Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1915-12-28
GWendOlin'S
Failing
How a New Year ResOIu-
ton Was Kept
By F. A. Mitchell

Miss Gwendolin Caruthers was a
bankrupt in Irritation. During her sum
mer outing she had become involved
with three suitOrs; two more had been
added in the autumn, and the Christ
mas holidays had increased the total
by one more. Of those two were seri-
Gus, three were semi-seriOus, and one
was to be counted a credit instead Of a
debit, for the gentleman had not been
brought to a proposal
Now, considering the fact that Miss
Caruthers had but one heart for the
five or six suitors, her assets and liabil-
tiles may be said to be as one to half
dozen. Notwithstanding this dis
tressing condition of her heart affairs,
at a party congregated to see the old
year out and the new year in she
! yielded to the temptation to take po-
sition in a window seat behind a cur
tain with still another young man and
then and there deliberately drew him
into a proposal. o..
Miss Caruthers' disposition to go
heart hunting had been noticed by
| both her father and mother and had
given them great concern.
Shes not only declining desirable
| parties" said her mother, but driv-
ing away other desirable young men
who do not dare trust her"
Too badp' said her father The
| day may come when she has passed the
mating age and will be forced into en-
! during spinsterhOOd"
1t was a great relief, therefore, when
GWendolin astOniShed her father and
mother by coming down to breakfast
with them at 9 o'clock New Years
morning and announcing to them that
| she had made a New Years resolution
not to incur any more heart liabilities
! during the year she was entering upon.
In other words, she would not act to-
ward any young man in an encourag-
| ing manner.
Good for you, Gwen!' exclaimed
| her father, taking her in his arms. IF
| you assure me one year from today
that you have kept your resolution I'll
give you an automobile"
Done cried Gwen, kissing him
! first on one cheek and then on the
other.
But said her father, holding her
off and looking her in the eye.
But what?"
There must of course be an excep-
ton"
Il see; the exception is an deception. -
You mean an acceptance. If you
accept a man and marry him that
| won't count"
suppose 1 accept him and don't mar
ry him?"
That will count"
Gwen gave her father another kiss
and sat down to breakfast. She dis
missed the matter of her newly made
resolution from her mind, for she only
realized its Importance in relieving her
| from having to make excuses to re
| jected suitOrs and had no doubt what
ever of keeping it.
Unfortunately there was just one
weak spot in Ovens resolution. In
| the list Of men who had become en-
| tangled with her during the past year
mention has been made of one whom
she had been unable to bring to his
knees. This was George Underwood
| a young man much engrossed in bust
ness and so steady on his pins, to use
a slangy phrase, that it was very diff
| ticult for any one to bowl him over.
| He was not a woman's man, never
danced, and, as for an affair of hearts,
| it had not occurred to him that it
could be played as a game.
Gwen had tackled him just as she
| had tackled the others, not having
looked upon any of them as a prob
| able husband. Underwood's attention
was not easily secured, and when it
was secured there was no favorable
response to Ovens advances. In vain
| she had endeavored to batter down
| that Indifference which stood between
| her and his heart. When trying to Sc
| cure an entrance she would be miffed
| at a commonplace remark about the
weather or some other event equally
! far distant from what was uppermost
| in her mind. The consequence was
that when she made her resolution on
| that New Years morning she had but
one regret-she would be obliged to
leave Underwood unfinished.
Mr.. Underwood was in control of a
| large business that brought him often
in contact with Mr.. Caruthers. Occa-
siOnally he had come into the latter's
home of an evening to talk over some
hrsir1occ = LOT
| in wait for him as he was about to
| depart. He was past thirty and was
| beginning to consider himself too old
for girls still in their teens. COnSe-
/ quently when Gwen wished to hold
/ him for the rest of the evening she
was obliged to resort to subterfuge.
| She would ask for his opinion on some
matter upon which she was in doubt
or beg him to help her out for the rest
| of the evening at a game of cribbage.
/ Once she asked him to play at hearts"
| with her in a tone that would have
| made any other man suspicious of her
ut once; but. whether Underwood IN
| derstood her or not, he gave no respOn-
Sive sign.
! Gwen never saw Underwood. who
eschewed social functions. except on
these visits to her father. The first
time the former called after the resO-
/ lurion she locked herself in her room.
One would have supposed that instead
of his having cause to be afraid of her
/ it was she who was afraid of him. At
| his second call, during which an i'll
] portrait business matter kept him with
/ her father lid 10 o'clock. on hearing
him in the hail about to take his de
! parture she went down on purpose to
/ see if he showed any disappointment
ut not having seen her at the time Of
his last call. The business matter he
had been discussing engroSSed his at
/ tendon, and he went out with simply i
4 Good evening"
Papa" said Gwen to her father the
} Dpvr morning ar hrp7 t-faSr II am