The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-10-08
THE STAY-AT-H0ME
GIRL

/
chair with the air of one who knows
her own powers.
Yes, it.really does pay to spend the
summer in the city" she observed
seemingly apropos of nothing at all.
With adroit questioning her reasons
began TO be apparent. There are a
great many men in this city whom
! you never have an opportunity to talk
to or even see during the winter" she
said languidly, Simply because they
are attached. One is appropriated by
your best friend and another by your
best enemy and so on down the list
.'Well?Y
Well, in Summertime they become
detached, and then
\ Then you attach them?"
"Only for the summer" answered
| the stay-at.home girl with touch of
hauteur. 1T isn't my meter to under
cut the attractions Of my friends. You
know how it is in this little old town, >
she added frankly. IF a man Is in
love with a girl, or even supposed to
be in love with her, he's got to be
| absolutely constant TO that girl. He
is as much her property as II she
had bought him and paid for him and
tagged him Hands off It's rather
hard on him, poor soul She may have
as many adorers as she likes. but he
is looked upon by every one as her
especial property, and he had just as
y111 hA tai fNr oil hf
tice he gets from the other girls,
Sometimes he would dearly love to
see something of some one else be-
sides the girl who has attached him,
but ii would simply be accounted
treason unless his visits were paid to
his owners best friend, and made with
the avowed intention of confding in
her his devotion to his owner"
The stay-at-home girl lapsed into in
trospection for a moment She was
probably reviewing the possibilities of
the five who had just left.
"And them" gently urged her inter
locutor.
oh" She reused herself. 81 was
about to say that in summer the code
changes. Every mans best girl goes
out of town. and he becomes unat-
tached whether he wishes it or not.
BY the time he has formed the habit
of being all things to one girl, so with
the JOY of grass widower he turns
his attention to the nearest at hand"
'Who, in this case, happens to be
you"
1.-THE nearest at hand" went on the
stay-at-home girl, without needing the
interruption, ''and reaps the benefits
of his winters instructions. For in
stance"
Yes, for instance. Let us par
ticularize, commented her companion.
Il was going to say that of the five
men who called this evening only one
is regular standby of my own. The
others are all detached for the sum-
mer months. There are half a dozen
others, too, who come at irregular in
tervals-you see happen to be the !
only one of my particular set in town |
this summer-and I'm regular queen |
bee among them. They can't do too
much for me. / have more engage
ments than can possibly keep fo- the
afternoons and evenings. There is
even a sort of rivalry among them as
to which one will give me the best
time this summer. It's awfully jolly"
ut must be, but what about the heat
and noise and lack of vacation tan
that most girls long to accumulate in
summer"
"A very small matter compared with
the compensations,' said the stay-at-
home girl wisely. Il can get through
the days very comfortably when there
Is always something pleasant TO look
forward to In the evenings, and with
ten or eleven men struggling to pro-
vide you with entertainment there is
always something doing you know
Besides"
"Wen?"
IT'S rather interesting to have your
,wn little winter-long tete-a-tetes
broken in some such fashion. The
nan who is-er-especially nice to {
'ou all winter thinks you just twice |
Is charming when the summer fur {
fishes him with dozen rivals to cope
With. It's a poor rule that doesn't /
work both ways" d
"But there seem to be other ways
or that rule TO work also" remarked
Ter companion dryly. what happens
yhen the actual owners Of the de-
ached dozen come home again? DO
hey accept the leadisg strings willing
: or"
The stay-at-home girl unclasped her
racelet and clasped 1t on again with
snap. "oh. yes" she observed care
sssly.
4 don't believe IT," answered her
ltorlocutor calmly. Il remember to /,
ave heard last autumn that you"
1--WE won't go into that. If you
lease" murmurtd the stay-at-homt
irl. rising from her chair. Il hate
iyontories and post-mortems. just
2 content to take my word for It that !,
utumn is the actual vacation time
nd summer is the time to stay at y
lme II you want to"
Gather you a posy Of other men's il
] ~