The Winslow mail., 1919-02-14


When she asks you If forever
You will love her
Don't fall in CONSERVATION
For that maiden's appreciation,
Nor make promise that you'll never
Love another.
By judicious implication
And a little osculaton,
Break it gently and be clever
Love the girl, but not forever,
For forever is a long, long time!
Forever is long, long timer ap-
plauded one of the men. Fright you
are, Billy!"
A little later after he had managed
to break away from the piano, Edna
Barns caught him in the hall and faced
him accusingly.
"a man of your talent ought to be
ashamed to have such frivolous phil
osophy, Billy Wardon," she said i'm
patiently.
Billy was bland and his eye was in
nocent.
"Since that heartless song of yours,
Emily Wayne has been out in dark
corner of the veranda weeping her
eyes out" she chided.
81 never made love to Emily Wayne
in my life!" he protested.
"You make love to every woman you
meet-with your eyes, Billy" she ac-
cused.
II don't!" denied Billy rudely.
"You do, too" she insisted. "YOu
even make love to me that way
you're doing it nowr'
For an instant his serious glance
sought hers as she stood there looking
up at him. "This is a grand little old
life-notw he said, with pathetic
grin. Emily Wayne loves mel love
you-you love Jim Brad!ey-and Jim
loves Emily. Outside of that we're all
as happy as a bunch of pickpockets at
a prison wardens' convention" And
he moved off gloomily toward the We
randa in search of the grieving Emily,
while Edna watched him go with
q perpleXed little smile on her lips.
But he did not find Emily, although
he did find Jim Bradley, smoking
moodily.
"Jim," said Billy, "what we want in
this world don't amount to much, but
what the women want-that's differ
ent Now, want Edna, and you want
Emily--but women being contrary,
Edna wants you, and Emily wants me.
Now, it's up to us to make them happy,
so the only thing to do is for you to go
ahead and marry Edna and I'll go and
find Emily and fix it up with her"
'But don't want Edna" protested
Jim violently. "and I'll be darned II
I'll stand your marrying Emily. !
want her myself"
"Why. you big chump! / don't want
her-wouldn't have her on a bet But
we've got chance to make the two
finest girls in the world happy by
little sacrifice on our part.
Finally, after much persuasion, Jim
agreed, but when he decoyed Edna out
onto the lawn under the trees, she was
thunderstruck at his proposal.
"Why, Jim," she said, II like you
better than any man I know-except
one-and he is so stupid / guess TIL
have to propose to him myself"
aged. you see, it's like this, Emily.
I've been thinking about marrying yS@
for a-some time-and we might SsSDt
as well go ahead and have 1t over
with"
"Billy," laughed Emily, 'you remind
me of the Charge of the Light BFf-
gade, but even so, might marry y0a
60, 1k Ttx,, tn
with somebody else."
'Well," said Jim grouchily, as eiae
two of them conferred by the fF@@t
steps, "yOur dope was all wrong. AM8
we're both out of it. Emily, it seease
loves somebody else, but it isn't msD-
and Edna loves somebody else, bua %
isn't you. There's no eternal triangle
to this tragedy, it's more like hOliSw
square,"
II guess we have teased GAaGs
enough" came in Emily's amused
voice, "but can you imagine two grown
men being so stupid?"
"No, can't; but then," said the pgme-
tical Edna, stupid men make the best
husbands"
hci cat Dllly loOhcu dl jim dHu SAuss
looked at Billy. Then with one and
the same impulse they charged ca
those two defenseless maidens vita e.
fective suddenness.
And an instant later Emily was muF-
muring 81 thought you'd know IL was
joke While the practical Edna was
spIeading-"Forever isn't a long, long
time-is it, Billy?"
"Not for a stupid husband" said
Billy blandly.