The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-10-13
WHERE HAROLD FAILED
BY GRACE LElTcH.

She had golden hair and a pensive
expression and she ate her cafe par
great self-sacrifice
Mercy" cried the girl with the
rose color spring hat, as she swept
up to the table and deposited her sill
yer purse with clatter why SO
doleful? Quarreled with Harold?"
The young woman with the golden
hair gave her sad look NO." she
said. Harold and 1 are good friends.
That's the trouble. Sometimes you
can be such good friends with a man
that he's perfectly happy and salts
fed and doesn't trouble to want to be
anything more. However, there's no
telling how thoroughly engaged we
might be this very minute If it hadn't
been for the cat"
"You are beyond me-" calculated
her friend with the new hat. Harold
is brave man. He isn't afraid even
of wild animals or any kind of fero-
cious creature. Why, he shot a
prairie chicken once!"
WELL" said the golden haired
young woman Indignantly, she didn't
shoot one that was brimful Of cleo
tricity. and, as it happened, that cat
was"
She's gray cat" proceeded the
young woman, "and she made such
a lovely contrast to my lavender
crepe gown that I was holding her
last evening. 1 think, anyhow, that
1t looks SO domestic to be fond of ami
mails, don't you? After awhile / let
her go because Harold, who was call
ing, got to talking most interestingly
of his prospects of an increase in
salary and that kind of talk seemed SO
significant"
ooh, yes" agreed her friend with
the new hat, excitedly. "It certainly
did. When a man speaks Of money
it's always serious, whether it is a
bill or the prospect of matrimony!
Well, did he?"
"You have to have an atmosphere
Of tolerable calm for a proposal, you
know No man would dream of ask
ing girl in the midst of hurricane
to join hands with him for life. Do
you know what that foolish cat did?
She crawled up on the table, tipped
over an electric lamp and got herself
all tangled up in the cord. Then she
bit the cord in her wrath and indig-
nation"
II don't see why 1t should be a
tragedy to have lost a little electric
wiring" remarked her friend.
"My goodness!" cried the golden
haired girl. Don't you know any
thing about electricity at all? She bit
through the insulation and got to a
live wire and short circuited some
thing. Anyhow, she began doing pin
wheels, while perfect streaks of fire
shot from her mouth. Naturally
was horror-struck. 1t Is upsetting to
see member of the family with
lightning shooting from her mouth,
and l am really much attached to the
cat.
"'Save her! Save her!' I shrieked
to Harold-and Harold grabbed the
cati"
"Well?"
Then Harold began doing pin
wheels. That added to my fright. I
cried for him to stop it, but he paid
not the least attention to me, and
never saw such actions. 1t is a
great trial to ones affections to see
the object Of them attempt to climb
the wall paper or drape himself over
the chandelier, and that's what Har-
old did. I screamed grabbed
Harold"
"Well?"
ut makes me shudder," declared
the golden haired girl. Il don't like
to think about it.
Il have dazed memory of mil
lions of pins, and needles darling
through me and then / began doing
pinwheels, too. Each of us-the cat,
Harold and I--seemed trying madly
to Guido the others, and I don't know
who won. l remember that things
began smashing and tipping over in
the room and my soprano screams
and Harold's deep growls were min
gled. And the cat pervaded every
thing
I'VE might be dancing yet if my
twelve-year-old brother, hearing the
commotion, hadn't dashed in, took a
look and then with great presence of
mind turned off the electric light
switch. Thereupon Harold let go. of
the cat and let go of Harold and the
cat and hung limp over chair
back just like my fur neckpiece.
"'Gee!' said my brother, but you're
two loonies! Why didn't you turn it
off yourselves?
Somehow I've been thinking since
then that maybe Harold wouldn't be
exactly the person to lean upon in
great emergencies"
There may be something in that
agreed the friend.
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