The Cairo bulletin., 1910-07-26
Retribution
BY BERTHA D. ALSOP
Copyright, 1910. by American Press
Association.

de was IEou cnlluHOOu IL lhuy kiiieT.
AS boy in knickerbockers he had Civ
en- the little girls of his acquaintance
flowers and invited them to have ices
with him. They were not old enough
to quarrel about him. but they dotted
on him all the same. As a youth he
resembled Il young Byron with his
large blue eyes. his negligee flaxen hair
and round white throat. Then came
young manhood BY this time he
found more Zest In his attentions to
girls, though fewer pleased him. He
and they were still young enough TO
feel the sweetness OF a Irritation. and
occasionally when the denouement
came he was obliged to admit to him
self that he had been singed.
He had no thought of marriage, a
home, children. He didn't consider
himself old enough for that When he
reached twenty-seven he began to look
forward to 1t as something that would
naturally come about At thirty-five
he wished that ii would come about.
At forty he began TO fear that 1t would
never come. Then 1t occurred to him
that he had better try to bring it about.
But by this time young girls had be-
gun to &C, slider him an elderly man.
| And. as for those near his own age. be
had no use for them. He knew that
men of forty have on rare occasions
married girls half their age and both
husband and wife been very happy in
each other. Why not he? He re.
solved to make an effort.
An effort in love He had glided
naturally into so many affairs Of the
heart that to try to get into one seem
ed repugnant to him. Why had he not
taken advantage Of some one Of these
affairs to preclude the possibility OF
the lonely old age that was overshad.
owing him-why2 He knew well
enough why. He had always consid-
cred the game, not the reality. TO
have taken one Of the girls he might
have had would have been to give up
a conquest At least so he had regard.
ed 1t at the time.
Having lost his position at home OF
a young man and consequently not
being thrown in with young girls, he
determined to go elsewhere, II was
the season of outing, and he deterlnin.
ed to go wife hunting by the sea. He
had made many cunquests there. Moon.
light shlmmcring on The dancing waves
had called out that which had moved
many u girl TO love him. True. now
there were gray hairs In his moustache.
and his Byronic forehead was higher
than il had been. but he thought with
the same surroundings he might do the
trick as he had often done 1t before
1t was sad to see young girl pass
him without looking at him, whereas
twenty years agone another Of her nge
could not have RETAINED from a
glance. He became acquainted with
several of them, but somehow there
seemed gulf between him and them
that he could not cross, These were
half or less than half his age. Finally
he met one between twenty-five and
thirty who caught his fancy. There
was this. too. about her that he did
not find in the younger ones-tbey
surprised him by acting and talking in
way that seemed childish to him.
They seemed to him to have grown
nearer the nursery than their prot0.
types. Surely the girls he had asso-
ciated with when he was under TWEEN
ty-fve were not as frivolous as these
misses, The older girl. on the contrary,
talked and acted like woman She
could be companion to him.
He made up his mind that II be
could win her he would do SO. He
made a few abortive efforts to make
love az he would have made ii fifteen
or twenty years before. What he
would have said and looked and acted
then now seemed nsipId to him. He
desisted, contenting himself with the
girls companionship and showing her
| little attentions.
One thing troubled him. Though she
accepted his attentions and listened to
his chat she did not seem to be i'm
pressed with his superior wisdom. He
felt that. while she attended to what he
said, she occasionally let 1t be known
that she knew more Of the subject he
was talking about than he knew him
self. surely there was nothing ueaI
the nursery here. He was uncomfort
able AZ the thought that this young
woman felt him intellectually beneath
her. II was rather that he felt her &c
be his superior.
When the season was drawing to q
close he wished to bring matters TO q
focus. This used to be easy enough
when he was a youngster playing q
game. But now that he was a middle
aged man. intending to tell maur,
young woman that he loved her ant
ask her TO be his wife, II seemed that
the many times he had done the same
thing cane mp to mock him.
However, he got 1t ont.
How times change u.s." she said
"a dozen years ago. when | was six
teen. you proposed to me, aud you did
1t beautifully. Then thought you q
god. Now. being older, | know you
for very admirable aud pleasant gen.
tleman thank you for the honor
done me. but am not now minded to
marry"