The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1917-07-21
A Woman S
Rights
By ETHEL HOLMES

never Dctll h4IONu 70 SClCh " Oue S11t
for any length Of time and felt sure
that she had been replaced.
Miss Bates was a native Of South
Carolina, but had spent ten Of her
twenty years in the north, where she
had imbibed the ideas Of the new WON
an. Her grandfather had fought
duel, and in her family the code was
considered the only way Of settling un-
pleasant affairs. These two conditions.
g belief in the right Of an injured per
son to demand satisfaction from the
lnJurer and the elevation Of women to
the privileges Of men, decided her to
send a challenge to Mr.. Weatherby.
Jack was dressing for dinner when
he received Elinor's note, for she had
not gone so far as to send second.
and, laying it open on the dresser, read
lt, finishing making bow of his neck
tie at the same time. When he had
finished both he lighted cigarette
and, throwing himself into an easy
chair, gave himself up to thought
Now, the reason for his breaking
with ElinOr was that the income to
support her was to come from his ia
ther, who had agreed to give him $5,
900 a year, and he had at the last mo-
ment changed his mind Jack, think
Ing that an explanation Of this would
only serve to irritate Elinor against his
father, chose another course.
Jack, who did not consider that truth
had any more place in love affairs than
In a statement Of a woman's age, re
piled to the challenge by saying that
be had promised his mother that he
would never fight duel On this ac
count he must decline to render Miss
Bates what he must confess was her
right to demand and to receive.
When Elinor received this letter she
saw at once that her effort to punish
her recreant lover had failed. Had she
been a man she might have published
him as a poltroon and a coward with
effect, but should she do so as a wo-
man she would only make herself ridic-
ulous. Nobody would blame him fo:
refusing to fight woman.
Women had horsewhipped men who
had Tilted them, and it seemed to Eli
nor that this would be the natural
consequence in her case. 1t would be
following In the course of men too.
Men who had refused to fight men had
been hOrsewhipped by the challenger.
But Elinor hoped by q threat to pro
duce results without taking such dras-
tic measures. She wrote Jack another
note stating that she proposed to horse
whip him the next time she met him.
This, she thought, would bring him to
terms. There could be no greatcl
dread for a man than to stand in the
face of a gathering crowd and receive
a dressing from ii woman. Miss Bates
was forced to admit that this was not
the same relative position as betweea
two men. for Jack would not be priv
ileged to strike back.
Jack thought over this new phase OF
the case and made up his mind to
make no reply. He dearly loved the
girl who was trying to punish him for
crime he had not committed ana
which panied him as much as it pain
ed her.
Elinor provided herself with whip
She endeavored to secure the tradi-
honal "cowhide" that had been used
by her ancestors on those who refused
to fight, but she failed to do so. How
ever, she procured a good, stout whip
and slung it about her waist under her
coat. She selected it on account of the
color of its handle, which harmOnized
with that of the costume she intended
to wear when she did the whipping.
To be candid. Miss Bates shrank
from publicity as much as she pre-
sumed her recreant lover would shrink
from it. In this she weakened. In
stead Of waiting till she met him in a
crowd she went one morning to the
Weatherby residence, which stood
back from the street and was partly
hidden by shrubbery. Entering the
grounds, she concealed herself behind
foliage and waited for Jack to appear.
Presently he emerged from a side door
and was making his way to the garage
when ElinOr pounced upon him.
Elinor had made a mistake in notify
ing him of her intention to horsewhip
him. 1t enabled him to prepare him
self for the encounter. AS soon as she
began to rain blows upon' him he drew
from his pocket yard of satin ribbon
and returned blow for blow with it.
Mr.. Weatherby senior was in his ac-
customed seat in the library reading
the morning paper when. hearing the
sound of EHnor's whip on Jacks coat
and trousers, he looked out through
the window.
Raising the sash. he watched the
fight for few moments, then cried
out to be informed what ii meant
Elinor ceased her blows and said
"Your SoE has treated me abom-
inably. and | am Furnishing him as he
deserves.
Jack, you young rascal, what does
this mean?'
1T means, father. that I couldn't
marry without the income you prom
ised me and really it was you and nor