St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-08-03
,AMistakenGirl
She Found That She Was Not as
Wise as She Thought
By ESTELLE MARSH
Copyright. 1910, by American Press
Association.
By ESTELLE MARSH

| AN III ii udQ SupOOS0Q
would marry Donald Chase. and now
comes Oscar Richmond to mix me all
up Donald is steady, honora BILE. has
excellent Judgment; Oscar is hand
! some. full of sentiment, fascinating. I
| know | should remain true to Donald.
| but Oscar carries me right off my feet.
| The question of money does not en-
ter into the matter. Donald is doing
| very well. earning a fair salary and
with a prospect of being a partner.
| Oscar is out of business just now. l
don't exactly understand why He is
very reticent. | like reticence in a
man; it bespeaks self control Oscar
can talk with me by the hour without
revealing any of his affairs. Of course
if he proposes to me L shall expect that
he will tell me everything.
I have tried to get Donald to tell me
why he distrusts Oscar. He says he
doesn't himself know why. 1t is quite
likely that his distrust is due to jeal-
ousy. Donald is so honorable that he
would not like to believe himself capa-
BILE of doing a rival an injustice. He
is unconscious that he is moved by
jealousy.
I wonder who is this Girard Roberts
he has brought to see US. He has
known US but a few weeks, yet it seems
that we have all been friends for years.
It's strange how some people have a
faculty of insinuating themselves at
once into ones good graces Already
l call this man by his first name, and,
though l have known Donald since l
was sixteen years old. still call him
Mr.. Chase.
l have sounded Girard Roberts as to
what he thinks of Oscar Richmond.
His reply was, Hes a bang up good
fellow" That doesn't help me. But
it's the most l can expect from Girard,
who is all on the surface. Those peo-
pie one becomes familiar with on short
acquaintance seldom have any depth.
I asked Girard what he thought Of
Donald and received the same reply,
Hes a bang up good fellow too"
was served right for relying upon the
opinion of such a lightweight person.
Of money as well as a taste for jewel
ry. The other day Aunt Aida was
showing him a diamond she wished to
turn into funds. He told her to go
among the jewelers., ask them to fix |
a price on it and he would give her |
$40 more than the highest bid. She |
did so and got a bid of $27O for the |
stone. Girard told her it was cheap |
at $500 and he would give her that for |
it. She accepted the offer. Oscar and |
l were present when the sale was |
made, and Girard laughingly told us |
that he would rely on US as witnesses |
in case aunty backed out. He didn't |
have the money with him. but said he |
would bring it the next afternoon at s |
o'clock.
When he called aunty was out Os-
car and l were in the library. Girard |
called to me to say to aunty when she
came in that she would find the money
for the diamond under a vase on the
mantel in the parlor. | promised to
do so. Oscar asked me to go to walk
with him. 1 consented: went upstairs
to get my hat, and we walked to the
park. When l returned 1 had forgot
ten all about telling aunty that the
money for her diamond was on the
parlor mantel. Indeed, never thought
of it till just before going to bed; then
told her. She went downstairs to
get it. 1t was gone.
Everybody is dissatisfied with me
and l ana dissatisfied with myself for
being so thOughtless as to have left
$500 so long in an exposed position
1t has upset the whole household. The
servants who consider themselves IN
der suspicion are going about looking
very glum. Aunty is furious with me.
1 expected Girard would show his feel
1ngs toward me very decidedly. What
a lovely fellow he is. after all! He
told me not to give myself any con-
Germ about the matter; that doubtless
the money would run up, but if it did
not there was no one to blame but
himself since he should not have left
so much money in such a place He
explained that he did not leave it with
me because l was flirting" as he
called it. with Oscar and he didn't like
to inrude upon US.
l asked him who he suspected, and
be said that. since the front door stood
Unmatched and any one might have
come in while we were at dinner or
during the evening when we were all
upstairs, doubtless some person enter
ed, possibly for an ordinary purpose.
and, seeing the money, appropriated it
and skipped
L have had a strOke-aD awful vista
ion! Donald Chase turns out to be the
thief who took the bills left on the
to pay for aunty's jewel. This
when he was at business a
constable called at his room with a
search warrant and found the bills in
lIs bureau drawer. To think that Don