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Show 1 A New Year's Resolution t By AXE CRAWFORD rTWT limlenco of s sJH Tliomnn Went. , JVy'sZvrH worth waa disturb . W'f-'lv, '"B to 11,8 SOUl'B H (LC-X yVJ I'cnco. For bIx . "IrSfV' m0"llis 1,0 Iiad tisS5jJ( hcen vainly trying i AViv ufi to ri,os ,o t j) (LAl Melon Orlswold. I 1 1 vfriJj Opportunities had Jvaj"' "ot 1)8011 Ino,'"8, .ljffS Together thoy had atiidlcd moonlight ntrecta from shadowy porches. They had discussed life and lovo In cozy I corners, hut tlio all-Important words I remained unsalil. Hvery attempt to I speak them left him In a statu of I quailing disgust. At last ho framed a I little speech that exactly Mil tot! his I needs, During all his conscious mo- I moots, yea, most of tho unconscious I onon, he rehearse' It, with moro or I leiw dramatic effect. Tlmo nnd again I ho had go no with tho strength of Sam- I bo n to present It; lllte Samson, ho had I departed, shorn of his strongth by a I woman. I "Ah, but such a woman!" I She had oyes like violets big ones I that spolte volumes; but It was a lan- I guago ho couldn't understand, so no f Longed to Tell Her To Atk Her 1' ' continued his rehearsals. Now on the : last evening of the old year, pacing 1 , back and forth across his room, ho was f atlll rehearsing' the speech with lntcr- Y potations of the one New Year's reso- ! lutlon he hsd deemed worth while, Itlrut boforo .the New Year dawned ho would ask her He would ho a blithering blither-ing fool no longer. "I'll ask her to night," ho nnnouncod. Her mother was giving an Informal danoo,.to watch the old year out. Not loss than 100 men would he there to bribe the orchestra for extra sclec tjons, or prolonged nurabors, vrhlck thoy would sit out, or dance, with tho lady of lil heart, "nut," grimly, "I'll ask her. It's qtilto simple." Iu his steady tramp around the room ho knocked down a Japanese H- a screen. "Iu Japan they have a go-between. That must he a comfort." "ac-botween," he repeated the word several times. It had a pleasant sug-gcstlvcncss. sug-gcstlvcncss. Ho smiled broadly. "Certainly! Of course, why not? I'll write- it!" Ho literally fell upon pen and paper. Ills tonguo never could havo formed the words that followed his facile pen. Tho accumulation of six months' alio-glanco alio-glanco was laid heforo her eyes. Tho letter was a gem. Tho essential part of It was that If her answer was yes, would she, when hu entered the ballroom ball-room that night, simply lay tho vloleta that ho would send with this letter against her face? Kor Just a second! Ho would understand. Tho violets matched her eyes. Ho had often said so, Thero was no time to loao. Ho telephoned tho Ilorist to whoso coffers ho contributed. "Oh, send a bushel.!" ho laughed, happily, llko a schoolboy perpetrating a Joke. "I havo a noto to send, deliver them hero." Tho flowers arrived by n messenger who looked like the chief emissary of Dan Cupid. Tom untied tho violet cord, lifted out n bunch of tho choicest blossoms about the slr.o of n prlzo caullllowcr, smiled approval, rctlcd tho box, addressed tho card and with a generous tip to tho boy Blurted him on bin orrand. Then, with n Btratigo pcaco possessing him. ho nwaltod a ceomly hour to present himself tc learn his fute. Only tho family was present when ho arrived. Tho effusion of their greet. Ing would have sot at rest his thump Ing heart, "ould ho havo seen anything hut tho girl, who, standing In a clrcl of light made by tho pink shaded lami on tho piano, was holding tho violets With a smllo full upon him, sho slow ly lifted tho (lowers and for a fractlot of a second burled her faco in tholi swoetness. Ho looked at hor as Jacob looked at Itachol when his sovon yenrs of sorvlct woro ended. When the chanco wa given them for a moment alono, he seized not only tho chanco, but, unmindful un-mindful or posslblo damage to chiffon rullles, ho likewise Bclzod tho girl. Tho right words enmo at last. Foi six months, ho said, ho had longed tc toll her, nnd to ask her, "Hut, Tom," she gasped, "yob haven't yet" Her protest was smothered, and he lost no tlmo In llnlshlng what ho had to say, reaching tho climax by demanding demand-ing an early dato for tholr wedding. "Hut. Tom. dear! you haven't" Mother entered softly, in time to hear her daughter In a strangely muf. fled voice answer, "June." Mother was an astute woman. She withdrew softly, but a listener might have heard hor pious ejaculation: "Thank Heaven! Tho New Year prom Ises well." Tho dying hours of tho old yeai passed In the merriest dance tho Orlswold Orls-wold home had over known. The bolls pealed forth their welcome to tho glad' New Year, and tho party, grouped wit! ! mother In tho midst, waited breath ' lessly. With a becoming maternal tremor In her voice, Mrs. Orlswold announced tho botrothnl of her daughter to Mr. Thomas Wcntworth. In tho still, small hours of that Now Year's mo.-nlrg, Tom switched on the lights In his own room. "After all. It was not bo vory difficult, diffi-cult, ho murmured. Hut Just how easy It had really been ho realized when he picked up from his desk the letter of proposal, properly prop-erly sealed and addressed, but undelivered. |