The daily Alaskan., 1909-02-16
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The Cat and Dog of It.

| final word had been said and grim si- lence had succeeded the heated accu- satlons and counter accusations ho was guilty of an antcllmax. But Ken worthy was no respectcr of precedent, and at present 1t mattered not a rap to him whether he was guilty of an anticllmax or not, He only knew that he was utterly miserable and that the fine view he had of Alicla's back turned to him with an obviousness not to be gainsald-was in nowIse encour- aging
 He sat in the hammock, his face a study of conrudlctlng emotions, gag ing abstractedly afcld and pulling the silky ears of RaJah, tho brlndle bull terrier that lored beside him. Twice he cssaycd to speak, but each time as he raised his eyes and caught sight of that mcompromIsIng back tue words died on his lips
 At length he looked down at the dog A whimsical smile curved his lips and he looked grlmly toward Alicia, who to all Iutents was interested in the distant landscape
 "Rajah, old boy" he said, addressing the dog, "ir strikes me that women are getting very unfair these days, They accuse a chap of all sorts of things, and when he offers to explain they fly Into fine dudgeon and turn their backs on him. They give him the maximum sentence without a trial"
 He glanced at the girl She was quite unmoved, The landscape was apparently quite as absorbing as ever The back was certainly no whit less uncompromlslug.
 i've been m treated, old man, Ken worthy went on. Il wanted to eN- plain it all to her. but she wouldn't listen"
 At that moment Persian kitten came stalking across the lawn, paused lrresolutely beneath the trees and then | Jumped into Alicia's lap.
 Freddy, you dear" cried the girl, stroklng the kittens white coat, you knew l wanted to tell you something about men, didn't you?'
 Kenworthy prickcd up his ears.
 Teddy" she went on conhdcntially, "all men are horrid-selfsh and hor- rid. You can't trust any of them"
 Kcnworthy smiled at the dog.
 Between you and me Rajah," said he, "I think the sum and substance of 1 the whole matter Is jealousy"
 Imagine my being jealous, Teddy" said the girl scornfully "Who on earth would be jealous of?"
 "I imagine It's the Bronson girl Rajah." said Kenworthy.
 "The Bronson girl goes Outomobll- Ing quite frequently of late" said the girl Co the kitten. And she's such a horrid little dlrt. She boasted when she came here shed have a spin in every ear In town. I did think, Ted. dy"- She stopped abruptly.
 By love. 1t Is jealousy" said Ken worthy, forgetting to address his re- marks to the dog.
 Didn't I tell you men were horrid, l Teddy" said Alicia, with much con- viction.
 Eeuworthy chucl,led softly
 "Do you suppose she really cares if I did take the Bronson girl for a spin, Rajuh?" he asked
 He was to come here at yester- day afternoon, Teddy" she said, Tt was half past . before he came. I'm glad he found such congenial compa- ny"
 "See here, Rajah." said Eenworthy, "thc explanation she refused to listen to shall tell to you"
 Aren't men clever at explaining, Teddy? asked the girl, with sarcasm.
 You see" Kenworthy went on, pat ting the dog, "G started out in the car to run over here yesterday afternoon. When I got to the old Bassett place there was Jim Culver lying flat on the . SEOWlt NtlNaNl NAlA AuAhbNNN NA AAo' I'm busted says Jim to me- and Miss Bronson wants to get that 4:52 from the junction Think you can get her over? You'll have to make a rec ord What could a fellow do, Rajah, old chap? He couldn't be cad enough 10 refuse. BOW, could he?"
 The girl stroked the kitten thought fully.
 "Irs very clever explanation" she unused.
 "ThC worst of 1t is, Rajab, she won't believe a word of it," said he gloomily.
 I'm almost tempted to believe it. Teddy" said she.
 And if she does believe 1t she won't be sorry for the way she treated me, ' he went on.
 I'm almost tempted to be sorry" " she said softly.
 And even if she is sorry she'll never rare for me the way I've been trying Tor the past four years to have her Care" he persisted.
 The girl held the kitten at arms length.
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