Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1905-10-26
Little DOrOthy'S
COurtShip
By VIRGINIA LEILA VENT

Npulu never 10 TOT Joan 10 ma tle
big fish, Of the house party-that was
the name she had given the young Eng
lish earl-talking to her alone. She,
alas, was only poor little Cousin Doro-
thy and acting in this particular house
hold as Joan's mothers paid compan-
ion. So she pretended to be bored
with his lordship's society.
"La-la, la-ln, la-la-la," she hummed,
sinking back into the depths Of the
easy chair and stretching her white
arms lazily.
Il say" said the earl. "am l firing
you, Miss IDrothy?"
Dorothy stopped humming. NO"
she drawled, with mock mischief, mot
exactly. But"-here- she smiled her
sweetest smile upon him-'you won't
be yeXed, will you, If | tell you that
I'm a bit sleepy and that must sleep
in the sum- VIII you draw this chair
over for me, pleaseT Rising slowly,
she adjusted the fleur-delis at her
waist while his lordship drew the chair
to the sunny corner Of the big veranda.
How'll that do?" asked he.
"Splendidly. Now for cushions"
How many?"
Hundreds" said she.
He collected as many as he could
carry and fetched them to her.
Here are thousands" he announced.
delicious" murmured Dorothy, sink
ing back into them with a sigh Of con-
tent. This is quite perfect"
1T will be when l fetch you sun
shade" he amended.
"Sunshade" cried she. GO away,
you Goth l want the sun"
You'll be pickled!" warned he.
NO" corrected she, dimpling, pre-
served" Her long black lashes lay mo-
tionless on the wild rose flush of her
checks.
The earl chuckled and, pretending
that he fancied her already asleep,
crept elaborately away on tiptoe. Joan
and the rest of them were in sight,
and he advanced to meet them.
Joan Shannon was unquestionably q
beauty. She had been photographed in
every variety Of pose; she had been
painted by several of the most cele-
brated artists on two continents, but
in spite of this fact she had passed
through the whirl of three seasons and
was still unwed.
"She must be waiting for a title"
people said. as other girls far less
beautiful came out, danced through a
season or two, and were led to the
altar by men of their choice.
However that may be, included
among the guests at this particular
house party at the Shannons big coun-
try place on the sound was the young
Earl Of Stowbridge and 1t was common
property that Miss Shannon already
had found him very attractive.
80 awfully sorry you couldn't Join
us in our sail this morning" she began
in her sweet, suave voice, with an ac-
cent which was the result OF much
travel. us your headache better now?"
"'Pon my honor, I've not given it
thought for the last half hour. | found
Miss Dorothy reading on the verahda.
and she took pity on me and put down
her book, and-well, somehow she must
have cured my headache! She's got Jol-
ly pretty dimples, and she's a cousin
of yours, didn't some one sayT
Yes distant Mamma never liked
me to associate much with her family
when we were little, and now, as you
can imagine, we aren't very-er-con-
genial"
Such fun" observed the earl lacon-
ically. His fair companion turned and
looked at him reproachfully. And who
would wish to be 'funY said she.
"Oh, | don't know" said his lordship
gallantly.
Miss Shannon found herself wonder
ing for moment as they walked on
whether the earl might not prove testy'
after all Would he be uneasy under
the crushing and ordering about to
which her father and mother submit
ted. If there was one thing she dislik
ed it was Obstacular people. She had
been brought up to expect people to
agree with her.
"Of course" she sighed, Struggling |
her beautiful shoulders discreetly, Il |
feel sorry for poor little Dorothy Moth |
er won't need her after the autumn,
and I'm sure don't know what's going
to become Of her then. Besides, she |
hasn't any practical sense. Just look at |
her now lying asleep in all that sun.
She'll be simply black with freckles"
That afternoon when everybody was
resting for dinner dance IN the even |
ing the Earl of Stowbridge wandered !
into the library, cool, dim apartment |
banked with books and made comfort |
able with couches
He had Just discovered one Of his |
favorite authors and settled down to
read when the sound OF feminine |
voices in the adjoining room disturbed !
his attention. Six seconds had not |
elapsed when he became aware that |
II was no ordinary interview and that |
he should make q step forward to an |
nounce his presence. 1t was not in his |
character or traditions to be an caves
droppcr; nevertheless he found him |
self curiously unable to move or utter |
aFsound.
Angling for him-IV 1t was Dor |!
othy's voice, low and impassloned, but |
with a quick little gasp or two, such
as would come from one who had sud
denly received an unexpected douche |
Of cold water
There can be no doubt Of that" !
came Mrs. Shanncn's icy tones. "Only
yesterday Joan was telling me Of her
own misgivingS
"MisgiyingSr' There was still that |
tremUipus catch in the breath.
"Oh. of course young men will be |
young men" continued Mrs. Shannon, |
with Il pur in her well bred tones. |
They will pursue the girl who holds
cut the angling iron. You are clever
| don't dispute the face; you are clever |
AMI t.r rlrul1tiup- Int one fling I have |