The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1912-05-17
Grating as the cause of my hesitation

, efdtlnS as tne cause OF my neSltatlOn
that it was becoming late. Her little
jeweled clock was ticking somewhere
back of me and turned as if to note
the hour. Quickly she slipped behind
me and placed her fingers over my
eyes. the delicious thrill of her
touch electrifying me. Stay" she
half whispered from her tiptoes, her
lips close to my ear and the soft
hair OF her temple brushing my
cheek. sought to clasp her wrists,
but they evaded me magically and
with low laugh she ran to the wall
and pressed an electric button. Janet
appeared as though coniured from the
air. =
1t was after midnight before we had
finished. Through the moonlight I
hurried homeward with a heart that
sang like an aeolian. For the second
time in my life had kissed her upon
the lips: not impassionedly as before,
yet with enough warmth lurking be-
meath 1t to cause her to quickly break
away from me. And most glorious
Of all. It had been done with her tacit
consent At least she must have
known what was coming, for I had
taken both her wrists with a deliber-
ate air of proprietorship and quietly
drawn her to me.
"You are beautiful-sweet and
tempting beyond any queen. salute
you," l had said. She had made only
a show of resistance in the beginning,
yet when displayed a disposition to
prolong the embrace she ended it.
Then. still retaining her clasp upon
my finger ends. she had held herself
at arms length from me for a mo-
ment. the color of her cheeks BIOS
soming into deeper richness, her eyes
falling before mine.
"Oh. Tom! You must be a good
boy and run home at once" she had
pleaded. and had obeyed, we'll sat-
isfied with my achievement. Over and
over in my recollection / fondled the
delightful details Of the occurrence
until beneath my sheets my eyes
closed in sleep. Even then my sub
consciousness took 1t up, and all in all
passed the night in dream revel.
The few weeks which followed
were lived in the most delightful
mental exhilaration had ever ex.
perienced. If paradise has Joys be.
yond those of the young successful
wooer and Spectator, they are SEN
sations inconceivable to the mortal
mind. Love and gold were mine. Up.
steadily up, mounted that blessed
stock as skilled mountain climber
arises, with never a slip backward
and never cause for worrimeut on
the part of the watchers. Usually my
daily winnings ran into the hundreds.
In a very little time my profits
amounted to $4,000, and fifty thou
sand, yes, even a hundred thousand
more. seemed but the matter of a few
months. And who but a fool, given
a hundred thousand, cannot achieve
a million! / began to permit myself
extravagances. More than ever | was
with Mrs. Dace, and weekly my ex-
penses in entertaining her scared
Automobiles took the place of car.
riages. For her birthday present I
gave her bracelet that cost $500 I
even ventured in an off-hand manner
to speak to her about marriage and
dash around the world as wedding
trip. 1t was not a direct proposal,
yet it was sufficiently unmarked to
preclude her ignoring it. She caught
me by the arm.
"You must not talk about such
things, Tom. yet" she said quickly.
"You are young, almost too young a
man to marry, and are in the midst of
piling up your fortune. Let that be
your business, and your thoughts of
'svs your recreation. know of moth.