Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1922-02-16
The
Golden Girl
By LILLIACE vi. MITCHELL
-. By Meclurs Newspaper syndLeat.

| waiting IOF OlAuAS 10 come out. lie
| took OH his glasses and cleaned them
lhoughtfully on his new silk handker.
chief. Whether or not to propose to
Gladys this Sunday afternoon as they
walked in the park was the question
upperinOst in his mind.
lie liked Gladys; be believed that
he loved her. He did wish that she
were q little "classier,' as he termed
! ii to himself. He wished this now es-
! pecally. for he saw coming down the
1 street the girl with the tiny pup on the
! long chain. the girl whom he had
| called to himself the golden girl ever
| since he had first seen her. II had
been three weeks ago today that she
/ had strOlled by the boarding house
where Gladys had her half room with
one OF the other girls who worked
with her at the beauty shop
The golden girl had been on the
opposite side Of the street, which was
shadIer I'm the afternoon because OF
the tall trees that grew In the mar
row parking space
|
nearer. for though he strained his
| eyes he could not see her as distinct
| ly as he would have liked to. She
was a small girl, not more than five
feet. and the tiny pup that pulled on
the chain suspended from her hand
seemed to be about all she could man
age. Tom knew that If she walked
In the park she would hang on the
arm of the man She was with. Gladys
never hung IN the first place. Gladys
was q full four or five inches taller,
and came up to Toms shoulder
Before he had seen the golden eirl
he had never thought much about il.
but after that he noticed that Gladys
happened TO hold. her elbow as they
passed through "a crowd, AID Tom
would have liked her to be the cling
lng-vine type.
And then the clothes of the golden
girl Every time he had seen her
on Sunday afternoon she had had on
a golden brown suit of some silky ma
teral that shone In the sunlight,
had golden clocks embroidered on the
sides. But IL was her hair that seemed
to Tom the most wonderful thing
about her. 1t was the goldiest golden
he had ever seen, and fluffed out dis
tractlngly under her hat Today she
was wearing long dolman cape with
the same golden tints.
At this moment in his raptureS
Gladys came out of the door of tne
| boarding house, closed the screen dod'
without bang and Joined him.
"WelI2' she said
Gladys always said ''well' in just
the same way every time he came In
that well" she seemed to ask worlds,
and Tom wondered IL they did marry
If she would continue to say well" In
just that way for the rest of their
lives. But Tom had not asked her
yet and as he looked from her blue
tricotinc suit and tan oxfords back to
the golden girl in her dolman and
high-heeled slippers he determined not
10 be hasty, He would not ask her
today. at any rate There was al
ways plenty of time, and besides he
was fairly sure that Gladys never
went out with any one else, and so
until he gave the signal there was
nothing she could do but wait.
shes pretty little kid. isn't sheT
he said, indicating by jerk Of his
hand the golden girl with her dog who
was by now almost opposite the board
ing house
Gladys looked In the direction he
had pointed out ana dropped her
eyes to her glove buttons She did
not reply.
Don't you think she's prettyT
prodded Tom.
\ pink flush ran up from her neck
to her cheeks as she averted her eyes
Tom glanced mt her brown hair with
its copper CLEANS through It. He
stood up and stared down the steps
beside her
"You know, Gladys" he said slowly,
II can't stand catty girl"
She paused az the bottom step. Per
maps you'd rather not go 60 the park ?"
she said quietly.
Instantly Tom was sorry indeed, he
had been SO the moment the words
were out OF his mouth, for In all of
the time he had known Gladys she
had never shown the slightest hint
Of the trait he had mentioned. And,
anyway the thought of whole, long
sunday afternoon alone without
Gladys, whom he had come 10 look
upon ms his logical companion,
seemed impossible
Come on. l was only joking" he
said, trying 60 laugh Il on
But in spite of all that he could say
or do he felt all afternoon that there
was tiny cloud between them lie
started topic after topic OF CONVERSE
ton, only 10 have 1t fall flat lie took
her 10 the lions cage, place where
she usually loved e SO. but she stood
there stolidly and only smiled vaguely
when he joked about the cage bars
breaking She was courteous. but
there was not the gay sparkle IA her
voice aud eyes that generally enter