The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-02-25

(copyright, i9is, Western Newspaper UnloT

Old MIR. brewer believed himself TO
be acting In manner more broad and
liberal-piinded indeed when he told
Philip Maintenon that he might call on
his tlaughtep Gertrude as often as he
lUed, provided he spoke or wrote no
word Of love to the young woman.
This embargo was TO last until Ger.
trutle, who had just passed her eight
eenth birthday, was twenty
1t was delightful to SEQ Gertrude as
often as he liked, certainly, especially
after the long weeks in which he had
wondered how much longer he would
be considered a welcome guest at the
Brewer mansion, but he soon found
that the permission to see her often
meant far less than ii had appeared to
do at first sight. He was NOT the only
young man who saw her frequently, to
begin with. Gertrude was pretty
girl, bright and popular in the bargain (;
Philip began to live IN chronic state
of fear lest some other fellow, wise
enough to speak TO the girl first and
then the father afterward should step
in ahead of him. The girl herself did
not seem. to his excited fancy, to take
nearly so much interest in his atten-
lions as she had done heretofore.
Sometimes he was on The point of
throwing up the whole thing for a
year or two and going West. All Of
Which was precisely What Mrs. Brew
cr had counted upon when she had con
suited her husband to make terms
AfIer a time however, Philip be-
eaNe so deadly tired Of waiting that
ne rgvc np the idea of going West and
3 crl2d to change his tactics entirely.
bir h0d '0mlsed to write or speak no
word ol love to Gertrude, certainly
hui propo Ing hnd never been mem
TONED. Surely It was possible to make
81 peapNsal Of marriage without utter
Inn lNvc sick speeches! Yes, he would
eeFyainlg propose, and that as soon as
the opnor unity offered,
Tat ne opportunity was long in com
Ag AlaS brewer had q "nose 70;
ncws' 'hloh would have made the for
tunn ol metropolitan newspaper re-
porter and while she did not exactly
suspect Philip Of endeavoring to breaf
his compact, so she gave hor husbahG
TO understand, still she meant him to
hHNe no temptation Of that order. New
or a moment alone with Gertrude
could he find or obtain. Even when
they went upon photographing cxpcdi-
uons rogether-both being enthusns-
trce Photographic amatours-they were
invariably accompanied by acrtrude's
brother Benjamin. spoiled youth of
fourteen, his mothers darling. and
also badly afflicted with thc picture
taking craze. And yet II wa3 through
a Photographic process that Philip
finally carried out his will in regard to
his inamorata and circumvented her
mothers care.
The bright idea occurred % him one
Sunday afternoon, as he worked over
his newest lens, and he lost no time in
frying it. Carefully printing a certain
legend upon a transparent white pa
per, he pinned the paper up against
the windowpane and went over 1t
again more boldly and on the wrong
side, with a charcoal crayon. Then he
attached the paper, still wrong side
outward, to thp wall and photo
graphed the legehd-backward. This
he did because characters of this kind
in the ordinary way, are
always reversed in the negative. 1t Is
only In the printing that matters be-
come straight again, and 1t was in
the negative that Philip was particu-
larly Interested
He carried 1t with him when he
called upon Gertrude the following
evening. Gertrude ran upstairs to her
own little darkroom TO develop the
plate Immediately. Philip had ex-
planned that he thought she would un-
d9rsrand the new experiment he want
ed to share with her more clearly II
she developed the negative.
'rMetrol-hydrol 7 suggest as devel-
oper," Philip had told her as she ran
upstairs with the plate-holder contain
Ing the experimental" negative, and
this agent she hau accordingly pre-
pared. She rocked the little tray back
md forth for two or three MINUTES,
then exposed it to the rays of the red
amp. And this was the message:
MY dearest girl: VIII you marry
aai Philip MainteIpn."
be girl grew white and pink as she |
NS It. Then she laughed merrily and
~ down to consider. Ten minutes
dter she went down to the parlor and |
explained that she had broken the pref |
'ious negative.
Ihill0 colorcd hotly and Mrs. Brew
r. pitying his fancipd disappointment |
,ver the lost negative, took Gertrude !
emily to task
az don't see how YOU could be sc |
,reless, my daughter" she remonstrat- /
a. "Nobody knows how much trouble |
Ir. Maintenon may have taken to Sc
ure the negative you have destroyed. |
amt you make It Up to him in some !
rayf7
VI don't know, mamsie." answered /
iertrude. smiling and FLUSHING ador-
bly, as she turned her face away frors
er mother and toward Philip. II 1
ont know. I shouldn't care TO repest /
he experiment myself. even If ! knew I
ow TO do SO. which I do not But we