Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-12-10

is now in her seventy-fifth year, but
she can not be convinced by her
night ATTIC the dance that he would
cut out mer,..-- maklns; thence for
ward and forget the ."'giri business.
He changed his, whole disturbed con-
dition to what lie aptly enough called
the marriage microbe"-three OF his
friends had .tely married. He had
helped at the functio' :. Ct the subse-
uuent home celebrations, and some
how the thing had got on his brain
he would sha,.e off the idea. what
did he want Of marriage for a good
five years, or three-or two, at least?
Il, nad a. frst-class boarding place,
which was expense enough until ne
was better settled with the store.
Not that he was Ut doing well, Tor
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 man ne
knew call a frigile girl that, and 1t
struck his rather romatic fancy-a
lace-paper lady-very, very pretty, 70
be looked at, but unfit for the stern
wear and tear of everyday life.
When three months had passed and
he rad resolutely refused, and mad
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
fine instinct had kept him from DO
ing-he had never asked any one
single question about her, and he was
so 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 ner
own lips-and : she was silent. IT
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, 1t had
seemed to him that she fairly chat
tered to Lawton, but when he after
awhile found himself beride. her, she
was awkwardly shy.
They had sat little apart from the
rest while Pickle Jones discoursed
some alleged music from banjo ana
a loud but rather battered set OF
vocal cords. The wistful beauty OF
her face struck him as poignantiy as
main. her girlish slenderness called
to his strength as Tor protectioA.
Turning, she answered the scrutiny
she had been sensitive to by heet-
ing little smile. His heart Went last
and then something like a. veil floa1ed
q moment before his eyes-he couid
not see. -,
when Pickle had finished his rag
time song. and the rest had applaud
Cd he leaned closer to the girl and
asked if she would not like to go
home early, walking part of the way,
and whether he might not go with
her.
inst promised Harry, she SAID,
simnly. But somehow. while his
heart was hot that it should be Law
ton-aeain, he had for the first time
an idea that perhaps she really was,
sorry.
He went home that night miserable
to the core Of his being. Tired as ne
was. there was TO sleep. An hnaAy
in the gray hours of the morning,
neace came to him by strange pain
i was through the self-verdict that
he was an unutterable, sneaking cad
~ coward. He rejoiced In calling
himself names. 80,
Now he knew that love is-love!
Il takes Won I'D and you belong to 1t
and cherish it your life long! You,
love-because you love, and II the
iodv If vo,1r heart be a tender plant,
q fragile flower, you love her and
guard her the more because she needs
Won and your strength! It was all
very clear and made hims inenabV
hannv for two days and night
Then he awakened to new torture!
What use was anything II, while
he had been .hesitating. the other
man had won her? This thought
made him sore and sick, and ne
finished his days work like an cyl,
feyerish dream. He fastened home
to his boarding house swallowed his
supper and then with lovers care
fulness. made himself immaculate.
He would go and see her.
But it was not until he was starting
that he remem bered he did not know
exactly where she lived. He had been
keeping away from her. avoiding.
mention of her. and here he was un-
able to find her! All he knew was
what he knew from her-he asked
her how she stood the heat downtown
one September day Of unreasonable
heat and she had answered simply: !.
s'Tm not downtown don't work
| stay at home.
Of course she was pampered
child: her appearance told him that.
He had heard, he could not have said
where, that she had no mother, and
lived with her father and several, sis
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