The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-12-25

good looking enough fer comfort 10
look iii the glass when I shaved gave
me no unpleasant feeling, rather the re-
verse. Towsher was short and squat Of
figure, red Of face and going bald at
top His features were blunt and pie
beian. mine distinct, and, I hatter my
self, arist0cratic. Towsher was married,
and his wife was, like himself. middle
aged and personally not well favored
j was 4 bachelor Of the temporary and
voluntary, not Of the confirmed or of
the oft rejected, type, for I was IN love,
and as good as engaged to a lovely,
sweet tempered Scotch lassie, whose
pedigree was long, if her 'tOcher'' was
small
We We're just at tile charmlngest time
of courtship. There was mo formal en-
gagement between us, but I had given
Annie to understand that she was the
one girl in the world for me, and she
had somehow conveyed to me that when
the time came when I should be able to
tell her so I should not be refused.
/ was going to spend Christmas with
Annie parents, when I got myself in
the terrible fix I am about to naTrate
NV destination was Argyleshire. AS
sped norrhward on the memorable
Christmas eve I felt no presentiment Of
the coming catas trOphe. i may briefly
say that i was untroubled even by jeal-
Gus qualms regarding Towshers irri-
tating prosperity
I left Euston by the mail train for
Glasgow. Although it was Christmas
eve, the carriage was not overcrowded,
and I managed to secure a corner seat
in a first class compartment My lug
gage consisted of a Gladstone bag and a
bundle of wraps. The weather was bit
terly cold. threatening snow, but I
made myself tolerably snug, and by the
time we got 10 Derby snoozed off bliss
fully. j wss dreaming of Annie's blue
ewes when some hours later, ! was
awakened by the opening of the carriage
door and q freezing thrush of cold air.
A male passenger. well muffled in
heavy great coat wearing a deer stalker
hat well tied down over his ears, bum
died IN with his luggage and settled
himself i'm the opposite corner farther
from me- Until then I had had the
compartment to myself. turned round
drowsilv and in rather a bad temper.
for my dream had been a pleasant one,
and L rather objected to the thread of
1T being broken
Ny fellow traveller S coat was fiecked
with snow. and when the train glided
out of the station 4 looked out Of the
window near me and saw that great
white flakes slanted past the pane,
driven by a furious wind. The fields
and stone walls We're deep i'm snow.
"Confound it an I muttered TO my
self. The anathema included my fellow
traveller, who serenely ensconced him
self in his corner among his rugs and
apparently fell asleep 1T seemed as if
he had flched from me the comfortable
nap I had been enjoying, for from the
of f17a 81
me utterly. So 4 fell to watching him
with n mixture of curiosity and dislike
He was young, about my own age, I
thought. with good features and clean
shavem save for a slight whisker. On
the floor of the carriage, close at his
feet, he had deposited Gladstone bag
of about the same dimensions as my
own
.Confound himl Why didn't he get
into another carriageY' L thought as 1
noted these details His placid slumber
was intensely irritating to me. Ifelt in
lnred because he was young and well
favored. because he slept while I was
Eleepless. because he had a Gladstone
bag that was twin brother to mine. be-
cause a few flakes Of snow had insinu-
ated themselves under the carriage win
dow I felt a restless desire to chuck
my fellow traveller and his tiresOme lug
gage out of my compartment
My fellow traveller seemed serenelv
oblivious of all the discomforIs / was
i'll temperedly enduring. He slept
soundly, as only very tired men sleep.
a. / for the third time mentally con
founded him the carriage joltsd up Oh
one side, and the whole train was sud
denly arrested. The whistle sounded in
a shrek as If the engine yelled in an
ger at its defeat in the battle it had been
fighting with the wind and snow