The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1910-11-11


duties and opportunities In the town
OF her birth. She said Millersville
needed a reviving influence and an
original mind behind 1t to develop its
possibilities, and she refused to join
the Longfellow Literary society as an
other way Of being interesting. The
sooner Millersville got over that sort
OF thing the better 1t Would be, she
said
The young people were decidedly
uncomfortable about Ethel. Her faith
er was the president Of the biggest
bank In town and owned stock in
nearly every important enterprise, to
say nothing Of his farm lands through
out the state. You can't sniff and pass
by the daughter of man like that,
soothing your wounds by calling her
stuck up and silly The others suf-
fered in her presence, wondering IL
she accounted them interesting or
mentally herded them among the
goats.
There was no doubt about the Ling
lers as family were out of the ordi-
nary. They had meals when the fam
lily happened to want them, not at set
and regulated times, and they had a
tennis court in the grassiest part Of
their front lawn, instead of a row of
stiff flower beds.
Also II they felt like sitting up all
night and making US sleep In the day
time, they did so, and they did not
put on winter fannels Oct 15, regard
less OF the temperature They didn't
believe In fiannels at ALL
OF course, Ethel was asked every
where. If she was at a party 1t was
Known as social success and II she
wasn't the daily paper merely ran a
two-line item with no headlines. Peo-
pie suffered from her presence and
also from her absence and could never
quite make up their minds which of
the two evils was the worse.
None of the young men of Millers-
Vile dared to single Ethel out, be-
cause they were afraid of her. They
called on other girls who had also
been away to school and lived in COM
Portable mansions, but Ethel was diff
ferent. Always they writhed when
they conversed with her, under the
sense that she did not find them inter-
esting. She had a way of sweetly
making them sensible of their own
limitations. Naturally, she was an OBJ
ject of despairing admiration to them.
There certainly was a fascination
about her looks and the way she wore
her clothes, and in spite of her top
loftical air she had distracting dim
pie in each cheek. Everybody knew
there wasn't a man in town good
enough for Ethel Lingler's notice.
When Oscar Farwell went there to
enter the leading law firm the girls,
Of course, talked him over. They
asked Ethel what she thought of him.
She raised her eyebrows a mere trifie
and smiled gently.
"Mr. Farwell," she said, rs absolute
ly impossible These breezy. self-sure
individuals always proove to be Of
common stock. He strikes me as an
exceedingly conceited, ordinary young
man and not in the least interesting
Whereupon the listening girl rejoic-
ed greatly, for they secretly admired
this same young Farwell and had been
afraid of Ethel's fancying him.
She snubbed him serenely and con-
descendingly on all occasions, but he
did not retire, abashed, as had all the
other young men of Millersville. At
first she seemed to be an object of
amused surprise to him. Then he set
tied down to the task of getting ac-
Quainted with her, totally ignoring her
polite jabs and her open disdain, much
as grown-up person might ignore an
infants beating one with its fists.
After while ne asked her to mar
~ him. Ethel merely sat and regard
ed him from large eyes of amazement
that presently fiickered and dropped
under his.
"Will you tell me-" she began, In a
strictly controlled voice, "just why
you should choose to want to marry
meT'
WELL" he told her, after consider
ing a moment. SITS because you'd be
such nice girl. If somebodyd knock
those idiotic ideas of your superiority
and originality out of your head, that
couldn't resist undertaking the Job
myself. I'm too exasperated at you
just now to be particularly madly In
love with you, but know shall be
Just as soon as you find out you're no
better or more interesting than a Iot