The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-09-10
Faint
Heart
Never Won Fair
Lady
By EVERETT MAcBURNEY

+
r
Alice and had for some time beef
excellent friends, but 1t never occurret
to me to look upon her as anything
more than friend. She was a grea
ftrt and practiced her wiles on mos
any man who came along, but not Oh
me. One day she surprised me b!
saying:
John, why have you never mad,
love to me?"
you mean why have / never JOINED
the innumerable caravan of those VIII,
bow down to you and whom you senC
on their way, sadder, but wiserT'
"Nonsensei"
ION the contrary, its the truth You
don't consider that II made love t,
you and you sent me ON like the Others
our conpanionship would be spoiled"
"Why should that be necessary"
II don't know. It's the invariable re
suit in such cases"
"How do you know would send yol
on?"
81 don't, but I'd bet ten to one vol
would"
She made no reply to this. We wer,
sitting on a rustic bench In the gar
den. She was toying with a rose, on,
OF the last Of the summer, tumbling Il
against her lips directly under he
nose. knew very well she was doinl
1t because there was something in i
suggestive of kiss. the lips and the
rose being very much alike.
Don't try to fool me, Alice We've
been mighty good friends, and I've fell
complimented that you've thought 81
much of me you don't care to inter
fere with our friendly relationship. Tn
going away tomorrow, and / dom
know whether I'll come back or not. II
I do want to find my old chum here
just as she's always been"
Suppose you find me marriedY'
"In that case you'll still be my friend
Alice, and your friend Tom. And
doubtless your husband and 1 will
come to be good friends too"
said this in a half hearted way.
knew very well that marriage makes
a lot Of difference In friendships. Sew
eral Of my men chums had married
and had come to consider such friend
ships as destroyed by wedlock. At any
rate none of them were ever the same
afterward. Alice didn't say she hoped
so too. She kept fumbling the rose
against her lips In a tantalizing fashion
and didn't say anything 1t was plain
she had broken through the hedge that
divides the realms Of friendship from
those Of love and was looking about
her In the new domain.
1t is said that love begets love. AT
any rate there was that In her action
to inoculate me. And yet l knew her
so well that | didn't dare trust her ]
had seen men hang about her for few
months, sometimes only for a few
weeks, then suddenly drop off and new
er again be seen in her company. Dur
ing the buzzing of the bee about the
flower | had called the bee a fool
Should ! now make fool of myself?
What is the pleasure you take in
leading man to make love to you, en-
couraging him to propose to you and
then sending him off about his bust
ness?"
81 deny that have ever done such a
thing"
This was pretty definite statement
I wondered if after all there wasn't
some truth in it. Did these fellows
conJure up encouragement when ii
was not intended? Was there some
thing in Alice's treatment of them that
looked like flirting, but was not f1irt
ing. or was she flirting and yet uncon-
scious of doing SO? Far be 1t from
me, man, to analyze a woman's mo-
tives In such matters. l have some
times believed they don't always know
themselves.
Alice had never acted in this way
toward me before. and I was at loss
to attribute to her a motive for her
doing so. ! could not believe that she
had suddenly made up her mind that
she wanted me or that she was willing
to destroy our friendship to satisfy a
within. If there was a middle course
between these two had not the pow
err to discern it. My surmises ended
just as all Of mans surmises with re-
gard to woman's intentions must ever
end-in uncertainty. And yet should
/ analyZe myself In the matter would
come out any better? / am now in
clined to think that / had always felt
for Alice a desire for her possession
that had not realized At least this
Is the only explanation can give for
my action on this occasion. Possibly
there may have been bit of curiosity,
a modicum of the hunters instinct,
both REINFORCED by a feeling that a
lifetime passed with her would be an
agreeable one.
well" | said at last, 81 will give
you an opportunity to show whether
you are in earnest or whether this is
just such a case as you have been
through often before. / love you.
w III you I've my wife!
Looking back at this proposal I won
der how | could have supposed that
any girl who was interested in a man
purely for love could have been salts
fed with it. There was no more
warmth in the tone with which spoke
the words than In the words them
selves. l might as well have spoken a
declaration into a photograph and then
set the machine grinding them out to
her while read newspaper Indeed.
what then seemed to me to be a CON-
pliment, considering that she first
preached the subject or at least gave
me hint as to her feelings, now seems
to me to have been little less than an
insult
/ really thought l was putting her In
a position to declare her love for me
If she had such love to declare, where
as 1 was simply putting her in a po
sition to accept me for a husband if
she chose to do So She sat silent,
toying with the rose, though now she
was pulling 1t to pieces. Presently
she said:
"No, think 1t is fated that we shall
not get beyond friendship"
was much more disappointed than
had thought l would be at this re-
ply But I did not show it In my
action. nor did | upbraid her. sim
ply said that / would do my best to
maintain our past friendly status, bat
whether it could be maintained or not
/ did not know. l hoped 1t could
arose, offered her my hand. which she
took without warmth. babe her good
by and told her that l would see her
again before my departure.
But | didn't The barrier that
feared would be the result of lovemak-
ing had come between us. could not
knr~ 4. 4