The Red Cloud chief., 1913-05-01
Was SHY OF WOMEN
SO He Unsuccessfully Tried to
Cut a Wide SWath Around
Girls.
BY LOUISE OlNEY.

BY LOUISE OlNEY.
Like other humans, Jerry Mct'ar.
land longed for adventure. Like them
he looked afar and not near for It's
coming, forgetting that it comes Of.
tenest clad as love. frequently as bust.
ness. seldom In distant places. At
thirty he had come by the prosaic
paths OF country rearing. school. a
boys pranks and dreams, a business
course. loss Of his parents. and
bookkeeper's job with Stanley & Stan.
ley. to a small silent partnership In
the flrm-and a healthy theory that
married man was as good AZ dead.
Outstanding. merry, noticeable by
reason Of his height his Irish blue
eyes and dark hair, courteous. pleas.
ant. he was still as shy of women as
pheasant Of guns. He had seen
three good friends lost In the nav Of
marriage. Kennedy was become O
money.machine for an extravagant
wife; Harrison talked baby.talk and
discussed breakfast foods and betrayed
no interest In manly sports. Consi-
dlne was tied to pretty, ailing. jeal.
Gus plaything OF woman. So Nc
Farland deliberately cut wide swath
around girls
Here enters Mary Fetterling Now
man avoids a great danger more
carefully than small one. Where
fore Mcfarland instinctively sidestep-
ped the elder Stanley's new secretary.
tall. quiet. dark girl with wide
comprehensive gaze and disconcert.
ingly amused look In her deep eyes.
She never paid the slightest attention
TO Mcfarland. but he avoided her. He
overdid the matter. Which Is where
his downfall begins.
One vile. windy March morning It
CHANGED that Mcfarland entered
breezily. found her aiore In the Office.
and was fairly fleeing past her with
an aloof Good morning" when he re-
ceived. with a shock the first end of
his yet unrecognized adventure.
Mr.. Mcfarland" said the girls
even. rich voice, please come here a
moment" Wondering. he stepped
back and faced her across her desk.
Anger lit her face to great beauty.
Mr.. Mcfarland. want you to under
stand that 1t is unnecessary and lit.
tie insulting for you to avoid me as
you do 1t IL too patent. assure you
that do not like you in the least.
have no designs upon you. wouldn't
marry you for worlds. You are cold
and self-centered and not-generous
enough to take risk with q woman
for the sake Of possible-great hap
piness. You couldn't-love II you
wanted tot isn't In you"
The young man caught his breath at
this low-spoken. astonishing TRADE,
but the girl went on numerically.
rs this ALL" he asked gravely.
She shook her head Not quite. I
care SO little what you think OF me
that ! dare speak like this! Your
avoidance brings unpleasant comment
on me here. Mr.. Stanley remarked
yesterday that you seemed to think |
might eat you; Mr.. Rogers and Miss
Mason wondered how you managed to
cut such wide circle around me.
overheard. They laid a-bet that you
would never even 60 down the same
elevator with me-and that finally I
would succeed in--landing you, was
was their word"
"You-mistake my attitude he
said. but she interrupted.
Excuse me-your attitude is moth
Ing to me. All l ask ia that you treat
me no worse than the rest of the of.
hce fixtures. You don't swerve three
yards around q chair Yet the chair
Is less Indifferent to you than I am.
] am not menace-you needn't fee
from me--visibly. 1t makes it-em.
barrassing for me-" Her sweet voice
made her words seem unreal. but she
finished by swinging her machine In.
to place and sitting down to work Just
as Miss Mason entered with a know.
ing glance at the two.
All day Mary lettering felt watched,
and Mcfarland was coldly, furiously
uncomfortable. How dared she speak
SO? And--was she right He knew
she was.
Things happened right along after
that. First, Mcfarland had night ses
sions OF reckoning with his own
thoughts. Was he selfish, was he In
capable of-loving-well, not Mary
lettering, Of course. but any woman? :?
His mind went over her hot attack,
remembering the fire in her deep eyes,
the tremble OF her lip. the bite OF her
words. What a virago of wife she
would make for-some other fellow!
And vet--l He lauphod In hiu Ioco,,
room one night as March was raging
Its lion.like way out into April to think
OF her courage in berating him. He
should have reproved her. She had
the best OF him. Now he wanted to
lock at her and dared not, When he
did. he no longer found the little
amused CLEAN In her eyes. He thought
her pale. Once he deliberately waited
and went down to the street with her,
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