The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-08-19
A SENSITIVE
PAIR
By OLIVE EDNA MAY
Copyright by American Press Assd-
citation, 1911.

OF the corps, which is a prominent
position among the cadets, and was
graduated In the engineers. There
was present AT the graduating exel-
ciSes that year Florence Rutherford n
young lady equally prominent with
Lambert. The two had met there In
June once before and had been much
together.
Perhaps there Is no place more con
ducive to loyemaking than a military
post. and for the purpose West Point
stands pre-eminent on account Of the
youth OF those assembled. The cadets
are in camp near the hotel. aud when
they are on leave couples may be
seen on the piazza or starting mp to
old Fort Putnam or down Filtration
walk indeed, anywhere they like
within bounds"
Paul Lambert aud Florence Ruther-
ford We're one Of these couples and
much observed for their physical beau
,y. AS soon MS Lambert was given
his commission he made a proposition
or marriage to Miss Rutherford He
had been in doubt rs to his acceptance,
for the girl. though she l.ermilted his
| attentions whenever he talked spoon"
| to use n slang phrase was very
chary If II response. But every lover
| Is in doubt until he receives II con
sent Lambert when he was refused
| received as great Il blow Ms If he had
been sure Of an acceptance,
The girl WAS very conscientious aud
| the man very sensitive. She took TOO
ings, and he attached too much i'm
| portauce to her refusal. Had he per-
severed she would have yielded. But
our paths In life are determined often
by some small incident The worlds Of
these two persons We're determined by
I.amberts failure to ask the same
| question twice. a consent upon the SEE
| ond asking would have made him in
expressibly happy. The reason he did
not ask again was because he had
| been so sure Of himself that he con
| sidered hat the girl could not fail to
recognize her own feelings. Had she
| felt toward him as he felt toward her
| there could be no mstaking the emo
| ton
The consequence Of this reasoning
on both sides was that two persons
who seemed to have been made for
each other were kept apart and con
sequently entered upon lives the honey
of which had been extracted Lam
| bert never dreamed that Miss Ruther-
| ford regretted her decision the mo-
ment If had been made. and she could
he should be content without her.
| And if lie was not content without her
he must surely try 70 win her This
similar reasoning Ia each though
nothing In itself, served to make a
| chaHm between Them.
Five years passed, during which nei-
ther Of The lovers married. Then Miss
Rutherford, being assured by friend
| OF Lambert that he would never
marry. taking the reason for granted,
! wrote her lover a note. reopening the
| case
But what WAS her surprise to re.
ceive "A reply ignoring what she had
| intended All her pride revolted at
| having so demeaned herself She con
sidered that she bad been served
sright for attempting TO recall man
| she had refused. and she did not
blame him for having declined what
was virtually an offer.
Nothing could have been more touch
ing than the note written by Lambert
| There was the same melancholy In II
| he had shown ever since he had been
| refused. He did not refer to that re-
| fusal or it's consequences. He referred
! TO life NJ fneXpressiilg depressing in
| his case, but made no iutimation "a 10
| the cause. Had he done so II would
have Left q loopholc for another com.
| municatiou from Miss Rutherford that
| might have led 10 II union between the
two AS II was. Il sealed her lips on
the subject.
There was one suspicion In Miss
Rutherfords mind that made her thnl;
| that Lambert had reason for not re
opening his affair with her At the
| time her letter was sent Lambert was
| In attendance upon his father, who
was a confirmed invalid. She fancied
| that Lambert might feel that he should
hermit nothing TO Interfere with his
| giving all his devotion to his parent
| Then she heard that the father had
died, and faint hope sprang up In
her breast that If there had been sdch
a cause II was now removed. But time
| passed. and she heard nothing from
her lover Then she settled down to
the belief that Lambert had grown
away from his love for her
But he certainly could not have come
to love any one else. for he became o
| recluse. He left the army and shut
himself up In house by himself
When the CubaD-American war came
on he re-entered the service and by
| the way he exposed himself bis broth
err officers suspected that he was try
ing to get himself killed Finally dur
ing the last fighting before Santiago
he was MORALLY wounded and died In
q few days.
Miss Rutherford. though she did moi
put on widows weeds, considered her
self widow One day she was mott