River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-09-18

II d
ETN@5i Unable. we've got a dandy.
80 strolling gypsy band up at
the hotel, the dining room floor is all
waxed and I'm asking for the first
dance with the young and radiant Mrs.
Carter. Get into a glad rag and don't
keep me waiting"
"Tom!' / gasped.
ooh, be a sport, Moll, and don't take
water! You said you would wake up
this town. and now do it. 1t seems
twenty instead of six years since |
had my arms around you to music.
and Pm not going to wait any longer.
Everybody is there and they can't all
dance with Miss Chester
That settled it. l couldn't let Wis
iting girl be danced to death OF course
/ had planned to make a digniied de-
but under my own roof, backed up by
the presence of ancestral and marital
rosewood silver and mahogany as
widow should, but duty called me to
deweed myself amid the informality
Of an impromptu dance at the little
town hotel And in the fifteen min
utes Tom gave me deweeded to some
purpose and Powered out to still more.
l never do anything by halves.
In that-that-troussea old Rene
had made me there was one, what she
called simple lingerie frock And it
looked just as simple as the check it
called for, one and two ciphers back
Of it, 1t was Of linen as sheer as q
cobweb. real lace and tiny, delicious
incrustations Of embroidery. 1t fitted
in lines that melted into curves, had
enticements in the shape of a long sash
and dangerous breast knot Of SHIN
merry blue the color of my eyes. and
looked newborn in it
I'm glad that poor Mr.. Carter was
so stern with me about rats and things
in my hair. now that they are out of
style, for I've got lots of my own left
In consequence Of not wearing other
peoples. 1t clings and coils TO my
head just any old way that looks as if
had spent an hour on it. That made
me able to be ready to go down to Tom
In only ten minutes over the time he
gave me-
l stopped on next to the bottom step
in the wide old hall and called Tom
to turn out the light for me, as Judy
had gone.
/ have turned out that light lots of
times, but felt it best to let Tom see
me in full light when we were alone.
1t is well l did! At first it stunned
him, and it is a compliment to any
woman to stun Tom Pollard. But Tom
doesn't stay stunned long, and | only
succeeded in suppressing him after he
had landed two kisses on my shoulder,
one on my hair and one on the back of
my neck.
Molly" he said standing off and
looking at me with shining eyes. you
are one lovely dream. Your shoulders,
are flushed velvet. your cheeks are
peaches under cream, your eyes are
blue absinth and your mouth a red
devil. Come on before / get drunk
looking at you" | didn't know wheth-
er liked that or not and turned down
the light quickly myself and went to
the gate hurriedly. Tom laughed and
behaved himself
Everybody in town was up to the
hotel and everybody was nice to me,
girls and all. There is bunch Of
lovely posy girls in this town and they
were all in full flower. Most of the
men were college boys home for vaca-
ton. and while they are few years
younger than l, | have been friends
with them for always and they know
how | dance. l didn't even get near
enough to the wall TO know it was
there, though l was conscious OF Aunt
Bette and Mrs Johnson sitting on it
at one end of the room, and every time
passed them f1irted with them until
won a smile from them both. l wish
l could be sure of hearing Mrs. john
son tell Aunt Adeline all about it.
And it was well / did come to save
Ruth Chester from a dancing death,
for she is as light as a feather and
sails on the air like thistledown. | felt
sorry for Tom for when he danced with
me he could see her. and when he dane
ed with her pouted at him. even over
Judge Wade's arm. | verify believe 1t
was from being really ratified that he
asked little Pet -Buford to dance with