Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1913-09-12
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
THEY DID THEIR BEST
BY JANE OSBORN.

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 MIR. 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 20
her mother shamelessly that she
would marry Harold Vevin il she
had half a chance and on top of that
unbecoming statement kept bunch
of violets that Mr. Nevin sent her
till they were dried past recognitions
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 sport like any other girl, pro-
tested Kate you might think | was
dying of broken heart to freight me
of like this. Besides. / am quite sure
Fred Nevin likes me. II / 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 If he did ask you to marry
him." Mrs. Van Deesen said. Il could
never reconcile myself to the idea
of having a daughter of milse marry
man whom she left--fond of before
he had proposed. 1t would be 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 Rates 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
her into bed like a ten-year-old.
Kate had been in Rosley two weeks.
She had heard nothing directly or in.
day that she had been anticipating
ever since her arrival in Rosley ar
rived 1t was her twenty-first birth
day, and Kate felt legally and morally
free TO go home. Finally, however,
she was not free. She had been
brought to her aunts' house by her
father on his way on business trip,
and left with only a little change in
her purse. She had made ap her
mind, however, that when she was
twenty-one she would walk home If
necessary. She was willing to do al.
most anything to get away from the
discouraging narrowrmindness of her
we,.meaning aunts.
At five o'clock on this fall afternoon
she left her aunts' house. saying that
she was going to have supper with
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 a 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 10 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
nnharmed within 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 to
receive full pardon Anyway.
thought Kate, even IL they chose not
to forgive her. she was twenty-one,
and had right to act for herself. At
the worst, it wasn't dishonest TO pawn
the pin. 1t was given to her as a gift.
and therefore che had right to do
with it as she chose.
1t was dusk when Kate made her
way down the street of the small town
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 and
clasped 1t closely in her hand, then,
pausing 10 make sure that none of her
aunts' friends was in sight, she hur-
ried into the shop
A braZen-faced young man louHged
over the counter reading a newspa-
per spread out before him. He looked
up out of the top of his eyes as he
saw the shrinking figure. but waited
for her to begin the transaction.
II am very anxious to raise some
money on this" said Kate. not know
ing the language proper to the occa-