The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1908-07-16
Spelling a Bachelor

[Original.l

lionaire. Seven years later Ballou died
and left a widow without children.
but with S1O,OOOOOO
Now commenced Angelicas real life.
She was old enough not to need chap
eron, yet young enough to enjoy the
prominence given her by her wealth.
beauty that was in its prime and great
sprightliness. She at once became the
favorite of society and lived in some
one of her several residences in town
and country. Men flocked to her in I'M
told numbers, but what is easily gain
ed is not valued, and she would have
none of them. Several of her suitors
were men of prominence who could
have advanced the young widow in a
way not to be attained by wealth
alone, but the trouble was they were
to be had for the asking. There was no
sport in a chase where a hundred hunt
ers were firing at her on sight She pre-
ferred to turn huntress and bring down
the game herself.
Among the young men of her ac-
quaintance was Paul Debonair, whose
AalACh ddu ulcu anu lelL LIS son sew
eral hundred thousand dollars. Paul
spent all the income, but resolutely re-
Trained from touching a cent of his
principal. Pleasure was his object.
More money than he had he would not
have valued. He had enough to give
him what he wanted and not enough to
bother him by attending to it. He
ory-yy T,, e,t,1 L.
determined to get the most out of life
in the way that seemed most desirable
to him-that is, as man of the world.
One evening he went to ball. An
gelica was there, surrounded by q
crowd Of men elbowing one another to
get near her. If she moved from one
room to another, within few minutes
every one Of those men was to be
found in the room to which she had
gone. If she went back, they went
back. Paul Debonair looked at this
spectacle with disgust. He danced in
the same set with Angelica, but every
time it became his part to take her
hand to swing he would pretend to
have made mistake and swing some
one else.
Great heavens, Paul" said one Of
his friends, do you know whom You
are snubbing? That's the young Wild
ow Ballou, worth millions"
II don't care if she is the Widow
Croesus," said Paul in a tone loud
enough to be heard by the widow her
self, land worth billions"
Do,,l nahoroj, h, a
knell to his independence Angelica
sent one Of her circle of attendants to
bring him to her and introduce him.
He consented but if his object was to
avoid rudeness he might as well have
declined, for his brusqueness and in
difference were objectionable. Angelica
had noticed while he danced that Terp-
sichore was one of his idols. He aban-
doned himself to the motion and the
music as one in a heavenly dream.
Quick to see weak point, she re-
solved to attack him through this love.
She asked him to dance He had the
effrontery to decline on the ground
that he did not know how to dance.
But it was not long after this that
aASel1Cd gave Ddll ueISelI. she Q0Q
given out through her friends that she
felt very much hurt at the treatment
Debonair had given her, that she had
been surprised that any man should
treat an unprotected woman so rudely,
but that she would give him an oppor-
tunity to redeem himself. These re-
marks were intended for Paups ears,
or WIN no
her ball he decided at least to accept
it.
There being no orchestra at hand ca
pable OF playing dance music as An
gellca wished it played. she imported
one, and when Paul entered the ball
room he heard veluptuous sounds that
tingled in the tips of his toes. He went
directly to the hostess, who smiled
upon him and said:
Il have been saving my first dance
for you, Mr.. Debonair. am hostess
here and my word is law. You are
commanded to canoe with me-
In another moment Debonair was
gliding over waxed floor with a
dream of loneliness in his arms. The
soft strains, the beautiful face so near
his own. the liquid eyes fastened al
ways upon his, were an Irresistible in
cantation. Then. too, he was dancing
with one who was, like himself, born
dancer. They passed banks of flowers
and momentarily caught their perfume.
They sailed around water springine
from fountain, and as the tiny drops
fell they sang song of love. But all
Paul Debonair saw was a beautiful
face, swelling bosom, pair of dark
eyes.
Paul Debonair realized that he was
being shared. Matrimony had been a
horror to him, and this only possible
to the widows witchery ap-
palled him. He left on the next steam
er for Europe. Angelica followed him.
One evening while he was at ball at
the American embassy at Rome the
orchestra struck up the waltz to which
he had danced with the Widow Ballou.
He was standing in a dream of that
one dangerous dance of his life when