Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-02-15
WINNIE AND
FRANK
By F. A. Mitchell
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

Mr.. Scarborough and l are very goo
friends very good friends indeed
The question is whether we shall b
more than friends. We like each othe
pretty well, but for my part there i
one other that I'm not sure l love bet
ter than love him. One day Mr. Scar
borough and | went out in a boat, ant
it was evident before we had been to
gether long that our minds were OF
the great question, Shall we be more
than friends?" We were very prac
teal about it, exchanging views witt
a frankness not usual in such cases.
"For my part" he said, Il feel thai
I love you better than any other per
son in the world excepting one. That
person, l confess, l do not approve
of-one whose intellect is not by any
means of the highest and whose good
intentions are often not carried out
How singularw l exclaimed. "You
have spoken my case as we'll as your
own. There is one whom l prefer to
you. But, gracious, how faulty! l con
! fess l am often put to the blush on
account of Franks shortcomings"
"Selfsh?"
Selfish at times beyond measure"
"Thats just the way with my Win
ME-"
"How is it, then, that we prefer
these unworthy persons to each
other?" l asked
There was brief silence, at the
end of which he asked:
"How long have you known this
person."
'Many years"
81 have noticed that the longer l
have known Frank the greater selfish
ness find"
"Same here. We have been compan-
ions since we were wee little things.
My theory is that it is propinquity. l
have known my Winnie and you have
known your Frank so long that asso-
citation has begotten love"
But love is blind. If this is love we
feel for those persons how is it that
we see their faults so plainly?"
"Are what we see In them really
faults?"
"What do you mean by thatT'
81 will explain. | snatched a kiss
from you. You are angry and blame
me. In other words, you consider that
1 have committed fault, whereas
have simply been following a nQ-urai
instinct Now, your Frank may place
you in an embarrassing position with
out any intention to do SO, yet you
consider him at fault"
THAT may apply to your Winnie,
but not to my Frank. confess you
are much more worthy of my love
than Frank. My love for Frank ad-
NIT is inexcusable, and yet l can't
help it."
"And 1 will admit that my Winnie's
thoughts and acts are gross in COM
parison with yours"
"How can you love such a person"
II would rather call it preference
than love"
'There again we agree; it is prefer
ence in my case too"
While we were talking a cloud had
been gathering behind us. Our backs
being turned toward it, we did not see
1t. We were sitting in the stern of the
boat, while held the main sheet in my
hand. Suddenly a squat struck us
and capsized the boat, which sank.
Three of us were in the water to-
gether, Mr.. Scarborough, and one life
preserver. Mr.. Scarborough could not
swim at all, l very little. A few
strokes took me to the corks. Mr..
Scarborough could not reach them,
though they were not mans length
from him. He went down. and when
he came up, by a desperate effort, I
reached him with the life preserver.
"Take hold of it," cried.
''No; it will bear but one of u.s."
81 can swim"
"Not enough to save yourself"
He went down a second time When
he came up 1 fought to get the pre-
server around him. He was uncon-
scious, and l partly succeeded. Then
a boats nose polied itself against us.
The rain and the wind beating up the
waves had concealed it from us. a
hand grasped each one Of us and
dragged us into the boat.
l hung over him anxiously until we
got him to shore, where we applied the
usual restoratives in such cases. Aft
er awhile he showed signs of life and
finally came to himself
The same evening, after having been
revived, we resumed the talk that had
been interrupted by the squall. But
we now chatted under very different
conditions. We had been dumped in
the water with-so far as we knew at
the time-a chance for but one to be
saved. Each had preferred that the
other have that chance. We sat lock-
ed in each others arms.
at has been proved conclusively to-
day." he said, "that these other lovers
of ours must take a back seat.
would not have done for Winnie what
did for you"
"Nor 1 for Frank"
'Its an i'll wind that blows nobody
any good! The squall blew Us into
the water, but it blew away at the
same time our indecision between eacl
other and these two other lovers"
"Thank heaven for that. / was aT-
fully tired of It. But tell me who IS
this Winifred that has been my rival"
"Who Is Frank"
"Tell me and I'll tell you"
my name, as you know, is Edward
W. Scarborough. Winnie is not Wini.
fred, as you suppose, but Winslaw.