The Mt. Sterling advocate., 1922-01-17
ARE THEYa
sy MAaoAasr wcoNksv.

g 1871. ~ hcCiurs Newspaper syndicate.
The Office was alive with noises. A
messenger whistled, typewriters
clicked. an adding machine buzzed, a
multigraph thumped. 1t would seem
to mere outsider that amid all this
speed and activity there would be no
room for anyone so distracting as
Dame Gossip or no time TO listen to
her stories In case she could force her
way In. q,
Yet II this outsider had supernat-
ural ears, he might have heard one
stenographer buzzing to another.
"And just before he has to leave for
South America What a shame r.
Or, II his powers OF observation had
been acute, he might have noticed that
the messenger had stopped whistling
long enough to listen to new devel-
opment in the story, such as HE has
been working for six months for his
appointment so that they could 20 to
South America for their honeymoon"
If a mind reader. he might perhaps
have noted a pang of envy flashing
through the mind Of pIain-looking
stenographer In an obscure lorner Of
the room. Perhaps she was thinking.
ANY girl with a bunch Of curls and
baby-vampire eyes can treat man
as she pleases."
His curiosity as to the victims Of
these little snatches Of gossip might
have induced the outsider to go to the
root Of the trouble. II so, his In
yestigations would eventually have led
him to a dilapldated old boarding
house, the home Of one Genevieve
West.
A small, blue-eyed girl sat In front
Of mirror deftly pinning some curls
back In shining waves over large
ear. Having accomplished
this to her private satisfaction she
turned her head, carefully avoiding
a prominent flaw in the mirror, and
proceeded to ogver up the other ear,
equally large and equally protruding.
Three floors below In the boarding
house parlor sat Lyman Mccullough,
a clean-cut young Scotchman, charac-
terized mainly by rather square jaw,
but with pleasing face for all that
His Scotch jaw for once was serving
him well for, In position where most
men would have given up In despair,
he was able to hold on with stub
born persistence which would excite
envy from the most tenacious bull
dogs.
Curiosity well aroused now, the out
slider would probably have followed
the couple as they strolled through
the Boston common. and he might
even have eavesdropped little to
their conversation as they sat on
bench beneath the sheltering shade
II a large tree.
; Lyman was arguing. "Genevieve, II
YOU love me as you say you do, you
will marry me tomorrow and go to
South America"
While Genevieve was persisting
With much determination. "You know
love you, Lyman, but can't marry
you tomorrow. 1 can't"
Falteringly she added. "Pn walt for
,ou."
Lyman exploded swat for me
Why do you suppose took this posi-
ion1 For the privilege of travelling
lionel?
Calming down little. he asked her
for the hundredth or per
Iaps the thousandth time, "why. why |
ant you marry me tomorrow We
we're planning to be married next
month. anyhow"
And for the hundredth or perhaps
he thousandth time, Genevieve an
wered. II can't, Lyman, just can't"
Lyman changed his tactics and re-
orted to coaxing. "Come. Geneyieve.
lease tell me what is troubling my
retty curly-headed girl"
Geneyieve WINGED. "rm not"
Not whatT asked Lyman.
"Not what you think am" an
wered Genevieve
Lyman looked puzzled and then
,ughed. what are you then, sweet
eartr
Genevieve shook her head with a
ecided negative. but did not answer
Is question.
"How soon will you marry me II I
I've up the tripr
Genevieve counted on her fingers.
A week from Thursday. On. Lyman.
III your Can your
But Lyman. too, was counting on
Is fingers. "Aha r. he detected. II
ave a clue. Thursday Pay dayl
IoneyP
But Geneylsye refused Il couldn't
Ike your money. We aren't married"
"Very easy" remedied Lyman.
Ven get married now and I'll give
ou the money"
When Genevieve refused. Lyman
st his patience and left her. The
itsider would probably have been
sing his patience. too. BY this time
4