Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1922-01-25
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JACK FROST AIDS !
'sy R.ulrH W. BAKER
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Pauline rose impatiently from the
great davenport. Why should 1t be
50 diHcult to make q decision Sure.
~ she could not love two men equal
y well She could be happy with
one, Of that she was sure, but, alas.
Jims voice had great power to thrill
The sound Of his step on the stair
could cause her heart to beat suffo-
catinglys Last night, at the country
club dance, both men had asked the
right toHplace on the third finger Of
her left hand the shining clrclet which
means but one thing, She thought
whimsically that It was unfortunate
that shA could marry but one.
The girl was no coquette. She in.
stinct1veiy shrnnk from the thought
Of bringing unitnpplness to anyone. But,
which one should she marry1 Chan
ming was coming this afternoon for
his answer, and she was no nearer to
knowing what that anBwer was to be
than she had been the night before.
Restlessly she wandered from room
to room,y readjnsting chair here,
curtain there. She moved across the
room to the window. There she stood
watching the children who were slid
Ing on. the Icy walk. Their hearty
laughter rang through the clear, frosty
air, and Pauline smiled in ready sym
patty. She would have liked to have
Joined In their sport.
A familiar figure rounded the corner
and she caught her breath.a,It was
Jim oh, surely he wasn't coming to
see her now Surely he must remem-
Der that he was not to come until
evening ( He must not be there when
Charming arrlvedl Hastily she rang
for her nutd.
Hester. Ehe said, II am at home
to DO one bNt Mr.. Claiming"
VERY well Miss Pauline"
The girl TUNED again to the window.
The man was rapidly approaching the
house and she noted with a sense of
pleasure the air Of distinction about
him. She remembered how proud she
had been Of her handsome escort last
night. Clisnning was q dear, but he
lacked the assurance, the clever wit
that mndo the other man stand out
from his fellows. A wave Of pity swept
over her, AID instantly she knew that
she had made q decision. She was
sorry for Cnsnning because she must
hurt him by marrying Jim!
AS the hurrying man reached the
stone steps cno Of the children. with
q saueai Of pore Joy, slid along the
sidewalk and lost her balance directly
before Jim. Pauline, watching from
the wirnso~. could not suppress her
laughter a'he dignified James. Of all
people, to be sitting crimson with
embarrassment, on an icy sidewalk
directly before her housei A mo-
ment ,etsr ha, mirth changed to con-
sternntion, then quickly to anger, for,
having struggled to his feet, Jim had
seizod tbs innocent cause Of his ig-
nominous tumble and was energeti-
caily Shaking her.
"Ncw nn home, every one Of you."
he cried furiously, and like frightened
rabbits tho children scurried around
the corNnr.
Pauline held her breath as she
watched him ctraighten his hat, glance
furttve,y and somewhat sheepishly at
the wlndows. then stride up the steps.
"Oh, hope Hester remembers" she
whiRQcrad, ns yhe drew back still fur
tber from the curtained window. II
never want to sec him againl That
poor little gtrl."
She heard the door open. then close
and Jim went slowly down the
steps again. She felt no thrill now az
she watched him. In q half panic.
stricken way she was thinking. "And
I might have married q man wfo didn't
like childrent"
|. As the minutes went slowly by abs
began to fear that Charming, too
might fail her. At Last he came, bu,
not exactly as she had expected him
for he almost-no. actually--rushed
into the room, holding In his arms 9
child whose gtubby hsts were making
strange marks on a tear-wet face.
II knew you wouldn't mind II
brought the little shaver In, Pauline
was Channing's greeting. "You see,'
he burst into q hearty laugh, I'VE had
little mlx-up on the Ice, and when
we got untangled this chap seemed tc
be on the casualty list. T thought some
witchhazel might fix him up all right.
With shining eyes, Pauline ran up
stairs for the bottle, and together they
bathed the bruises. Soon the child
slipped of Channing's knee. II gotts
60 home now" he announced. A mo
ment later, with Il slice Of cake in eact
hand, he was ushered tremendously
out the front door.
Pauline turned to Charming. q
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