Evening star., 1922-08-19
All the World Loves a Lover-Ex.
cept the Girls Family!


! John LINDSAY strobe toward his
! screened side porch with grim
IL determination in the clank of
his heels. He was bit peeved
,. with the universe, because he had
been sitting for the better part of the
evening on an unscreened back porch,
! fighting mosquitoes and engaging in
IA dialogue that perilously bordered
, upon pickering with his ambitious
little wife. who had been striving
tactfully to rouse his own latent am
bitions.
In Johns wicker chair. with his feet
stretched out to Johns favorite stool.
with one of Johns Sunday cigars in
his mouth. indulging in leIsurely con-
lversation with Johns pretty sister
Rose. sat one Donald Ferry. person.
| able bachelor with an assured income,
who was evidently attracted by Rose s
modest charms. and in whom Miss
Rose was very much interested.
Which would have been quite to
Johns liking had it not been that Mr..
Donald Ferry hung about the Lindsay
porch about five nights out of seven.
And as the Pumpkin Shell was small
and counting Is hardly chubby sort
of game, John and Merriam Lindsay
had been enduring a self-imposed
exile that was rather getting on
Johns nerves.
Donald Ferry was not. as Merriam
had once almost viciously dubbed
him, "A willy woman-dodger" but
prior to meeting Rose he had been a
pronounced woman-hater. He was
long past thirty, a very conservative,
pessimistic sort of soul. and not in
! 70 a I'M h lJ
Rose was a demure. unsophisticated
| woman, who Scorned all hint of CO.
quetry. 1t was inevitable that their
courtship should proceed in leisurely
fashion. A situation of maddenins
uncertainty for Mr.. and Mrs. John
! Not that either John or Merriam
wanted Rose to marry in haste-in-
deed. John wasn't sure he wanted his
sister to marry at all-but weeks OF
dillydallying were irritating, to say
| the least.
| So, Merriam held her breath tha,
evening when John strode toward the
porch. after announcing to her thai
! he was going to do little jabbing.
! But she smothered her giggles in
| the pantry towel moment later
when she realized that. like 1.-The King
of France and his ten thousand men.
! her John had marched up a hill and
| then marched down again" Fol
though he glared rudely AZ the re-
doubtable Mr.. Ferry. he said nothing
more startling than mild
"Er-how much longer do you think
you will be visiting in the vicinity OF
| New York?
Bv the time Merriam was ready tc
! trot toward the porch with tray
! filed with iced drinks and sponge
| cake, an awkward silence hao De-
| fallen the trio.
| Rose was nervously twisting heI
| handkerchief: the two men were aim
| lessly kicking their heels. and through
Johns mind was clicking silly
rhyme he often read to the twins:
do not Ike thee. DR.. Fell.
! But this know and know full we'll.
| do not like thee, pr. Fell.
| An hour later, as Merriam reck-
lessly yanked comb through her
bronze curls. she whispered:
"Johnsy, If that man doesn't pro
pose soon. l shall simply lose wha'
| little reason ] have"
Il don't want him to propose; I want
| him to get out" rumbled John, 1r
! what he considered an undertone. bu1
in what seemed to Merriam painfully
loud accents, considering the prox'
unity of Ross sleeping room-whicf
i was really Nerriam's room. Merriar II
having been exiled to a cot in the
nursery during Roses somewhat pro-
tracted visit in somew hat contract
| ed house. she might be goose enough
| TO accept him. He may have a lot OF
money. but he strikes me as being
| darned careful with it. He certainly
| isn't spending any of it taking heI
anywhere, and he isn't bringing very
many or very large boxes of bon.
bons. All to the tightwad, I'd say"
| "Oh, he's not exactly tightwad,'
! Merriam assured him. Hes juSt-er
thrifty He needs little education
in the gentle art of spending, and
that's one of those things that Rose
doesn't understand. She tells him
she'd rather sit quietly on the porch
instead of going to the theater in hot
weather-and he believes her. What
does he think roof gardens were built
| for, l wonder-huh?" She stood tiptoe
for her goodnight kiss. She looked
ridiculously childish. Cheer up,
Johnsy. I don't like him SO awfully
myself. and I'd snub him in a min
ute if didn't see that he and Rose
are really falling in love and really
need each other. Maybe" she
frowned becomingly, Il can dope out
some way to speed things up. Per-
haps I can dig up dashing rival for
her hand. Or" her droll giggle
bubbled forth. Il might vamp him a
teensy bit and make Rose jealous
-=U1E