Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-03-17
DAILY SHORT STORY
WHICH?
[Original.l

|
"Breakneck Kate" as she was called.
| was the perfection of face and form.
u daredevil rider. a splendid shot with
the rifie-in short, she was the beau
ideal girl of the middle of the eight
zenith century in Virginia.
Two young planters distanced all
| other suitorS in the race for her hand.
| Sidney Pryor and Homer Lane had
| been chumS at William and Mary col
| lege We're both members of the house
| of burgesses, and each was in posses
sion of a fine plantation. Kate Mac
| KenZie admitted that she had deter
mined to accept one of them, but which
| one she was the only being who knew.
Some said 1t was the intellectual Ho-
| mer Lane; others the fox hunting Pryor.
| Still others declared that since they
| were such friends il would be pity
| for the ''belle of the James" to accept
| either
| When the young men discovered that
they were rivals, if there was antag-
| onism between them it was buried
within the depths of their hearts.
where no one could know of it. Each
| took especial pains to conceal any
| animosity from Kate Mackenzie. Nat
urally she was piqued that neither
showed jealousy of the other. In vain
she favored one, then the other. They
were too loyal to each other to reveal,
| if tNey felt it, what she desired to call
forth.
One afternoon the rivals met at the
| Mackenzie manor house and together
made a request of Kate that she would
| oil
that the spokesman for the two was
the man to be rejected. This ruffied
Kate who resolved that she would
| make both men show jealousy, and
she had already conceived plan for
| doing so. She told them that she
| would decide between them at bali
| which marked the close of the hunting
season to come off in a week from
| that evening If Pryor was her choice,
she would wear Il red rose; If Lane
was favored. a yellow one.
During the remaining days of the
eaSon the two SuitorS while out with
| hunting parties, of which Kate Mac
| Kenzie was always the most promi-
nent figure showed for each other the
utmost friendlineSS. No one knew sure
| " whether it was assumed OF real.
| The probability is Chat both being high
minded. honorable men, really believed
| that there was no rancor in their
| hearts. They had yet to learn what
| woman in such case can accomplish.
On the night of the ball Kate pur-
| posely delayed her coming. For this
| she had two reasons. She wished by
I suspense to work on her suitors' feel
| ings and to arrive when dancing. was.
| going on, so that she might have bet
| ter chance to meet them separately.
| When she left the robing room and en-
| tered the ballroom on her fathers arm
| she had Il red and Il yellow rose in her
| hand. Seeing Pryor coming toward her.
| she slipped the red rose into her cor
sage He came up without attempting
| TO conceal his delight, but Kate went
| on to salute the hostess. Scarcely had
| she turned from Pryor when she saw
Lane standing with his back to her.
| Taking the red rose from her corSage.
she slipped the yellow one in its place;
| then making n detour. she passed be
| fore him. After this she was surrounded
with cavaliers, and each of the two
rivals. thinking he had been chosen.
magnanimously left her to others.
| Soon after Hates entrance both
Pryor and Lane met on the veranda.
where each had gone to enjoy his own
| happy thoughts.
Homer, dear fellow" said Pryor,
my happiness is married by your dis
| appointment"
You mean that your disappointment
is deepened by my happiness. The
rose was yellow
til, 4.
within both of them now began to
come out, at first slowly, then by leaps
Each believed the other was intent on
not acquiescing in the decision. Kate
was looking for them TO come to her
for an explanation, when she would en-
joy their discontinue and rejoice in
having made them show their feelings.
But they did not come. One, two.
three hours passed, and neither did
they approach her, nor did either of
them appear again in the ballroom.
Becoming worried, Kate asked her att
tendant to walk about with her. hoping
to see one or both of her lovers. A
servant near the door told her that
both the gentlemen had gone and that
two others had gone with them.
Hates heart stood still. Sinking on
4 hall lounge, she asked her attendant
to call her father, and when lie came
the coach was called, and father and
daughter drove away together.
The next morning the peninsula was
startled at the news that the two
friends and rivals, Sidney Pryor and
Homer Lane, had fought a duel the
night before and both had been killed.
The rivals were buried side by side.
How this came about no one outside of
their respective families knew. though
it was suspected that it came of a re-
quest from the heartbroken woman
who had set them at enmity. She new
er had a lover again and never was
seen at a hunt or ball. She lived to
be an old woman, and TO the day of
har daafh che rnadn frnnI1ant il,r1.: