The Democratic advocate., 1908-07-31
HUMOR AND
ROMANCE.
Nv w. F. BRYAN.
..vr,ehted, 1908, by Associated
o0p' Literary Press.

&c
,,,v "1 Bible. but since he had grad
.od from curls and short skirts and
uu,;,lie, he had been "Bill" to all the
,rs and "Will'' to all the girls. Only
~. w. occasional appearance of a letter
~ .arossed in full reminded him that
~ name was both sonorous and i'm
Iita Peter Pan, Osbon never had
-.own up He had arrived at the dig
1itv Of q mustache, and since his fa-
4hnr,s retirement he had more than
sonbIed the capacity and capital of
o.bon & Son, yet he was still the
same light hearted, apparently care
free Bill osbon that he had been in
Il. hovhood and his college days.
therein lay the source Of his great
trouble.
rrom the time she first could toddle
.houf until he had left for college Bet
!, Durand had been his almost con-
Stont companion. About the same time
- had gone to a finishing school, and
hon they had returned Osbon found
.hot there had arisen great barrier
between them.
pattv had developed ideals, and her
horish sveetheart-boyish still-did
not measure up to her romantic stand
ords She still liked Osbon except
when he spoke Of love, but Osbon was
+oo genuinely light hearted to play the
Iorpsick swain, and when he spoke Of
Ioro with a smile upon his lips Betty
was wont to froWn.
sIts utterly absurd to ask me to mar
~ vou," she had declared. II like you
,vfully well, Will, but must respect
and look up to the man marry"
81 see," was the light hearted re-
snonse, "You want to be miserable
though married"
Betty frowned again at this exhibi-
Hon Of Ievity at so important mo-
mont and assured herself that she was
right in her refusal to marry Osbon.
Augustus Esterbrooke seemed to an
sver to Betty's description of an ideal.
He was tall, dark, mysterious and
handsome in saturnine way. No one
ever dreamed of addressing him as
"Gus," and he moved majestically in
little world Of his own, where the
cares and worries of everyday exist
ence were not permitted to intrude.
Esterbrooke had inherited wealth and
estates wherefore he despised the lit
lie things of prosaic everyday life.
1t was characteristic Of Osbon that
be smiled as he saw the majestic Es
erbrooke escorting Betty down the
dock at the end Of which lay the little
steamer chartered for the Sunday
school excursion down the lake.
0sbon was keenly conscious that he
wanted Betty to be his companion, as
she had always been in those early
years when they had eaten mixture
Of cake and sandwiches and deviled
eggs out of the same shoe box and had
been Supremely content.
It was all different now. Ester
bNOkes man solemnly bore an Eng
Sh lunch hamper and rugs and wraps
enough for a score.
Betty smiled in friendly fashion
a upon 0sbon who was darting from
crowd to crowd, exchanging jest
here giving word of greeting there,
and doing his best to inspire the hOli-
day spirit.
He paused for moment to exchange
word with Betty; then Esterbrooke
led her off to the upper deck, where
they could make themselves comfort
able in the shade of the pilothouse.
Passengers were not allowed on the
upper deck, but ESterbrooke held a
block Of stock in the transportation
company owning the fleet of three
@amers plying the lake, and he was
spryileged person.
Inc pair were not again visible to
Tue rest of the picnickers until the
aO'e was reached; then the servant
qIead the rugs, made coffee by the
Of an alcohol stove and served the
hlch
tSerbrooke and Betty wandered
@aaE to escape the crowd, and they
vi aOt reappear until the boat was
"Suy TO leave. Esterbrooke hated
"O"uS, and he had come merely be-
sI auSe Betty insisted. He argued to
-lISef that there would be time
= mo or-,.,, E1 70
ways.
"ltI they reached the upper deck
ufected the captain to take the
'rA "a, enannel on the way home.
It's beastly bore to repeat the
~rLeIy' he offered in explanation.
tgelt" A VIII "e /" ii''ie I'LL
aio's,i ' lake Is at a pretty low stage
%y'ed the captain. ''There are
pretty nasty rocks in the chan
q soa Mr. Esterbrooke."
VI course if you are afraid''- he
H. a. ana smiled softly to himself as
Mn "p'"ln brought his teeth together
Mmbons snap and stepped inside the
D. %'S Ouse' Esterbrooke had caused
aha narse Of one of the oldest men
eiaploy Of the line for less than
Aea Iau hi the employees feared ard
as sSsntly the steamer entered the
Inn annel' and Osbon came hurry
sss r.. remonstrate at the risk. He
D. cba. balllar with the lake, and as
Ah nah OF the excursion commit
NA o. NO MS province to interfere.
Aoks plsn . referred him to Ester
sada11 aad =, the later smiled as he re-
Rsitv MN MN that the charter did not