Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-05-29
A Race
For a Wife
By EDITH v. ROSS

-@L1 -
she had no equals among women and
few among men. Jack was n of
those ingenious, heller SHELTER. fearless
persons who are always beloved. All
the men were in love with her. and she
was positively pestered with proposals.
She began preparing for love bank
ruptcy by being so tender hearted
whenever she refused a mar that upon
his begging her not to deny him all
hope she said he might hope just a lit
tie bit. The next man she promised
she would try to love him. And so 1t
went on. the numbers of these aspir-
ants for her hand increasing every day
till she did not know herself how many
of them there were.
One day she received a lecture from
her mother in this wise:
"Jaquelin. do you know that you are
wasting your opportunities? You won't
always be young. One by n these
young men who wish to marry you
will begin to drop off till all are gone.
And then what will you do?"
I'll look out that the last n doesn't
get away"
Jaquelin stood half an hour of this
talk, at the end of which she told her
mother that she would come to a deci-
sion among her lovers Immediately.
The good lady asked her to name
those who had proposed to her. Jack
gave the names and was told that her
decision would not be interfered with
except in the case of Dick Gregory,
who was very much among men what
Jack was among women. The moth
er's preference was Henry billiard, a
young clergyman.
Why Jack didn't decide between
these two men instead of following the
course she did no n knows. That one
Of the two was her preference every
one supposed. Only m man could
have first place in her heart, but which
that one was only Jack herself knew.
She had only to accept the one. and
the other, with the rest of her suitors,
would relapse. so far as she was con
cerned. into nothingness.
Jack wrote each of her admirers that.
not being able to accept them all, she
would institute a test examination as
to their fitness. In Lapland, she said,
the groom must catch his bride. She
proposed that the man she would
marry should catch her. She lived on a
river that some fifty miles below pass
ed the city of B. She would leave
the next morning for B.. but whether
-, wotI ctoor,h~o& 4pnf1au nnm rnntnp.
car or ~aeroplane she did not say. The
man who first proposed to her after
she had commenced her journey would
be accepted.
We will follow only the efforts OF
two of the applicants, Dick Gregory
and Henry billiard. billiard was loath
to enter upon so undignihed a contest.
But his objection was based solely on
ccoun of his being in orders. In his
heart the plan delighted him. for he
was as fond Of athletic sports as either
Jack or Dick. He had been while In
college a quarterback on the university
team, had. won a prize in a m~otorboat
air.
None of Jacks suitors believed that
she would select an ordinary method of
conveyance. The question was whether
she would go by land or water. Greg
ory possessed an advantage in the
fact that he owned and operated an
aeroplane. He could therefore go
quickly and see over a broader area
than one moving by any other convey
ance. He selected his flying machine
for bis conveyance in the contest Hill
lard chose an automobile.
Both these men went to the steam
boat landing and railway station,
thinking those places the most advan-
tageous points from which to learn
of Jacks movements. billiard arriv-
ed there half an hour after the day
boat had left the dock and learned
that Jack had left on 1t. What had
been expected of her-that she would
go in some conveyance of her own
failed. billiard turned his auto down
the river, taking a road that ran on the
bank beside it. It was not long be-
fore he overlook the steamer and hop
ed to get aboard at the next landing
place. which was some twenty miles
below.
Gregory reached the starting point
soon after billiard and gained the
same information. but he was obliged
to have his aeroplane dragged to open
ground for starting and then to make
several attempts before getting up in
the air. When finally he arose he saw
the steamer pursuing her way down
the river far below.
Now. the two rivals were In one
respect in the same fix. The winner
must get aboard the boat billiard.
seeing the aeroplane. realized this and
wondered how he might get ahead of
his rival. Putting on all speed. he
got into a position in advance of the
boat and, leaving his car on the shore,
plunged and swan for the channel in
which the boat must pass. Gregory,