The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1913-04-18
An Unromantic
Love Story
By SADIE OLCOTT

W sAHS . kOl1C1 IN
had been taken into the Thorpe family
when she became al orphan. When
the two were grown Mrs. Thorpe. who
was then a widow. was possessed of a
fortune. One day when her son was
about to start on a 0 II she said to him:
1T is time, Ned. that | should take
thought as to the disposition of my
property. 1t was accumulated by your
father, who left it to me. expecting
that l would leave it to you. Helen
has been brought up as one Of our
family. and ! would like to divide it
between you, but ! feel it incumbent
upon me to leave it all to you. There
is a way. however. by which you could
relieve me of the embarrassment"
How is that. mothery"
by winning her for your wife"
Ned Thorpe had never thought Of his
cousin in this light. Both sexes seem
to prefer to mate with some n they
know nothing about than one they
know all about. This is a requisite Of
romance. At any rate, without know
ing it, this vas exactly the view he
took of the matter. From a boy be
had had his dreams of some beautiful
girl whom he should find in a bower Of
roses. who should greet him with a
blush and a smile and after he had told
his story should confess that she had
been dreaming about his counterpart
since she was q child.
For this reason he received his moth
er's announcement coldly. He was
very fond Of his cousin. whom he had
regarded rather as a companion than
q future wife. but his mothers sug-
gestion vas rather too businesslike to
commend itself to one who had had
such romantic dreams of the girl he
should love not only on earth but
through eternity. So he told bis moth
er that be would think about 1t and
nothing would give him greater salts
faction than to meet her wishes.
He was gone six months. during
which the lady Of the bower Of roses
did not appear. The girls he met were
all flesh and blood of an ordinary tex
ture. some Of them possessing unat-
tractive traits and some of them be-
ing positively disagreeable. The only
person he saw during his tour. 1t is
true. he first saw in a bower Of roses
but she arose therefrom in a dress
cut very low above and very high be-
meath. and ~pirouetted out toward the
footlights before an audience of a thou
sand persons. His Imagination was
captivated. but not his common sense.
At last he returned to his home.
thinking that. since he would please
his mother by marrying his cousin and
be had tired Of waiting for the lady in
the bower of roses to appear. he would
consent to his mothers plan. Indeed.
he admitted that it was a good plan.
He did not like the idea Of taking all
the family belongings to himself and
he didn't like dividing them between
himself and some one else. He much
preferred that it should be Helen's as
we'll as his own.
Helen had improved during his alb
sence. having passed out Of what to
some girls is an awkward age. She
received him with the accustomed well
come. and bis resolution received a
new impetus. As soon al he was alone
with his mother he said:
Mother, I've come home with the
intention of acceding to your wishes
in the matter you spoke about to me
just before ! went away"
what matter?"
why. in reference to Helen and I
inheriting the family fortune as one"
"Oh, I remember. nov you speak OF
It. That plan fell through immediate
" after you left Us. preached It to
Helen. and she said that on no ac-
count would she accept an Inheritance
that your father had accumulated and
intended should 90 at my death to his
son. She il now studying to be .
teacher. But she won't have to teach"
why not?' asked the young man.
taken quite, aback by the turn in the
affair.
"Well, q certain man IL attentive to
her whom It IL supposed she Will
marry"
supposed: Don't you known ex-
claimed Thorpe. getting up from bile
seat. thrusting his hands into his pock.
cts and striding back and forth on the
door.
"Only Helen knows. my dear boy.
But what means this change in you?
When l proposed this union you did
not appear to fancy It"
"Well. suppose. ! didn't. I've got my
mind made up to It. and now l ind
I've made It up for nothing. It isn't
treating q fellow right"
Mrs. Thorpe vas looking at him out
Of q corner Of her eye. She did not
seem at all hurt at his ~utterances. On
the contrary. she seemed to be endeav-
oring to conceal satisfaction.
"Well. dear" she said presently. "1'll
send her in to you and you can settle
Il with her."
When Helen appeared the young man
Daid to her:
"Helen. why have you upset this plan
Of my mothers to-
ITO what?"
swell. that my fathers fortune
should be kept intact. Mother says