Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1913-04-22

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if considering her words:
Il thought he was very nice. and
good-looking, too. He's not bit like
Cornelia Ryan, or his mother, either.
| Cornelia has such red hair"
no, looks like the old man. Good
deal like him in character. too. Con
Ryan was the best Teller in the world.
| but not hard enough, not enough grit.
His wife had it though, had enough
for both. If it hadn't been for her,
Con would never have amounted to
anything-too sot and good-natured.
and the boys like him.
"How?" She raised her head and
looked directly at him, her lips slight.
~ parted.
Soft, too, just the same way. soft
hearted An easy mark for any one
with hard-luck etory and not too
many scruples Why did he marry
that woman? ] don't know anything
about 1t, but I'd like to bet she saw
the stuff he was made. OF and cried
and leased and nagged till she got
him to do it."
Il don't see that he could have done
anything else
That's a woman's-a young girls
| view. That's the view Dominick him
self probably took. It's the sort of
idea you might expect him to have.
something ornamental and impracti-
cal. that's all right to keep in the cup
board and take out and dust, but that
| don't do for everyday use That sort
Of thing is all very well for a girl,
but it doesn't do for a man. It's not
for this world and our times Maybe
1t was all right when a Teller went
round in armor, fighting for unknown
damsels, but it won't go in California
to-day. The woman was a working
| woman, she wasn't any green girl.
She earned her living in an office full
of men, and | guess there wasn't
much she didn't know. She saw
through Dominick and gathered him
in. It's all very well to be chival-
rous, but you don't want to be 8 con-
founded fool"
Are you COMPOUNDED fool when
you're doing what you think right?"
1T depends on what you think right,
honey If it's going to break up your
life, cut you off from your kind, make
an outcast of you from your own
folks, and a poverty stricken outcast
at that, you're a COMPOUNDED fool to
think it's right. You oughtn't to let
yourself think So That kind of a
moral attitude is a luxury Women
can cultivate 1t because they don't
have to get out in the world and fight.
They keep indoors and get taken care
of, and the queer ideas they have
don't hurt anybody. But men"
He stopped, realizing that perhaps
he was talking too frankly. He had
/ long known that Rose harbored these
Utopian theories on duty and honor,
which he thought very nice and pretty
for her and which went gracefully
with her character as a sheltered,
cherished, and unworldly maiden. 1t
was his desire to see what effect the
| conversation was having on her that
made him deal so unceremoniously
with ideals of conduct which were all
very well for Bill Cannon's daughter
| but were ruinous for Dominick Ryan.
IF you live in the world you've got
to cut your cloth by its measure" he
continued. Look at that poor devil,
| tied to a woman that's not going to
let him 20 if she can help it, that he
| doesn't care for"
! How do you know he doesn't care
| for her?" The interruption came in
tone of startled surprise and Rose
stared at him, her eyes wide with 1t.
| For a moment the old man was at
a loss. He would have told any lie
rather than have let her guess his
knowledge of the situation and ahe in
formation given him by Dominica He
realized that his zeal had made him
imprudenty garrulous, and, gazing
| at her with a slightly stupid express
sion. said in low tone of elf-justif-
cation:
well, that's my idea. l guessed it.
I've heard one thing and another here
and there and I've come to the con-
clusiOn that th eres no love lost be-
tween them. It's the natural outcome
of the situation, anyway"
Yes, perhaps" she murmured. She
placed her elbow on the table and
pressed the tips of her fingers against
her cheek Her hand and arm, re-
vealed by her loose lace sleeve, looked
as II cut out Of ivory
And then" went on her father re-
morselessly. "the results of being a
confounded fool don't stop right there.
That's one of the worst things of al
lowing yourself the luxury of foolish
ness. They go on-roll right along
like wheel started on a down-hill
grade. Some day that boyll meet the
right woman-the one he really wants,
the one that belongs to him. He'll
be able to stand it all right till then.
And then he'll realize jest what he's
done and what he's up against, and
things may happen"
The smoke wreaths were thick in
front of his face, and peering through
them he saw the young girl move her
fingers from her cheek to her fore
head where she gently rubbed them
UP and down.
Isn't that about the size Of it?" he
queried, when she did not answer.
Yes, maybe" she said in a voice
that sounded muffled.
It'll be a pretty tough proposition
and it's bound to happen A decent
teller like that Is Just the man 10 fall
in love- And he'd be good to a WON
an, he'd make her happy. He's
good husband lost for some nice girl"
Roses fingers ceased moving acrcss
her forehead. Her hand rested there,
shading her eyes For a moment the
old man-his vision precipitated into
the misunderstood wretchedness of
Dominick Ryan's position-forgot her.
and he said in a hushed voice of feel
ing:
by God, I'm sorry for the poor
boy"
His daughter rose suddenly with a
rustling of crushed silks. The sound
brought him back in an instant and he
leaned over the arm of his chair. his