Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-09-26
THE OTHERS OTHER MAN
BY ARTHUR W. TARBELL-

1t was yesterday, after an interval of
four years.
L had not seen him since we parted
Last on Commencement day, and had
wished each other good luck on what
was coming. In my case it was med1-
cal course at one of the German univer-
sites; in his, a few years sojourn at the
law school in Cambridge. Those years
had now passed. was about to become
a fuIl-hedged NJ. D., and Phil-lazy,
Sood-natured, joking Phil Wheeler, the
man who led his class Tin smoking rank
fobacco)-was about to call himself a
lawyer. A lawyer laughed every
time L thought of it; for while Phil was
the best fellow in the world when it
came to brewing a delectable punch or
to doing the fascination talk act to a
shy country maiden at her first swell
dinner, yet he had no more the making
of even a mediocre barrister in him than
has many another good fellow, who
thinks himself cut out by destiny for
the bar.
However, Phil had always been one
OF my best chums, and, of course, was
downright glad to find myself saunter-
Eng into the old yard" at Cambridge
once more, and on the point of yelling:
<sOh, Phil Wheelerl" up to his window in
HolyTorthy, just as 1 had done many
times before during our undergraduate
days.
After my yell I waited few moments
60 see if he was in. Up the window
presently slammed, and a familiar
enough looking head was thrust out to
sec who had called. It had been so long
since Phil had either seen or heard from
me that he failed at first to recognize
INC; but it was only for a second; then,
when he who it was, his face
cracked into n thousand creases, and he
shouted Justify down:
For heaven sakes, Jack Fenway, is
TINT you? Come up quick!'
So up / went to receive one of those
-CldfiIne greetings that leaves a mans
right arm sore for a week afterwards.
But skip all this and come to the point
of the story.
On entering the room I had noticed
letter lying open upon the table. Evil
identity I had interrupted Phil in the
whilst Of it so, after we had exhausted
and lived through the opening lombard
n1ent of usual questions, glanced at
the note again and told Phil to finish it.
He smiled and picked it up.
-'Oh, yes, that reminds me-" he said,
Tive got something to tell you. Here's
n letter from Miss Lancaster-you re-
member that girl I met down at Bar
Iiarbor my sophomore vacation?"
do L? Don't L? Cad man, she was
dream-to you. And if my memory
doesn't play me false believe you did
zsothing but dream of her that whole
winter At any rate you did deuced lit
tie studying
Eyes, Jack, she was a nice girl. al
ways thought a good deal of her" And
Pills face broke into one of those mis-
with him.
years, but 1 remembered on the spot
that L never liked those particular ex-
.prssslons of his, for / had learned from
experience that they Were generally
prelude to some act of deviltry, an un
conscious hint on his part to show that
the fellow was dangerously near the
point of springing one of his exasperat-
ing jokes. I remembered especially one
OF the last times that had seen such q
smile on his amused face. 1t had been
ut a dance near his home, when he in
PRODUCED me to a young lady he was
very anxious to have me meet. As I
: crossed the hall with my arm in his, he
had whispered:
9 -s.She's an old friend of mine, Jack; a
tribe gay, but sound at heart. So pitch
and make yourself doubly agreeable
for my sake, old man"
And 1 remember I Immediately pro-
seeded to do so by flirting disgracefully
with her the whole evening-just for
Zny chum's sake. you know. The other
fellows were crazy with me for monop-
-olizing her; 1 could see it from the way
they kept watching us. One fellow es-
Pecially stood out all the dances behind
some palms, savagely twisting his mus
tache with one hand and the other
plunged desperately down into his
trousers pocket. He looked unspeaka-
bic things at me all the time was dane
ing with her, but only laughed in my
sleeves and pitied the poor fellow. And
80 the evening passed Finally the last
waltz came, and just as I was congratu-
1ating myself on having scored one in
PhiTs favor-and incidentally one in
my own-who should come up to us in
Che midst of a delightfully."- exclusive