The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-08-17
CUPID TRIES HIS WINGS
BY JEANETTE WILSON.

Dy JEANNE
In the bachelor apartment on the top
floor of Riverview Court. Paul Laurison
paced restlessly up and down, Occasion
ally he stopped to look out at the spring
landscape and sighed.
'You'n be all right now. my boy" was
the doctors parting shot. Just take
plenty Of fresh air. Get up on the roof as
often as you can"
"Confound the roof" muttered Paul.
but he put on his overcoat and went up.
In the apartment below the bachelors,
her eyes red with weeping, Sylvia Ran
dal was washing out a lingerie waist
its mean Of Sarah not to come to-
day" she complained, regarding her
shriveled fingers ruefully. "She knew !
had to have this waist done up. And now
I've got to go up on the roof myself and
hang the thing out TO dry"
But before she went up Sylvia stopped
20 Obliterate the effect of tears and 10
throw scarf jauntily over her head.
Il might meet some one she ex-
planned. with a demure little smile at her
reflection in the mirror.
A strong wind. whistling over the
housetops. snatched the waist from Syi-
Was hands just as she was pinning it To
the line and would have carried it over
the edge Of the roof had not help come
Unexpectedly.
'Oh, thank you-thank you. so much, 50
exclaimed Sylvia. Then. noticing how
good looking her benefactor was. she
stopped in confusion.
You're very welcome. I'm sure" an
swered Paul. lifting his hat and Tesuming
his constitutional
lists my own waist, you see, T."
stammered Sylvia.
Paul turned.
rs il, indeed?" he replied. Then I'm
doubly glad I rescued it..
i mean, I Numbered il for myself. ]
don't go out. Sarah didn't come. I didn't
think there'd be any one up here"
At this Paul burst into a laugh that
even Sylvia in her embarrassment found
contagious.
Il see" he said. you are the queen IN
| the garden, hanging out the clothes"
Sylvia assumed an injured look
You know that isn't right" she cor
rected. 1T was the maid who was IN
the garden
Honest. was it," asked Paul. y
rever was much good on poetry. I al
ways thought it was the queen, but Ia
delighted to find it is really both"
Without another word, Sylvia vanished
leaving Paul transfxed with astonish-
ment.
How deliciously naive and chndlike
/ she is" ne chuckled. as he sought a
sunny corner in which to stretch his lazy
length. Having found one. he smoked a
cigarette or two, and then fell to scrib-
/ bling
What he scrubbed remained for Sylvia
| to discover. This she did the very next
morning for Sarah, the faithless. was
| still conspicuous by her absence, and
! there remained a handful Of fluffy trifes
| that had 10 be Numbered. Sylvia went
at the task with Commendable resIgna-
/ ton. The drying stage reached. with
careless Indifference TO appearances. she
ran up to the roof bareheaded and bare
armed. As no one was in sight this
/ time TO rescue articles vagrantly dis
| posed, each piece was pinned to the line
with a frmness that defed whirlwinds
This accomplished, a scrap Of paper
/ tapping in the side of the chimney at
! tracted Sylvia's attention. She pulled Il
/ out from between the bricks, and read
/ the following:
| The man the housetop
Seeking recreation.
When suddenly the wind changed
Bringing variation
/ The queen was in the roof-tree,
Hanging out her gown
Along came brisk breeze
And blew the thing down
With sniff. Sylvia tucked the paper
/ into her belt. Then she picked up one oil
the little stones with which the roof wa.
| covered, and tried to mark with it, bu
without success. A small, sharp-pointet
stick proved equally futile Suddenly. II
la corner, she found a burned match
/ Triumphantly she scratched a word acros.
/ the rhymes. and then put them back II
/ the chimney.
! Here, an hour or two later, Paul found
them So the queen had not come into
/ the garden again, he argued. It was
just as well. perhaps. He was about t
/ tear up the nonsense, when Sylvia.
scrawling letters caught his eye
silly" he spelled, and shouted witt
| amusement.
| Then he pocketed the missive, so oddly
/ transformed from the ridiculous to the
sublime and sought his favorite corner
There was no sun shining on it TO-DAY
and the wind was bleak, but he turned
up his coat collar and settled down to Z
smoke and more scribblings. The latter
/ he soon read aloud:
One bright and sunny morning.
/ When windy the weather
I chsnced TO meet a young maid.
Sweet as Scottish heather.
/ I began to compliment
And she began to cry:
! ''How-dO-you-do and how-do-y0u-do
And why do yoa say goodbyg'
After applauding his own Performance,
Paul got up to deposit the effusion II
the friendly chimney crevice. A NINA
| ture wash, however, dangling near bv
suggested other possibilities. Closer in
spection revealed a tiny monogram EN-
broidered in the corner of a cobwebb,
handkerchief There were lndoubtedl,