Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-09-16

spoken WIlH duUllFIuS HnSCIlOu, as Ill
its former feminine use to signify a
"dear'-on the contrary, "duck" i'm
piled the speakers personal detach
ment and humorous superiority. An
Indifferent amusement was what
George felt when his mother, with
a gentle emphasis, interrupted mis- in
terchange of courtesfes with the
nieces to present him to the queer
looking duck, their uncle. This en-
phasiS of IsaberS. though slight, en-
abled George to perceive that she con-
sidered the queer-iooking duck a per-
son of some Importance; but 1t was
far from enabling him to understand
| why. The duck parted his thick and
| longish black hair On the side; his
tie was a forgetful-looking thing, and
his coat, though it fitted a good
enough middle-aged figure, no product
of this year, or of last year either.
Observing only his questionable hair,
his preOccupied tie and his old coat,
the Olympic George set him down as
queer-looking duck, and having thus
completed his portrait took no inter
est in him.
The Sharon girls passed on, taking
the queer-loOking duck with them, and
! George became pink with mortifica-
ton as his mother called his attention
to white-bearded guest waiting to
shake his hand. This was Georges
great-uncle, old John Minafer: it was
old Johns boast that In spite of his
connection by marriage with the Am
persons he never had worn and never
would wear a swaller-tail coat. Mem
bers of his family had exerted their
| influence uselessly at eighty-nine
conservative people seldom form rad
| ical new habits, and old John wore his
Sunday suit" of black broadcloth to
/ the ANDERSON ball. The coat was
| square, with skirts to the knees; old
John called it prince Albert" and
was well enough pleased with it, but
his great-nephew considered 1t the
next thing to an insult.
The large room had filled, and so
had the broad hall and the rooms on
| the other side of the hall, where there
were tables for whist The imported
| orchestra waited In the ballroom on
the third floor, but a local harp, cello,
violin and flute were playing airs from
'The Fencing Master" in the hall, and
people were shouting over the music.
Old John Minafer's voice was louder
and more penetrating than any other,
| because he had been troubled with
deafness for twenty-five years, heard
his own voice but family, and liked to
hear it. Smell o. flowers like this al
ways puts me In mind o funerals" he
kept telling his niece, Fanny Minafer,
who was with him; and he seemed to
get great deal of satisfaction out of
this reminder. His tremulous yet stri-
dent voice cut through the voluminous
sound that filled the room. and he was
heard everywhere.
Presently Georges modification was
increased to hear this sawmill droning
harshly from the midst of the thick
ening crowd: "Ain't the dancin' broke
out yet, Fanny? HoOplai Les push
through and go see the young women
folks crack their heels! Start the cir
| Gus! Hoopsey-daisy! Miss Fanny
Minafer, in charge of the lively vet
eran, was almost as distressed as her
nephew George, but she did her duty
and managed to get old john through
the press and out to the broad stair
way, which numbers of young people
were now ascending to the ballroom.
George began to recover from the deg
radiation into which this relic of early
settler days had dragged him. What
restored him completely was a dark
eyed little beauty of nineteen, very
knowing in lustrOus blue and jet; at
sight of this dashing advent in the line
of guests before him George was fully
an Anderson again.
Remember you very we'll indeed !"
ne said, his graciousness more earnest
than any he had heretofore displayed.
Isabel heard him and laughed.
But you don't, GeOrge!" she said.
"You don't remember her yet, though
of course you will Miss Morgan is
from out of town. and I'm afraid this
is the first time you've ever seen her.
You might take her up to the dancing
| Ihlhh you VIC PASI'S "eA uone your
| duty here"
BE d'lighted," George responded
formally, and offered his arm, not
with a flourish, certainly, but with an
tmpressiveness inspired partly by the
| appearance of the person to whom he
offered it, partly by his being the hero
Of this fete, and partly by his youth
fulness-for when manners are new
they are apt to be elaborate. The
little beauty intrusted her gloved fin
gers to his coatsleeve. and they moved
away together.
AS he conducted Miss Morgan
through the hall toward the stairway
they passed the open double doors of