The Press., 1906-05-09
Y Unconditional
 Currender By CECILIA A. LOIZEAUX Copyright. 1sO6. bu Homer SprGOue

the best advantage the very different types of beauty belonging to the two girls who were waiting for callers.
 "You see," said Marian Wilding as she poked rather gingerly at the blaz- ing sticks, you've never really told me why you turned down that Duluth man. Why did you? And why are you engaged to an unknown New York CT? The Duluth man was a dear and awfully in love with you." Alicia chuc- kled.
 "Well, it's quite a tale. I guess I will tell you" She looked contempla- lively at Marian. "You see, Mrs. Fate, the 'bounteous blind dame,' did might fly displace her gifts to us. She made a funny mixture of you and me. With all your height and brownness and top loftiness, you're meek as a kitten at heart, and all any man will have to do to get you will be to kill garter snake before your admiring gaze or save you from drowning in two feet of water. But I, with my yellow mop and dimples and girly ygirly appearance, am not to be taken by any tricks masculine. l want a man, such a one as we read of and seldom see"
 "Well, wasn't that Duluth mortal a man? He was six feet tall, and his shoulders were immense"
 "A proper mans figure, l grant, and I really thought I'd found the man till that night. We'll, turn down the light. I'll get it over with" She drew both feet up into the big leather chair leaned her head into the shadow and thought awhile.
 "You really knew him, did your? she asked suddenly.
 "No. was at Pratt's that winter. But Polly told me about it. She said you'd turned him down."
 "I thought so. and Polly ought to know. She knew more about his down. sittings and his uprisings than he did himself. But-well, that was the first winter after papa lost his money, you know. We were living out on the cleo tric line between St. Paul and Mime apolis after our house was sold. It was a cunning little place, but horrid to get to. We hadn't any horse and went back and forth on the trolleys. I must say he-the man-was trump about such things. He never rubbed things in the least bit. He was establishing a side branch for his company in the city and was awfully rich, but he never made the mistake of acting as if things were well, different. You see, he met me while we were still in the big house, be- fore wheat took a flop at the wrong time. had all my clothes left, and l looked nice that winter. He took me anywhere there was to go-theaters, concerts, skating-everywhere Oh, it was a dreamw She sighed and was si- lent a moment. But toward spring he got to be a sort of sentimental Tommy, and it took all my native wit and my girlish guilelessness to stave him off"
 But what did you want to stave him off forT'
 "I didn't know any better. He was big and strong and brave, and I felt that I'd have to give in to him sooner or later, but-well, wanted him to show me. His siege was perfectly awful to- ward the last. I was under fire all the time. There was simply nothing that man didn't do for me and all so deli cately that I simply couldn't help my self. Finally newell, he did the usual thing. He asked me in a manly, point blank way to marry him." Marian stirred the fire vigorously, hoping to catch a glimpse of Alicia's face. The attempt was futile.
 "I kind of wanted to take him up, but you see it was largely pride with me at first. And papa and mamma, bless their scheming, wanted me to be safely settled. He seemed to be just the right one. But I knew that every old gossip, like Polly, would say it was because he was rich, and then I really didn't love him, though at that time didn't know enough to know the diff ference. Now"- She extended a pret- ty left hand and let a diamond sparkle in the fireiaht. Then she went on. ''So told him I wanted him to prove his love some way, to perform some valorous feat or other something to make me love him. Perfectly silly, of course! But he was just that kind-he was sure he could do miracles-for me- And he actually bought and showed me a ring which he carried around on his watch chain, he was so confident But do you know, the whole spring and summer went by and nothing thrilling would happen! refused to drown, ab- solutely. It took some time to convince him that could swim like a mermaid He was wild to teach me, so I let him try. After had been hopelessly clum- sy for six weeks dived one day under his very nose and swam away under water.
 "And there seemed to be no bears in the woods, no rattlesnakes in the fields where we picnicked. He was getting desperate, poor man. teased him and trembled inwardly, because I knew that some time something was going to happen, and was beginning to believe myself really in love with him. But still, where we two were concerned, ev- erything was plain prose. Others were tipped into the lake, dumped over stone walls by bucking autos, killed while
 
 got to proposing every time we went anywhere, and got so used to 1t that I'd refuse as internationally as would an ice cream soda in December. Then one dark night we were coming home from little restaurant dinner a crowd of us had had at Green's-you remem- Der the Greens, don't you1S
 Marian nodded.
 ''Well, it was pitch dark. I felt posi- lively spOoky when I stepped off the car. We had to pass little strip of woods. I think I'll never get that out of my mind" She sat upright, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. ''You know that little nearsighted trick the man had of holding his chin down as he talked - boyish little mannerism ?'' Marian never had even seen him, but she made no sign. ''Well, we walked along, chatting. When we reached