Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1920-02-12

been in the oilice ElSe had -',,..n
her carefully. She had made note OF
her slangy talk, her vapid manner
isms.
As first step, Elsie called AZ the
store where she had just bought
simple little evening gown. Think
It roo extreme at the neck, she or
dered II altered This alteration she
canceied. Next she went up to the
top floor.
Here. TO the iangling of a thin-ton-
ed piano, a young man, through meg
aphone. improvised from sheet music,
proclaimed in syncopated measure:
Just take il from me,
lust take it from me,
You can't shimmy all night,
On a cup Of tea.
This musical gem and others OF
like nature she bought, and when she
left the store she had also acquired
a lip stick. an eye pencil and, to these,
she added n package Of cigarettes.
Come right in. Phil" Elsie gushed
rs she met him at the door. Il have
got some of the SWEETEST new music
you'll Just love 1t to death"
Perplexed, Phil followed into the
parlor. to encounter the scent Of
smoke. Elsie's brother had followed
instructions. The room reeked OF
cigarettes. Deliberately Elsie took
half-smoked cigarette from off the key
board and tossed it into the fire, slip
ping the partly-used package into the
bodice of her dress.
Vivaciously she ran through the mu-
sic, dispensing the interludes with
slangy comment, thanks, too, to her
brothers coaching On and on she
prattled, but Phil Darts usual quiet
mood became ominous. Suddenly it
dawned upon Elsie. 1t was still the
other wOman-the real vampire-he
did not. care for this pitiful little i'm
itation. She had failed. Oh, the Bit
terness of ito lose him to such a
woman. Oh, the awfulness of her
trying to hold him in this shameless
manner-and still failing.
She could not help it her face went
down into her hands.
elsie, you are crying" He was
at her side.
Sobbingly she blurted out the whole
thing.
'Why, you dear, silly, little goose"
he said quite softly, don't you know
men don't love women of that typef
Il iIrgf
printed in red ink attracts you. But
you wouldn't choose the poster to
bring home and hang on your wall
instead of a beautiful water color,
would youY'
Nov, please go up and wash that
paint off your face and come right
back, because there is something l
wanted to say-and I just can't say
it to a painted lady"
Elsie did 90 upstairs. She came
back with silk scarf thrown about
her shoulders and her face all pink
with the glow of health,
And Phil delivered his little speech.
1t was a pretty speech, too. And why
shouldn't it be? Hadn't he been think
ing about it all week, and about moth
ing much else? 1t had to do-this
speech--with the month of June, and
it touched on the housing problem and
it discussed the relative joys to be
derived from trip on the great lakes
as compared with one to Washington
and down the Potomac In all her
life Elsie had never heard such
speech-nO, never.
isn't it just too wonderful?' In
the white quietness of her bed she
whispered this question to a ring held
close to her cool cheek. And from its
point of vantage third finger, left
hand-a solitary white diamond
caught a vagrant moonbeam, and in
the marvellous photography of love
flashed back the answer: wonder
full, wonderful ~