Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1904 — The LAVENDER PAPER DOLL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The LAVENDER PAPER DOLL

By S. L. TINSLEY

The ladies of the Children’s hospital were giving a paper doll social at the home of Mrs. Townly. The grounds and house had been lent to them, and the ladies had planned a supper on the lawn, with a lottery and dance in the evening. Young girls were to be dressed as paper dolls and wait upon the tables. In the evening the young men must l)ua their partners for the dance in the lottery. The girls made paper dresses, with paper hats to match, and practiced a stiff, doll-like walk. “Mildred Little? Oh, she Is in lavender with violets,” said Henrietta Summers In answer to a question. The woman who was Interested In Mildred thanked Henrietta and walked away. She was a tfill woman, with ■white hair and large, dark eyes —a motherly woman who wanted to help her son In his troubles, but did not know what to do. Seating herself at one of the tables, she began to watch the people. Twice was the girl standing by her side compelled to repeat her question before Mrs. Delcoe was aware of her presence.

“May I serve you?” Mrs. Delcoe turned hastily toward the small, demure maiden, gowned from head to foot In pale lavender paper, adorned with bunches of violets. The face was expressionless. The blue eyes stared wide open, while no doll need have been ashamed of those pink cheeks and that smooth brown hair. Mrs. Delcoe recognized Harold’s ruling tyrant, Mildred Little. The mother understood In a moment her son’s worship. This girl’s charm had already stolen upon her. “Poor boy! I wish I could smooth out the wrinkles for him,” she thought to herself. Aloud she said: “I was waiting for my son. I see him coming, so you may take our order.” The paper doll did not turn to look at the young man who fame up and seated himself at her table. She waited In silence for her order. “What would you like, Harold?” “Your choice, mother.” At the sound of that voice the lavender doll suddenly came to life and looked directly at the speaker. When their eyes met Harold Delcoe smiled. But Mildred had regained control of herself. She was again the lavender

doll. The young man’s face became scarlet, and he looked in an opposite direction. Mildred served her table faithfully, yet her hand would tremble. Twice she tore her ruffled skirt and was compelled to hunt for glue, but whenever she passed Harold she was only a paper doll. The young man would have left the fete at once, but his mother detained him. Why she did so she could not tell, yet she felt that Harold would be needed. The Bupper tables had been carried away and the lanterns lighted among the trees. Henrietta Summers, the white doll, had been bought In the lottery by a tall, light haired youth, while Lottie Edwards, the scarlet doll, waltzed away with a young lieutenant Thus they were chosen one by one. The only color missing from this rainbow was lavender. “I wonder who bought Mildred’s ticket?” said Henrietta as she whirled about the room on her partner’s arm. Now and then a smothered laugh was heard, accompanied by the soft rustle of tearing paper. Some unfortunate young man had entangled himself In his partner's fluted ruffleb. “Who did you say?” repeated Henrietta as she turned toward her partner. “Harold Delcoe,” was the answer. < Harold had left the room and was walking in the deserted garden among the swinging paper lamps. Beneath a tall, spreading tree was a tent in which a fortune teller had been sitting earlier in the evening. Finding it deserted, he entered. Lying upon a bench was the red and yellow flowered robe the fortune teller had worn. Sitting down, Harold l<N|ned bis chin upon his hands and looked gloomily out of the open door at the swinging lanterns. In the distance beneath a group of trees the young man saw a girl, her •tiff gown standing out about the sien-

der figure like the paper ruffle adorning a bride’s bouquet. The girl turned and came slowly toward the tent. In a moment Harold had conceived an Idea. Seizing the gay gypsy robe he wrapped himself In Its folds. Then, extinguishing one of the candles and drawing the hood well down oVer bis face, he waited.

For a moment the girl hesitated at the door; then, seeing the veiled figure, she came slowly Into the tent. “I thought you had gone, Gretta.” The bent figure sitting on the bench shook Its hooded head and continued shufiling the cards. “Well, you might as well read my fate. Let me see what the future has In store for the lavender doll.” The fortune teller shujHed the cards. Then Mildred cut them three times. The shrinking figure bent lower, and a muffled voicq began to read their meaning. "I see you had a lover.” “Had?” Mildred laughed. “Have I lost him, then, and, tell me, was he rich or poor?” The fate reader Ignored the question. The dull, muffled voice went on reading the cards. “He did love you dearly, but now there Is—that is, there seems to be—another, for he Is looking In another direction from you.” Mildred’s smile had folded. She leaned forward and struck the cards from the fortune teller’s hand. “I don’t believe it!” she cried angrily. “You may hint what you please, Gretta Harris, but you shan’t say Harold Is unfaithful. You were always Jealous, you know you were. Let me tell you, my dear girl, that It was I who sent him away. I quarreled with him. I drove him away. Tonight he wanted to be friends, but I was a’’— Harold could control himself no longer. Springing to his feet, he was abont to take the girl in his arms when Mildred, who had recognized him, attempted, with an angry exclamation, to push him aside. He stumbled against the table and then—

Mildred was running across the lawn, her paper dress flying from her In brilliant sparks, a halo of flames enveloping her form. Close behind her, his teeth set, the scarlet robe hugged to his breast, was Harold. Mildred had reached the edge of the artificial lake, where she hesitated for a moment In that moment Harold, with one last great effort, sprang to her side. Throwing the gypsy cloak about her, he gathered the girl in his arms and sprang into the water. Ten minutes later Mildred was lying on the bank beneath the trees. When she opened her eyes a pale, wet face was bending above her. “Harold!” “Yes. Milly!” The girl lifted her head and looked down at her dress. It was gone. The wet gypsy cloak was wrapped about her. A wan, little smile crept into her face. “Poor little lavender doll! Where Is she?” “Gone forever, thank heaven! But Milly has returned.”

“I SEE YOU HAD A LOVER.”