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Show ! The Result of i a Caprice Dy LOU5E B. CUMMINGS "Auntie, why were you never married? mar-ried? 1 bare beard that In your youth yon were a great belle." "My dear," replied Uie old lady, "why I waa not mnrrled I a painful tory to me. It haa been constantly with zie ever alnce 1 waa nineteen year old, bat 1 haro never talked about It There la a lesson In It for young girl like you. nnd ou thnt account ac-count I will tell It to you." Then the old lady told mo the following follow-ing story: You know thnt 1 wai born and raised In the south on one of thoso plantation planta-tion that represented typical btgh life there before the war destroyed the Institution In-stitution which waa It foundation. I come of age shortly before the struggle opened. I suppose It M true that I wot a belle. Would Hint 1 had not been such. Tor the nttcntlon I received turned my bend nnd caused what embittered em-bittered my life. Among my suitors were Alfred Ilenle nnd lilgnr Turnlcc. Turolec was tny favorltelndccd. I wna very much tn loro with him but I wished to be striven for ami nltcmntcly encouraged Mm nnd bis rival. Alfred Ilenle. One day I wan sitting In the drawing room or tbe plantation bouso with Kdgar. My back n well a lit wna toward Uie door opening Into tbe great hull, while my race wn townrd a large mirror resting on the mantel over the lire-place. lire-place. I caught n glimpse or the reflection re-flection of Alfred Ilenle In tbo hall. He saw both IMgar nnd me silling together. He paused nnd looked nt us, mnklng no sound to Indicate to us that he wn there. Indeed, he wn eavesdropping, eaves-dropping, but I tboudil little of that I wn wrapt lu the Iden of being nn object of strife between two young men and was tempted to see what would hnppen between them should I purposely Increase their antagonism. I bad been expecting n proposal from Kdgar nnd now gave htm every encouragement en-couragement lie wa placing nn nrm around my waist and tits fare was near mine when I gave n little shriek nnd drew nway from htm, assuming to tm Indignant. Ilcolo stepped Iptn the room nnd. during at Kdgnr. upbraided htm. Kdgar looked an nppeol to me to exonerate him. It Is Itnpoinlblo to give reasons for the freaks that enter the bead of young person, especially young girl. In tbe matter of coquetry. Instead of taking thu hlnme of Kdgnr' act uon myself. I wuiyd out of tbe room, leaving my admirers to settle tin controversy con-troversy In their own way I bad no sooner left them than It occurred to me that 1 bad nctiil ntvoinlnably. If I bad gone directly back nnd coufesed the sliuntlon might hnvo been saved. 1 wa about to do so when I remembered that such nn ncknovvlcdgmrnt would bring down upou me tho contempt of both men-ttint U. If It were Iwllcrcd, which I doubted. Whllo 1 wn deliberating 1 heard both itu,i go out of the house. 1 started to call them back, but best- j tntcd, and tcfora I had made up my mind what to do Ihey were out of I wondered what would come to (ins between tbcm. It did not occur to mo that tbey would light n duel. Dueling by this time bad largely died out In tbe south, and I was too young to have beard much of au obsolete custom. What chiefly concerned me wa rhat I had so deeply wronged the mnu 1 loved. I wa not only suffering from consciousness of having done blm an Injustice, but was anlc stricken let bo should never forgive uie. The affair began lu the afternoon, aud from tlk-u until bedtime 1 waa In n state of dread, not that anything se. rioua might occur between tho rivals, but that I had lost my lover. In thn middle of tho titgbt my fattier mine wto my room und iisked mo for an ei. plauatlon of what bud hapiicncd, for be bad beard of It, Instead of telling hlui tbe truth. I left him with the liuprcs-1 alon that Kdgar had transcended hi lighta nud Alfred had resented his art I asked father what had come of It, I and be replied that I would loam the I result In the morning; then be left roe, I ThU was tho first Intimation I bad I of anything serious between the twu! inert. Suddenly It tUshed upou rue that they would fight. I trembled. 1 luy turning the matter over In my brntu, which wns llko a boiling enl ' dron. With tbe first light or davvu arose, dressed mjseir, stole down tbe great .staircase and out on to tbe veranda, ve-randa, looking out from behind a vine I saw Kdgar and two other youug men riding by the plantation, (jolug to tbe barn. I saddled my horse, mouut ed and followed them. I cauuot dwell on tho rest It la too painful. was some time In finding where they bad gone. Wbeu I reach-ed reach-ed them tu v had rougbt a duel with pistol, and Alfred lleoto was lying on the ground, while n surgeon was bend- nC over him. I hurried to hlro to see if he were dead and was assured that bU wound would not be fatal. I turned to fcdmr. He gave me a look that ha haunted me evet since. I saw In It that I bad lost blm rorevtr. ou have beard my story May It be a leMon(o you that love U not n game """""'iroanKpeSon. rCi J ,,;..,'0T u a s'riu matter and should be tn-n.H seriously lo e the huropean ,,, of ' by parent than the follle. eomm, left to their own caprices. |
