In
the future can never be definitely
known. for at that moment the vision
Of tall. fair girl, whose eyes seemed
to look into his with quiet mockery,
terminated his train Of thought. he