The Ocala evening star., 1922-12-20


for eyerybody-especially if Ann Ap-
perthwaite heard you"
Ann? That's Miss Apperthwaite?
Yes; I was speaking directly 10 her.
Why shouldn't she have heard mef
She talked of him herself little later
and at some length, too"
"She didr' My cousin stopped rock
ing, and fixed me with her glittering
eye. "Well, of ALL"
rs It SO surprising?'
The lady gave her boat to the waves
again. Ann Apperthwaite thinks
about him still! she said, with some
thing like vindictiveness. 1--WE always
suspected it. She thought you were
new to the place and didn't know any,
thing about 1t all. or anybody to men
ton Ii to. That's it!''
I'm still new to the place." urged,
land still don't know anything about
1t ALL"
''They used to be engaged" was her
succinct and emphatic answer.
found 1t but too Illuminating. "Oh,
oh !" I cried 81 was an innocent,
wasn't II"
I'm glad she does think of him."
said my cousin. 1T serves her right.
only hope he won't find 1t out, be-
he'd jump at the chance to take her
back-and she doesn't deserve him."
How long has 1t BEEN" I asked,
"since they used to be engaged?"
"Oh. a good while-fve or six years
ago, think-maybe more; time skips
along. Ann Apperthwaite's no chick
en-, you know" (Such was the lady's
expression.) "They got engaged just
after she came home from college, and
of all the idioticaliy romantic girls"
But she's a teacher" interrupted,
"of mathematics"
"Yes" She nodded wisely. 81 al
ways thought that explained 1t: the
romance is a reaction from the al
zebra. / never knew a person con-
nected with mathematics or astronomy
or statistics, or any Of those exact
things, who didn't have a crazy streak
In 'em somewhere They've got to blow
off steam and be foolish to make up
| for putting in so much of their time
at hard sense. But don't you think
that dislike Ann Apperthwaite. She's
always been one of my best friends;
that's why I feel at liberty to abuse
| her-and I always will abuse her
when 1 think how she treated poor
David Beasley."
"How did she treat him"
Threw him over out OF a clear sky
one night, that's all. Just sent him
home and broke his heart; that is, 1t
would have been broken If he'd had
any kind of disposition except the one
the Lord blessed him with-just all
optimism and cheerfnlness and make
the-best-of-it-ness! He's never cared
/ for anybody else, and guess he never
1 Will"
what did she do 1t for?"
"NothingI' My cousin shot the in
| dignant word from her lips. Nothing
| IN the wide worldr'
"But there must have BEEN
Listen to me-" she interrupted
"and tell me If you ever heard any
thing queerer in your life. They'd
been engaged - Heaven knows how
long-over two years; probably nearer
three-and always she kept putting it
off; wouldn't begin to get ready,
wouldn't set day for the wedding.
Then Mr.. Apperthwaite died, and left
her and her mother stranded high and
dry with nothing to live on. David
had everything In the world to give
her-and still she wouldn't And then,
one day, she came up here and told
me she'd broken it off. Said she
, couldn't stand 1t to be engaged to
David Beasley another minutel"
"But why2"
"Because'-my cousins tone was
shrill with her despair Of expressing
the satire she would have put into it
because, she said he was a man of
no Imagination!
"She still says so," I remarked,
thoughtfully.
"Then it's time she got a little imag-
ination herselfl' snapped my compan-
ion. David Beasley's the quietest
man God has made, but everybody
knows what he isl There are some
rare people In this world that aren't
ones that scarcely ever talk at all
and David Beasley's one Of them.
don't know whether it's because he
can't talk, or II he can and hates to
only thank the Lord he's put few
like that into this talky worldl David
Beasley's smile fs better than acres
Of other peoples talk. My Providence
Wouldn't anybody, just to look at him
know that he does better than talk
He thinks! The trouble with Ann Ap
perthwaite was that she was toe
young to see 1t. She was so full OF
novels and poetry and dreaminess ant
highfalutin nonsense she couldn't SEE
anything as 1t really was. Shed study
her mirror, and see such heroine o,
4 romance there that she just couldn'
bear to have a fiance who hadn't an!
4 chance of turning out to be the crown