Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-08-21

Major George Graham. retired army
officer. had been Il widower for ten
years His daughter Nellie was nine
teen years old.
The major realized that he was
growing Old but when it came 10 the
as child. Even when she got into
long dresses he would not have been
a bit surprised to find her walking the
fence with Il balancing pole OF seated
on the limb of cherry tree She had
been away III school; she had returned ::
he knew that she went TO parties. and
he saw young men about The house.
but lie seemed 10 be i'll Il dream about
her age In his thoughts she had not
passed the rag doh stage yet.
Major Graham was enjoying his
cigar on the vel7N1ia one evening aud
listening 10 Nelie's chatter i'm an alb
strated way when that young woman
made sudden dive into the house and
young man came up the path and
took the vacated chair The major
squinted at him and thought he recog-
niZed him as young Hurlburt
A young mans name may be much
| or little. to the father of the girl he is
in love with. In this clse ii meant
little until an explanation had been
entered into. Then il meant Il whole
| lot. Youn. MIR Hurlburt loved Miss
| Nellie; Miss Nellie loved him. He was
| of good family and had some pros
| pects:s he knew she was I'M only child
| and realized how hard ii would be rol
| the father 10 give her up. but he would
| love. protect and cherish her always
| The major was so shocked that in his
excitement he threw away Il cigar hat
had been only half consumed. Il thing
he had not done in battle with the
guns roaring around him.
Just what the man of war said to the
| young man of peace need not be re
corded here. The cist of ii was that
| his daughter was still child. young
Hurlburt was only kid and that
he should put his foot down against
| any nonsense. Yes. sir. it must be
stopped. Yes, sir. he would tell hi,
daughter so. Yes, sir. and-and-ant
so forth. And the young man took his
departure a human wreck, and Miss
| Nellie, who, of course, had heard nj
from an open window, sought out he
good aunt and buried her face in thu
lap of that individual and moaned out
"Oh, Aunt Mary, | shall die-l know
l shall die, Father won't let Will an,
me get married.
Aunt Mary was not matchmake.
but she had rather favored the youn:
man. She gave what comfort and sym
pathy she could, and after seeing TIN
weeping "child" tucked into bed sh
2 sought the father in an attempt f
soften his heart.
!, The major was wanting some one t
talk to just then, and she got all tina
5 was coming to her. She had been re
, miss. she had been careless. she hat
neglected her duties as chaperon. sh
had almost brought a calamity upo
the house of Graham. With her eye
wide open she had allowed mer
infant-yes. ma'am, an infant-to IA
in love and engage herself in marriaS
! to--to-well, to a young man.
In vain Aunt Mary tried to exculpat
herself. No one had ever talked bac
to Major Graham, T. S. A. and &c
the best of it, and she failed Ii
= could utter twenty words to her hv'
Land the odds were too great. even 1o
: Il woman's tongue. She retired froI
the contest to say to the fearful maide
! in waiting:
IF your father doesn't get over tn
and talk sense Fll--IlF'-
You'll do something, Aunty!"
81 don't know what I'll do, but yo
wait. Here you are. nineteen yeai
old. and he's talking as if you wei
not out of bibs and high chairs.
There was hope that if Aunt Mai
went around with serious look
her face and had little TO say and tn;