Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-05-15

her. She's from Richmond, too, Joan
Carruthers'
Then Flick turned his head and
smiled at the "Porpoise." Did they
know Miss Carruthers? The smile on
Dolf's rotund face became fixed like
Buddha's. 1t lacked spontaneity and
innate joy. And Flick's humor rose.
| 81 have never met Miss Carruthers, =
he said, but l have often heard her
spoken of. She was very popular at
Richmond, very popular"
AT Sound Beach they took the car
that wound along the shore line. Gwen
said it wasn't very far, and then just
the little walk across the sand dunes
and beach.
Larry has boat that we use to
cross over to the island in she smil-
ed up at Dolf. Dolf's stock was rising
steadily. She kept near to him, and
permitted his assistance over infnites-
imal pools of water left by the tide.
Yet Flick smiled at the far Long Island
shore line and Dolf was pale. 1T isn't
far from shore"
It wasn't Larry saw them from the
distance, and sent forth long hail of
welcome. Though still wearing sundry
bandages and plasters, he could navi-
gate and WELD oars, and he came af-
ter them brilliantly. Flick did not pre-
tend to disguise Dolf's prominence In
the lists of love. He gave him freely
the right of way now. He absorbed the
conversation with Larry, and left the
two to gaze into each others eyes,
only Dolls gaze persistently wandered
to the nearing island with a look OF
strange abstraction.
And when they had beached the
boat and strolled up the little sandy
patch to the bungalow Gwen walked
beside him slowly, confidingly, yet
Flick smiled behind them and laughed
at, Larry's jokes without regret.
It appeared when they reached the
broad veranda that Joan had met Dolf
before, oh, long ago, down in dear old
Richmond. Dolf stared at her as if
fascinated. He perched up beside her
Ion the railing and dallied with her
mess of wet. clammy starfish that she
was trying to straighten out to dry in
the sun. And when she had fretted
him awhile, she took Flick away from
Gwen with one long sidelong glance
from her hazel eyes, and went for a
beach tramp
81 didn't know you had met Joan
before, Dolf," Gwen said impersonally.
Larry thinks the world of her.
Joan is an epidemic" Dolf answer.
ed morosely "She swept through our
whole team when we went south to
play the Virginians. They set her in
front of us to dazzle our eyes, and I
pitched grounders for three days. A
fellow never exactly forgets girl like
that, you know, any more than he does
a good big bump in the road that he
hits and tumbles over. It's what you'd
call infatuation, suppose" He STUN
bled on, regardless of the steady,
measuring glance of Owens eyes. But
it isn't real love, l tell you, when a
fellow does find the real thing he
knows the imitation
Yet Gwen gazed musingly at the two
figures circling the island shore. They
kept, very near to each other, bending
over to search for shells among the
driftwood and seaweed at the hightide
mark. Then. as if he had caught her
wireless, Flick raised himself and look
ed back at her to wave his hand.
What really resolute, manly sort
of a boy Mr. Habbeton is she said.
Larry was telling me how good he
was to him all the year. He's very
unselfish, l think. You can almost see
by his face what sort of a man he is,
can't you?"
Flick has very open face replied
Dolf guardedly. He seems to be
catching the epidemic all right"
"Oh, I don't know. don't think he
would be just satisfied with Irritation
somehow He seems deeper than that
He told me that girls just seemed to
represent certain abstract qualities to
him. He thinks that accounts for the
momentary attraction, don't you know.
wait till Joan finishes with him"
Dolf limited darkly. You can see 1t
starting up now"
Gwen looked meditatively down at
the beach 1t was not at all as she
had planned. and yet it was. She had
felt sorry for poor, good old Flick
She had invited Joan up to give him
new interest in life, to divert him, so
to speak, and yet now that she saw
them together, in proximitous propin-
guilty, so to speak, with all its attend
ant dangers, she felt a curious thrill Of
resentment. Did Dolf compensate for
the loss of Flick? Dolf, who, by his
own confession, had loved Joan?
It was Larry who carried the weight
of conversation, with Aunt Helens
help, when the party gathered in the
bungalow. Even Joan seemed thought
full, and when she met Dolls steady,