The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1913-09-12
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THEY DID THEIR BEST
BY JANE OSBORN.

1t had always been Mrs. Van Due
SENS firm belief that really self-re-
specting girl never of her own accord
fell in love till the object Of her
thoughts had openly declared him
self. Did anybody for an instant be-
lieve that Mrs Van Duesen would
have thought of Mr.. Van Duesen that
way" until Mr.. Van Duesen had pro-
posed to her? Obviously not! So
when Kate Van Duesen, Mrs. Van
Duesen's only daughter, admitted to
her mother shamelessly that she
would marry Harold Vevin II she
had half chance and on top of that
unbecoming statement kept bunch
OF violets that Mr. Nevin sent her
till they were dried past recognition,
Mrs. Van Duesen decided that Kate
needed to be sent away. She should
be kept away till she had forgotten
Il don't see why | can't stay and
be a sport like any other girl" pro-
tested Kate You might think was
dying of a broken heart to freight me
off like this. Besides, | am quite sure
Fred Nevin likes me- If gave him
half a chance, and half as much en-
couragement as some Of the other
girls have given him. am sure he
would come to it."
Mrs. Van Duesen was shocked by
this shameless frankness. 1t was, OF
course, the result of Hates associates.
All the more, she should be sent away
from home to her aunts.
Even IL he did ask you to marry
him." Mrs Van Duesen said, 81 could
never reconcile myself to the idea
Of having a daughter Of mine marry
a man whom she left-fond Of before
he had proposed. 1t would be a very
unsatisfactory arrangement"
So Kate went to her maiden aunts,
her fathers sisters, in Rosley, eighty
miles from home, the aunts being In
structed by letter to keep Hates mind
occupied with harmless amusements,
and the aunts did their best. They
gave several tea parties for her, they
taught her, or tried to teach her, the
newest stitches in crochet lace, they
spent hours trying to arouse in her
heart some interest in cribbage and
chess; they walked with her and took
her driving in the old family victoria,
and every night at nine they tucked
Der into bed like a ten-year-old.
Kate had been in Rosley two weeks.
she had heard nothing directly or In
directly from Harold Nevin, when the
day that she had been anticipating
ever since her arrival in Rosley ar
rived. 1t was her twenty-frst birth
day, and Kate felt legally and morally
free to go home. Finally however,
brought to her aunts' house by her
father on his way on a business trip,
and left with only little change in
her purse. She had made up her
mind, however, that when she was
twenty-one she would walk home II
necessary. She was willing to do al
most anything to get away from the
discouraging narrow-mindness of her
well-meaning aunts.
At five o'clock on this fall afternoon
she left her aunts' house, saying that
she was going to have supper with
a neighbor in Rosley. But Hates real
plan was otherwise. She had taken
in her hand bag the small velvet case
which contained the old cameo pin
given to her as birthday present
that very morning by her well-mean'
ing aunts. 1t was once the property
of her grandmother, and was much
priced by the aunts in Rosley. Kate
turned pale as she thought of the
length to which she had been driven
She was going to take this priced
piece Of jewelry to the pawn shop
and thereby raise enough money to
buy her ticket back home, to telegraph
to her aunts to let them know she
was safe, and provide for the other In
cidentals of her trip. She. would
meantime, arrange with the pawn
broker to let her redeem the cameo
unframed within a few days, for once
she was home again and could ex
plain to her mother how unbearable
had been her exile to Rosley. she was
sure she would have no difficulty in
securing the money needed and tc
receive a full pardon Anyway
thought Kate. even If they chose moi
to forgive her, she was twenty-one
and had a right to act for herself. Al
the worst, 1t wasn't dishonest to pawn
the pin. 1t was given to her as gift
and therefore she had right to dc
with 1t as she chose.
1t was dusk when Kate made hel
way down the street of the small towr
of Rosley to the shop whose impos
ing gold balls made known to the
public its business in the community
She took the box from her bag anC
clasped 1t closely in her hand, then
pausing to make sure that none Of hel
aunts friends was in sight, she hur
ried into the shop.
A brazen-faced young man loungeC
over the counter reading a newspa
per spread out before him. He looked
up out of the top Of his eyes as h
saw the shrinking figure. but waitet
| H.