Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1912-01-25

, Grating as the cause of my hesitation
that it was becoming late. Her little
/ jeweled clock was ticking somewhere
back Of me and I 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. l 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 conjured from the
air.
1t was after midnight before we had
finished. Through the moonlight
hurried homeward with a heart that
sang like an aeolian For the second
time in my life I had kissed her upon
the lips; not impassionedIy as before,
yet with enough warmth lurking be-
meath 1t to cause her to quickly break
away from me. And most glorious
| Of all, 1t 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 beautifuI-sweet and
tempting beyond any queen. salute
you, | had said. She had made only
show of resistance in the beginning,
yet when I 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 I had obeyed. well sat
isfied with my achievement. Over and
! over in my recollection I fondled the
| delightful details of the occurrence
| until beneath my sheets my eyes
closed in sleep. Even then my sub
consciousness took it up, and all in all
I passed the night in dream reveI.
The few weeks which followed
were lived in the most delightful
/ mental exhilaration I had ever ex-
/ perienCed. If paradise has Joys be-
yond those of the young successful
/ wOoer and Spectator, they are SEN
| satiOns uncomfortable to the mortal
mind. Love and gold were mine. Up,
/ steadily up. mounted that blessed
| stock as a skilled mountain climber
arises, with never a slip backward
/ and never a cause for wOrriment on
the part of the watchers. Usually my
1 daily winnings ran into the hundreds
In 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 fool. given
! a hundred thousand, cannot achieve
a million! I began to permit myself
! eXtrayagances. More than ever 7 was
/ with Mrs. Dace, and weekly nv ex-
/ penses in entertaining her scared.
/ Automobiles took the place of car
! riages. For her birthday present I
| gave her a bracelet that cost $500. I
/ even ventured in an off-hand manner
I to speak to her about marriage and
a dash around the world as a wedding
trip. 1t was not direct proposal,
yet it was sufficiently unmasked to
preclude her ignoring it. She caught
me by the arm.
You must not talk about such
things, Tom, yet, she said quickly.
'Iou 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
love your recreation. 1 know of moth