Middletown transcript., 1906-02-24

regarded as an evidence of intel
llectual acuteness; but I am in
clined' to doubt whether this is
necessarily the case. One of the
most brilliant chess players I
ever knew was otherwise stupid
as an owl in daylight. We must
take some other line; and the
thing which Immediately occurs
to me is that you shall select some
word which is not in every day
use but with which each Of the
Egirls is presumably acquainted.
Then, al time when you are
talking to both of them, you must
lead up to the point where the
word of which you are thinking
might appropriately be intro
duced, and the young woman who
first pronounces it scores.
But will it not be rather diff
cult to fix on such a word?
No, simplest thing inthe world.
Do both the girls play?
| Yes.
Then take a distinctively musi-
cal word. Counterpart suggests
itself to my mind as fulfilling the
requirements.
| don't know what that means
myself.
So much the better. Consult
a dictionary, frame your question
carefully and then ask for infor-
nation.
Strikes me it will be difficult to
devise test on the moral plane.
DeCamp observed.
No, it will be perfectly feasible
to subject the two girls to u trial
of patience or, better still, of
charity. You must arrange to
have a tramp or beggar ask for
gratuily. The young woman
who gives scores.
Each of them may take the
same attitude.
In that case we can arrange
something else.
All right, said DeCamp cheer
fully, III go to work along the
lines you have laid down.
See here, observed Templeton, |
lifting himself on his elbow to
gaze at bis friend, you don't mean
to say that you're seriously going
to stand by any such monumen-
tai absurdity?
distinctly am. It seems to
me the most direct way out of a |
situation which is rapidly becom-
ing impossible.
Very we'll, said Templeton re-
signedly. Only, absolve me from |
any responsibility. Hereafter,re re.
member that | now characterize
the road you propose to take as
one on which angels would fear
to walk.
Oh, I'll shoulder whatever hap
pens.
All the same, | would slightly |
prefer to have that down in black |
and white. By the way, what Of
that Frenchifed little thing who
chumes with your lady loves?
Don't know much about her,
except that she's from Chicago
and awfully impertineEt, De-
Camp answered. The other day
she asked me what did, when |
was in doubt about kissing girl,
and when / told her I didn't know
she said that if she had case in
court she wouldn't employ an at
torney who was so ignorant of
the commonest legal principles.
What do you suppose she meant?
/ think the accepted answer to
that conundrum is Give her the
benefit Of the doubt, Templeton
replied, smiling.
Gee! Why didn't | think of
that? Well, let's be stroll;ng to-
ward the house it's nearly time
for lunch.
Except for the feature suggest
ed by the foregoing conversation
the situation at the big solitary
Seabrook Beach Hotel was by no
means peculiar. The guests
could all be included under the
usual classifcations. There was
the proverbial preponderance of
young women, the consequent
deepening of conscious self i'm
portance on the part of the mas
culine minority, the inevitable in
terest in the previous worldly
and spiritual histories of casual
acquaintances, and the more eas
lily understood absorption of chap
erons in events then in process
of rapid or retarded evolution.
John DeCamp had been at Sea-
brook Beach nearly two months,
and during that time the young
man had oScillated, In d Wav