The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-29
Keeping a Secret.

: Keeping a Secret. :
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Yes
'Who told you:"
THAT [ decline To say"
Now, of All the silly things for
man to do the silliest is to give
woman. especially a girl of eighteen,
part of an item of information and
withhold the rest. One might as well
let go seven-eiyhths of an eel and try
to hold the remainder by the tip OF
the tail. The way of it was this:
l was studying law at the time and
was very ambitious to become an ora
tor Complaining one day to my
friend Charlie Rathvon that l had 10
| place to practice elOcutiOn, he sug-
| gesteI that | go down to his father
seaside place and out on to the dunes.
| Where L Couiu spout linz a w ht'iC
to the ocean. Since l was madly in
love with Charles sister Jacqueline
| accepted went down on Friday.
| Charlie couldn't go till Saturday att
ernoon.
| There is nothing more ridiculous
than lOvemaking. and my accusing
| Miss Rathvon of being enga ged was
| Il I had Inf f.x,. nd
thing of the kind. l was simply lead
ing up to telling her that | wanted
her myself The bit of dialogue he
| tween lis occurred on the morning
after my arrival just as l was going
out on to the dunes to practice c!ocu-
ton. proceeded on my way and.
| mounting one of the big mounds of
sand. commenced my practice. l first
chose parts of Daniel Websters cele-
brated reply to Hayne. Standing with
my face to the ocean. I Spouted GER
tain sentences. sucli as. Bearing no
such miserable interrogatory as What
| Is all this WORTH repeating the last
| five words over and over again with
different infections. Then | switched
off on TO Mark .Antony's Grafton over
the dead body Of Caesar, using in the
| same manner the words, IF any,
| speak, for him have | offended
winding up the exercise with Ham,
let's soliloquy on death. looking va
| cantly out on the ocean as if | We're
considering the propriety of drowning
myself.
| rested and practiced alternately for
two hours and was closing the exercise
with the soliloquy when looking
down on the beach below, l saw an old
fisherman coming toward me keep
| ing his eyes liked on me. Then sud
denly Il face appeared above the sage
grass within a few yards of me- l
thought of retiring. but. turning, saw
man behind me. | was surrounded.
| STAND quiet my man: we amt
a-goin' to hurt YOU" said the nearest
one. and in another moment the whole
lot We're on me. Two of them took
! hold of me. one by each arm. and the
rest stood ready to tackle me in case
of need. In vain | protested. They
did not notice anything | said to them
or reply to my questions as to what 1t
all meant. They took me back from
| the dunes and in the direction of the
village Then | espiesl Jacqueline COM
| ing | was mortified that she should
see me in such a plight. but glad to
| have some one know that | was being
kidnapped The men. seeing her. turned
their steps toward her, and when we
came up to her. while | stood scarlet
and scowling. one of them said to her:
| eve got lunatic. Miss RathyOn.
We're goin' to turn him in. He was
| standin' on Il dune talkin' TO the ocean.
If we hadn't "a been there on the nick
O. time he'd IA walked right dcwn and
drownded hisself.'
"Jacqueline," said. rosy red, Il see
| it ALL These men have mistaken my
| elocution practice for the rawlings of
lunatic. Good, isn't it: Ha, ha! Very
| funny" l tried to laugh.
What did the little mink do but look
at me with a blank stare.
"Do YOU know him." asked one Of
| the men.
Il never saw him before in my life"
THAT settles it, said the leader. HE
thinks he knows you. l wonder what
asylum he escaped from. There's nary
| a one around here"
| you'd better take him to our house."
said Jacqueline It'll you can find out
about him. Likely his keeper will be
here looking for him."
Fancy me led along for a lunatic.
the girl l loved pretending not to
know me. l supposed that when we
reached the house she would tell them
all about my elocution practice and
the joke would be ended. She had
other plans in view. 1t happened that
none of the family was at home, SO
she was free to act as she liked. She
led my keepers, who led me, to Il room
in the attic and locked me III herself.
The men protested lest should COM
nit suicide by jumping from the Win
dow, but she said she didn't think