The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1910-11-26


the instant interest, eye flashing to
eye, the feeling Of having always
known each other. The mans head
went round little and his heart beat
very fast as he asked her for the
dance he wanted.
She did not have it to give, so he
made the best of sitting against the
wall and watching her glide over the
floor with Lawton. Meantime he
mentally thumped himself into sense.
He knew on the spot that she was not
the wife for him Sam Morton, SEN
sible young business man, wanted
helpmate.
He had come up in a big family
with whining, weak mother and an
overworked, harried father. He had
even in boyhood determined on health
and strength as the only working
basis to begin married life upon.
Then he called himself fool for let
ting all this come to his mind at
mere sight of a young girl.
For Lois was fragile and slender, a
sort Of lace-paper lady. he said to
himself. That was just the word
she was appealing and delicate. and
then, passing and catching his eye.
she gave him little smile that undid
all his renunciatory work with him
I self in the past few moments.
! He could dance with her, anyway.
I And, fool that he was, nobody but
himself had suggested his marrying
/ her! Perhaps even if she were asked
she would not rave hirn5-he sudden
| ly felt humble. Perhaps she was en-
! gaged-that was startling thought;
maybe she was engaged to Law
! ton-that was a jealous thought. He
/ straightway despised his friend Law
! ton in his heart and accused him of
I inability to care for frail child of a
girl like Lois. Then he wondered
/ how old she was-surely not twenty!
And then, the waltz ending, he
( hurried to her to see if by chance
she had not made a mistake about
I having no dance for him. His in
sistence made her blush and waver.
Finally she yielded him her pro-
I gram and he crossed out Lawton's
( initials and put his own where they
( had been. After this he danced with
the stupid girls he had thought at
! tractive an hour ago and waited
until his turn came with her
for the young man, who surely, in
precarious financial times, needed all
of his means in his very small
but prospecting business. He vowed
during the sleepless fag-end of the
night after the dance that he would
cut out merry-making thence for
ward and forget the girl business %
He charged his whole disturbed con-
ditton to what he aptly enough called
the marriage microbe"-three of his
| friends had lately married He had
helped at the functions, at the subse-
! quent home celebrations, and some
how the thing had got on his brain
| he would shake of the idea What
! did he want of marriage for a good
| five years, or three-or two, at least
! He had a first-class boarding place.
| which was expense enough until he
was better settled with the store.
Not that he was not doing well, for
/ he was.
And when he did marry-this was,
after all, the principal thing to re-
member-it must be to no lace-paper
lady. He had once heard a man he
knew call a fragile girl that, and it
struck his rather romantic fancy-a
lace-paper lady-very, very pretty. to
be looked at. but unfit for the stern
wear and tear of everyday life
When three months had passed and
he had resolutely refused, and had
in the end gone to, everything social
where he knew or thought the girl
might be, he was more than ever sure
that he was right. But one thing a
n Cffr hod III n
ing-he had never asked any one a
single question about her, and he was
50 fearful of showing his interest that
he went away if by chance she was
mentioned by his friends Thus all
he knew Of her he gathered from her
own lps-and she was silent. II
seemed to him that she was more
silent with him than with others
Lawton, for instance.
At quite large picnic, the last in
the beautiful fall weather, it had
seemed to him that she fairly chat
tered to Lawton, but when he after
awhile found himself beside her. she
was awkwardly shy.
They had sat a little apart from the
rest while Pickle Jones discoursed
some alleged music from a banjo and
a loud but rather battered set OF
vocal cords. The wistful beauty OF
her face struck him as poignantly as
pain; her girlish slenderness called
to his strength as for protection
Turning, she answered the scrutiny
she had been sensitive to by a feet
ing little smile. His heart went fast
and then something like veil fioated
a moment before his eyes-he could
not see.
When Pickle had finished his rag