Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1910-01-06

cred and asked him for his address
that she might send him some more
formal acknowledgment Of the obliga-
ton than verbal thanks. He gave her
his card, at which she stared. STAN
mered something, then bade him good
day. She sent him a token of her graf
itude-a dozen cambria handkerchiefs
with his initials embroidered in the
corner by her own hands.
At the time of this episode Harring
ton had spent two of the three months
allotted for his conversion under Miss
Spencers influence and had quite lost
his antipathy for women. Indeed, he
was beginning TO feel that with her
for a helpmeet life would assume
roster hue. He had about made up
his mind to tell her so when the trolley
car incident occurred. But suddenly
Miss Spencer noticed that he was be-
coming Indifferent TO her.
/ The truth is that, being on excellent
terms with two women, he was enabled
| to contrast the one with the other. His
trolley car lady appeared friendly, but
! otherwise Indifferent. This revealed
to him the fact that Miss Spencer was
trying to catch him. The latter re-
! doubled her efforts. but this only tend
ed to make them more apparent and
rendered him more appreciative of the
girl whom it piqued him to believe felt
for him only natural gratitude for
having been the accidental cause Of
saving her life.
/ And so it happened that the man
who had given Il woman an opportu-
nifty to prove TO him that woman's
/ standard Of honor was equal TO that
/ of man found himself i'm an equivOcal
/ position. He had gone SO far with
! Miss Spencer that he doubted if he
3 were not in honor bound to go further.
/ At any rate, he shrank from what he
/ considered IA backing out. When the
end Of the three months he had given
/ Miss Spencer to convert him came
/ round she had made the conversion,
/ but he had fallen in love with another
! girl.
Harrington decided TO make a clean
breast of it TO the girl he loved. He
/ told her that he loved her, but before
meeting her had become entangled
with another girl. Then he confided to
her his affair with Miss Spencer. His
cOniidaute manifested no surprise. In
deed, she seemed to be cogniZant of
the whole affair. But she astonished
/ Mr.. Harrington by telling him that she
could not accept proposition from
him because such a course would place
her in an unfortunate position. When
he asked her what that position was
she declined to inform him on the
ground that she could not honorably
do 50.
Mr.. Harrington was astonished.
That woman should decline an offer
of marriage on the ground that it
would place her in a false position and
decline to give that position through
motives of honor opened up to him
new thing in the world Of morals. He
had not been insensible to woman's
charms. which he had considered mar
red by their want of a high sense of
honor. Here was woman with
charms and scrupulously honorable.
He begged her to put him in the way
TO get the desired information from
another, but she said that such
course would be only a subterfuge and
no more honorable than telling him
herself.
Nevertheless the information came.
Miss Spencer was met one day by Miss
Hunter walking with Mr.. Harrington.
and. looking up at him in the fashion
of Il woman who means to be seduc-
tive, Miss Hunter at once invited the
members Of the cabal to meet at her
house the next day at afternoon tea.
Miss Emerson. having declined TO cut
the victim. was not notified. When
they were assembled the hostess an
/ nounced the perfidy of Miss Spencer
Great was the Indignation of the
'signatory powers" Miss Wadsworth
declared that Mr.. Harrington should
be saved from the wiles of such a girl.
and after much deliberation it was de-
cided to send him an anonymous note
stating that for the protection of the
sex certain girls had decided to cut
him. Miss Spencer having made the
proposition. The decision had been
unanimous except for one girl. The
note having been mailed and tea hav-
ing been drunk, the girls separated.
When Harrington received the note
he took Ii at once to Miss Spencer
telling her his opinion of women who
could write such note. Miss Spencer
showed unmistakable signs Of guilt and
finally in tears confessed her part in
the matter.
: Twill you inform me-" asked Har-
rington. "who was the girl who de-
clined to enter upon this-conspiracy?
Irene Emerson" sobbed the culprt.
Irene Emerson
YES. Do you know her?''
Il didn't when this boycott was de-
cided on. ! had never seen her. Since
then it has been my good fortune to
have been the accidental cause of her
avoiding serious accident. and in that
way l made her acquaintance. | have
been converted to the fact that stand
ard of honor may be lived up to by
persons irrespective of sex. but l re-
greet to have to tell you that my con-