Carroll County democrat. (Huntingdon, Tenn.) 188?-1971, 1918-10-11
Cheating
Catherine
~
~ INES MACDONALD
a1cpy1eht. 1918. by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate.)

P9A &yAUAGAtNst
Ihe Inst Of her line was Catherine
8aa Wye. who lived with two maiden
unts in the old colonial mansion
Anat had been the home Of the Van
Yves Tor hundred and forty years.
aEln and prim had been her upbrlng-
~ and not for a single instant had
ahe been permitted to forget that she
ns q Van Wye-somethlng rarer,
something fairer, something so much
closer to heaven than any one Of the
common people"
After a Fashion Catherine was pref
Nv but little too slim, little too wan.
Her blood may have been blue, but also
4E was thin She was delicate, but
1latherine had wealth, was cultured In
eae Ignorance of life as her grandmoth-
Ar bad been-this showed In her shy.
2ather wondering eyes-but she did
have one redeeming trait which might
mave her from barren life OF old
maid gentility-and that trait was
curiosity.
The only man Catherine knew who
was anywhere near her own age was
John. the chauffeur. She used to sit
nrinlIy behind John in the car and
study the back Of his well-set head
and sturdy shoulders, and wonder
@h0lt men in general as represented by
John If iE had ever occurred to him,
John might have encouraged Catherine
20 think about him In particular. He
Might have even done this so success
1uIly that she would have eloped with
aim, for John was a good-lOoking boy,
NAT he had never once given Catherine
a thOught. A certain little maid In
the stone front over in the next block
completely filed Johns head and
heart. Poor Catherine could never
have competed with Adele, the little
1naid, for Adele had blood-red lips and
daring eyes-she was all curves and
dash and vitallty-and John was mad
ub0af her.
However, Johns presence always
@Et GATHERINGS curious mind to won
alerang about men in general. 1t wasn't |
mIce, OF course, for to wonder about
men Was quite vulgar, she knew that |
sher aTmts had said so. They had i'm
pressed upon Catherine that she was a
Van Wye and a sacred thing, and she |
Believed 1t. The idea Of mans even |
90 much as touching her gave her shlv-
&Ks of horror-especially an ordinary /
anan OF the People-for the People
Nere terribly common; and Catherine
sEas patrician, very patrician, indeed.
Then one afternoon 1t SO happened
that Adele had occupied so much of
Johns time and thought that he had
Neglected his job and the car, so much
10 that that neglected piece Of mechan-
1sm stalled right on busy crossing on
the avenue. It certainly was embar-
E1sSfng, for the traffic policeman was
as sore as a wounded rhinoceros. He
called John q mutt" and would prob
ably have said worse things than that
af 1t hadn't been for GATHERINGS patri-
elan presence. But the engine would
mot start and the traffic was, piling up
behind them while the traffic regulator
became more and more angry.
Here" he roared. "Swing her down
the middle Of the block next the curbl"
And as ne heaved his massive weight
against the back corner Of the heavy
car one Jim Brand detached himself
from the passing throng and Joined In
pushing the heavy car out Of the way.
@You oeghta be on the force, with
Them shoulders" The policeman
grinned his thanks to Jim Brand as
they rolled the big car up to the curb.
But Jim only laughed and waved his
band In a half sulute as the other went
back to his job.
thank you very much indeed" said
Catherine primly as Jim Brand turned
b her with his hat in his hand, and
her eyes as she sat In the car were al
most on level with his own. His first
thought was that she would have been
pretty If she had little more life to
her.
shell have to go to the garage,
miss" offered John meekly.
'Tn get you taxi" smiled John
Brand. He did 80, and handed her into
h most naturally by taking firm hold
bf her arm. And no young man had
ever before taken hold of GATHERINGS
arm. From the taxi she leaned out
md thanked him again, smiling just
little excitedly, for this was an adj
venture. Then, summoning all her
courage she said: "Were you going
downtown? Perhaps could drop you
SO Jim Brand got in beside her and
hey rolled down the avenue, at length
stepping In front Of GATHERINGS home.
sT--I was really on my way up
hUwn," confessed Jim Brand, hunor-
1usIy, ''but WANTED to ride with
guu-"
Catherine didn't know what to say to
hat, so she just looked-and then
iooked away, wondering If either Of her
hunts was observing the tableau as she
md the strange young man stood there
nm the walk.
~You're not offended. are your he
Usked.
GE-Y should be',-she entered the