The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-10-20

@2hE1
It Staggered Him. "What-What--
You Mean7"
81 might say not So" she said-"if |
was speaking of what pretty eyes you
know you have. Herbert
1t staggered him. 'What-what-
you mean?"
"Oh, nothin'." she replied. airlly.
Herbert began to be mistrustful of
the solid earth. Somewhere there was
fearful threat TO his equipose.
'What you talkin' dbort?" he said,
with an effort to speak scornfully;
but his sensitive voice almost failed
him.
"Oh, nothin'." said Florence. "Just
about what pretty eyes you know you
have, and Pattys being anyway as
pretty as yours-and so you're glad
maybe she thinks yours are pretty,
the way you do-and everything"
Herbert visibly gulped. SO Patty
had betrayed him; had betrayed the
sworn confidence of Truth ~
"That's all l was talkin' about"
Florence added. "Just about how you
knew you had such pretty eyes. Say
not so, HERBERT Say not sol'
Look here :" he said. "When'd you
see Patty again between this after
! noon and when you came over here?"
what makes you think 1 saw her?"
Did you telephone her?"
"What makes you think so?"
Opea mara IJarhart ,r,,Inn1 .sXUotl
l guess you're ready to believe any
thing anybody tells you" he said, with
palsied bravado. "You don't believe
everything Patty Fairchild says. do
your
"Why. Herbert Doesn't she always
tell the TRUTH"
Her? Why, half the time" poor
Herbert babbled, you can't tell
whether she just maxim up what she
says or not. If you've gone and be-
lieved everything that ole girl told
you. you haven't got even what little
sense l used TO think you had," SO
base we are under strain. sometimes-
SO base when our good name is threat
ened with the truth Of us 81 wouldn't
believe anything she said" he finished,
in sicllish voice. "if she told me fifty
times and crossed her hearth"
wouldn't You If she said you wrote
down how pretty you knew your eyes
were. Herbert?"
whats this about Herbert having
pretty eyes'?" Mr.. Joseph Atwater in
CURED; and Herbert shuddered. Un-
Gle Joseph had an unpleasant reputa-
tion as Joker.
The nephew desperately fell back
upon the hopeless device of attempt
Ing to drown out his opponents voice
as she began to reply. He became
vociferous with scornful laughter bad
ly cracked In the scorn. "Florence
got mad" he shouted. mingling the
purported information with loud cack-
lings. "She got mad because | and
Henry played games with Patty! She's
tryin' to make up somep'm to get even.
She made it upl It's all made upl
She"
mo, no." Mr.. Atwater interrupted.
let Florence tell us Florence, what
was it about Herbert knowing he had
pretty eyes?"
Herbert attempted to continue the
drowning out. He bawled, ''She made
1t up It's somep'm she made up
herself! She"
Herbert" said Uncle Joseph-"if
you don't keep quiet, I'll take back
the printing press"
Herbert substituted another gulp
for a continuation of his noise.
"Now, Florence" said Uncle Joseph,
"tell us what you were saying about
how Herbert knows he had such pret-
ty eyes"
Then 1t seemed miracle befell.
Florence looked up, smiling modestly.
"Oh, 1t wasn't anything, Uncle Jo-
seph," she said. ~ was just trying
to tease Herbert any way 1 could
think up"
"Oh, was that all?" A hopeful light
faded out of Uncle Joseph's large
and inexpensive face. 'T thought
perhaps you'd detected him in some
indiscretion."
Florence laughed, II was just
teasin' him. 1t wasn't anything, Uncle
Joseph"
Hereupon. Herbert resumed con-
fused breathing. Dazed, he remained
uneasy. profoundly so: and gratitude
was no part of his emotion. He well
understood that Florence was never
susceptible TO impulses of compassion
in conflicts snch-as- these; in fact. II