The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-29
The End of
A Rivalry
By ESTHER NANDEVEER

lEOIh Ten 10 SlAletll NtdlN an lil''Aii-A
BILE tomboy. Everybody called her Joe.
and everybody admitted that she was
well named. for she might be consid-
cred either a boy or a girl. Her most
intimate friends were boys. and they
always spoke of her as 'one of us.
When Joe was fifteen a change came
over her-that is, she was passing from
childhood to womanhood. This transi-
ton was in her case peculiar. 4 girl
of fifteen knows that she can't do those
things she did when child. For in
stance, she can't climb trees with the
same freedom; she can't ride on horse
back straddle without apparel fitted
for the purpose; there is not the same
freedom in her friendships with boys.
Joe had not quite let go all these
juvenile ways, and yet she was reach
ing for young ladyhood. One thing she
had not yet grasped, and that was
proper appreciation of being made love
to by young man. Boys had never
thought of making love to her boy
would no more have made love to her
than to another boy For a boy to
make love to her would have sounded
ridiculous. and. ten to one. she would
have laughed at him.
The first time that anything serious
in the way of love matter occurred
to Joe Sommers was when she was tif-
teen and half years old. Two boys.
Bob Atherton and Johnnie Myers. laid
longing eyes upon her. Neither of
them made any mention of the fact TO
her If one walked home with her
from school the other kept out Of the
way If one engaged her for n game
of tennis the other amused himself i'll
some other way. Joe did not see the
rivalry, but the boys We're conscious of
it, and there was not day that one
did not try to get ahead of the other.
OF course this constant effort was
bound in the end to make trouble be-
tween the two boys. Every time one
saw the other enjoying Joe'S society to
the exclusion of the other the green
monster tapped his wings. An ex-
plosion is sure to come in such cases,
and this one was no exception.
All three of the parties to this tri-
angular love affair-though the girl
had no sentimental part in it at all
were in the same class in the Etfing-
ham high school. When a certain
baseball game was played between the
bingham and the Waterton high
schools Bob Anterior saw on the
grand stand Joe Sommers sitting with
vacant place beside her He joined
her and asked if he might occupy it.
She gave him permission, saying that
she expected another boy to sit with
her, but there was room for him on
the other side.
Now, the other boy was Johnnie My.
ers. Before he reached the stand the
place on the other side of Joe was
occupied, and he saw Bob in his place
He didn't approach the two and make
a scene, but there was CONSERVATION
within him. He did not even claim
his right to sit by the girl. He wen
off to another part of the field, nursin.
his wrath not against Joe, who was t.
be blamed if any one was. but agains
Bob
When the game was finished and tn,
multitude left the athletic grounds
Johnnie saw his rival walking will
Joe toward her home. His own rout,
lay in this direction. Indeed. he live,
not far from her, and she could lool
from her window into his back yard
When Bob left her Johnnie joined hin
and accused him of Intentionally oC
cupying his place at the baseball game
Bob was innocent of the charge, bu
certain words used by Johnnie rile'
him.
Joe had laid aside her belonging
and was sitting by her window whel
she saw Bob climb the fence in th
rear of Johnnie's home and approach
Johnnie with apparent hostile intent
The next thing she saw was battle.
1t did not take Joe long to discern
the cause of this encounter. Realizing
that she had not properly protected th
boy she had promised to sit beside a
the game, it was plain to her that thi
disgraceful fight between her tw
friends was her own fault. Running
downstairs and out through bacI
door, she vaulted all fences that sepu
rated her from the complaints, tinall
alighting in the yard where they wer
fighting. But so engaged were the
with each other that they did not Sc
her.
What predominated in Joe's min
was this: Through her neglect thes
ho, hrnnnhf IN
each other. She was angry with heI
self, but still more angry with ther
for making her fault more glarinl
The fact of their rivalry for her oil
not enter her head. Indeed, she did nc
know that there was Il rivalry.
1t happened that the gardener ha
been using a hose to water some plant
and had left 1t on the ground. JIG
seized it, and the first intimation of he
presence to the competitors for her fl
vor was a stream Of water poured owe
them. For a few moments, not di
corning the cause of the interruption
they continued to maui each othe
Then both turned and, seeing the o.
ject of their devotion directing Il
stream, they ceased to fight and st0C
apart whereupon Joe dropped Il
hose and stood looking at them a
grily. She was trying to find words
express what was within her but, ia
ing, she jumped the fence and II
away.
That was the end of the rivalry (
Joe Sommers' favor on the part
these two boys, for she turned the co
shoulder on both of them.