The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1915-04-09
John Blunt's
Infatuation
By ESTHER vANDEvEER

uOOr OF q tenement house WAeu ue III
ticed a dainty glove on the stair be-
fore him. Seeing a figure in skirts
ahead Of him. he picked up the glove
and. fastening on, asked the comely
young woman he overlook If the glove
belonged to her. She smilingly &C.
knowledged that it did and thanked
Mr.. Blunt accordingly. Moreover. he
noticed or fancied he noticed a look
Of admiration in the young woman'e
eyes. which was not surprising. for he
was u good looking man.
Il 'aven't seen you in the building
BEFORE" said john. Gave you been
ere long?"
"Honly a few days. Me and my
mother ave a couple o. rooms on the
next floor above, but I'll not be ere
very long. I'm looking for a place."
What kind of q place."
IA lady's maid"
"Mebbe l can 'elp you to that. I'm
a valley myself when I'm at work and
know a lot o. swell folks"
IF you do. please let me know. I'm
in No. Q on the next floor above"
The very next day Mr.. Blunt rap.
ped at No. 8 and was admitted by
an elderly woman. who called out
"Susan!" and in came the young wo'
man he had met the day before. he
said he had called to get some infor'
nation as to what wages she would
expect and other items Of like nature
but in reality he was DESTROYS OF form
ing Susan's acquaintance.
There are trilers among the lowly
as well as among the swells. and Mr..
Blunt was bent on an affair with the
pretty lady's maid. He called often,
aud his attentions appeared to be high
~ appreciated. Susan seemed a bit
fond Of finery and jewelry, and Mr..
Blunt considered himself fortunate in
being able to crafty her, especially in
the matter of jewelry. He made her
presents of a few inexpensive orna-
ments, but they did not seem to satisfy
her. John found her very fascinating
and in order to gain her good will pro-
duced articles of greater value. Finally
he found himself so deeply infatuated
that he proposed marriage.
To his surprise Susan refused him.
Nevertheless from time to time she
gave him encouragement to hope that
she might reconsider her refusal. She
said that she had expensive tastes and
was afraid that he would not be able
to crafty them. She limited ut a suit
or, a plumber. who had made a great
deal Of money, but she did not love
him. Nevertheless she was thinking
of marrying him because he could give
her what she craved-jewels.
Upon this John SHE'D of for awhile.
Susan didn't seem to mind the change
in his attentions to her q bit. Indeed.
she scarcely noticed him when~they
met. One day she told him that she
was in receipt of handsome presents
from the plumber and she expected q
proposal.
Soon after she had told John this he
camo to her one day with a brooch
containing several large diamonds. tell,
ing her that his last master. a stock
broker. had given him a tip by which
he had made q lot of money. he had
spent a part of it for his beloved Su-
san.
Susan's eyes sparkled with pleasure
at seeing the ornament. She put it on
and admired it and herself In a mirror.
"You look fine in It, Susan" said her
lover. I'm SO 'appy at my luck in
making the money to buy 1t for you,
seeing as 'ow''iiow YOU needn't ave tS
give yourself to the .pldmber." i
! But Susan did nlotSsluite accede to
the proposition. John begged her to
end his suspense and agree to marry
him. but she said that the expense of
living was rising every day and. she
was afraid that without q permanent
income they would come to grief. She
would rather remain single and be q
lady's maid than be married and In
poverty.
But John did not despair, for her
love for jewelry seemed to him to have
been born in her. and his old master.
the stockbroker. gave him another tip
and he made more money. This time
ne gave 0u6uu OSoCSsSsS q 0SApSsAs
with ruby eyes. Again Susan was de-
lighted and seemed to warm; but,
though on the verge Of consenting. she
did not consent.
One day John called to e his love
when she was not at home. Her
mother received him and said to him:
I'm doing all l can for you. John.
with Susan. P~ersevere and you'll win.
It's the jewels that's doing It."
After this John became reckless In
his gifts, and before long Susan pos
sessed jewels enough to decorate a
duchess.
One day when John called. at No. 8
he elected no response. He tried the
door and found It locked. The same
evening he tried It again with a like
result. When a couple of days had
passed and No. 0 was still locked John
made up his mind that something was
wrong. He disappeared himself.
Susan had returned to the home Of a
wealthy woman with whom she lived
es her maid. A friend Of this lady,
also wealthy. had lost valuable jewels