The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-24

| to call for his president" Mrs Brown
/ groaned as the niblick crashed into the
| glass, but Mr. Brown exulted vociferously,
| for the ball pumped squaEely into the ink
| over the lace curtains.
Forty for the nine holes" announced
/ Mr.. Brown as he restored the club to the
| bag, and turned to find himself in what can
only be described as the Presence" Of Mrs.
Robinson Brown.
Now just what happened during the sub
sequent interview does not concern u.s. but
] the fact remains that early the next morn
| ing Mr.. Brown started for his office in the
| city. On the train he took UP daily paper,
| and was unpleasantly surprised to see
among the business announcements notice
| of the forthcoming dissolution of the part
nership now existing under the firm name OF
| McTavish & Brown, ship chambers ana
general dealers in marine stores at No 6OI4
| Buring Slip. Mr.. Brown felt in luS heart
| of hearts that Mr. McTavish was amply
| justified in his action, but he went On in the
| faint hope of inducing him to reconsider 1t.
But the interview was in vain: The senior
| partner treated Mr. Brown with dignity and
| had no reproaches to make. But his resolu-
| ton was infieMble-the business must be
wound up.
Mr.. Brown returned home and talked
over the. situation with Mrs. Brown. 1t
would, of course, take some time to adjust
all the interests of the firm, and in the
meantime they would have little or no in
| suggested sending for her uncle Henry, who
could advise and perhaps assist them in
their embarrassing emergency; wire was
accordingly dispatched to Mrs. Browns
Uncle Henry and that gentleman was good
enough to respond to the appeal by taking
stepped out Of the carriage at the Brown
mansion a small, white round and excess
lively hard object struck him squarely on
the leg, causing him several moments Of
exquisite anguish Mr.. Brown, who had
been experimenting behind the icehouse
with a new driver, was profuse in his apollo
gies, but Mrs. Browns Uncle Henry re-
fused to enter the house and took the first
train back to town.
, 1t was some three days before Mrs. Brown
could bring herself to speak calmly to Mr..
Brown, but she could not forget that she
had once loved him and was still his wife
She forgave him fully and freely, but it was
hard to feel that Mr. Browns inconsiderate
act had not only deprived them of the hope
of immediate assistance, but would in all
probability have serious effect upon the
ultimate disposition of the old gentleman's
1T all will go to the Asylum for Aged
Gold Beaters, said Mrs. Brown sadly, and
Robinson Brown ground his teeth in ST.
Still Mrs. Brown did not wholly despair
of the future. for Mr.. Brown had now
signed a solemn pledge of total abstinence
from golf There was yet time for him to
retrieve his past errors, and Mrs: Brown
helped him like the true woman that she
was She gave up nearly all of her time to
playing parlor croquet and Halma with Mr.
Brown, and although these simple amuse-
ments were but melancholy substitutes for
the royal game, yet they afforded some tenn
porary relief from the awful craving that
at times nearly OV6rpOWer6Q MIN. anu do
the days went by Mrs. Brown felt almost
hopeful again. 1t was now three weeks
since Mr.. Brown had touched a golf club,
and the legal formalties of winding up the
business were fast drawing to completion
In another fortnight Mr.. Brown would have
his money at his disposal and be ready for
a fresh start in life. They would move to
! some Western city where there was no
club and where public golf was not allowed
refuge and once re moved from the posi-
bility of temptation all would be Wen again
Mrs. Browns face grew hopeful and ten
der as the vision rose before her. All! how
happy they would be-
1t was drawing on 10 luncheon time and
Mrs. Brown. dismssing her day dream with
a half smile at her grlsh romanticism
stepped out into the hall on her way to the
dining room AS she passed the closet
where Mr. Browns clubs and golfng para
phernaia were stored she saw with sick
enng sense of fear that the lock had been
forced and that the closet was empty
Hardly breathing, she flew out upon the
lawn. Gracious heavens! Her worst fears
were realized, for there stood Mr. Brown
wearing his awful golf face and surrounded
by his entire collection of eighty-seven
clubs and dozen carefully teed balls. AS
she stood with aching heart apd tear
| jr the eldest boy and the pride and JOY or
the Brown family. She heard Mr.. Brown
dream she saw the besotted, cunning smile
with which he sought to force a club INTO
the innocent child'a hand. The he wretch ed
showed him how to grip the club. And
now remember" said Mr.. Brown, "slow
back Don't press! Keep your eye on the
Mrs. Brown never clearly remembered
just how she managed to do 1T: but In the
next instant she had dashed in between
father and son. snatched the accused thing
from the child's hand and hurled it far out
upon the lawn, further indeed than Mr..
Brown had ever been able to drive ball.
Husband and wife faced each other.
Mr.. Brown said Mrs Brown, for :, my
law, human or divine which can compel me
to stand by and see my innocent child de,
liberately started upon the dreadful road
that can only end in 'Walkinshaws Grave
There shall be no open scandal; but shall
take Robinson 1r, and the other chliapeh
s frsinF go to my Uncle HenrSS 0y 'ne
Robinson Brown was sober enough now.
He turned perfectly white, but his voice was
you are quite sure, Mary. that you are
JUSTIFIED in taking this step?'
yes, quite sure.
"And there is nothing, absolutely nothing,
that I can do or say to alter your deter
He spoke quietly. but there was that, note
of stress in his voice that betrayed the
| strong mans agony.
"1eTs @eil "0'a saia Robinson Brown
While YOU are packing think I'll go and
For the sequel to this remarkable story !
| am indebted to 1.-The Fiend," who told 1t
| the other night to select company of the
"Old Guard" in the smoking room of the
GAS you all know" he began, ut was use
less to try and straighten out the tangle
for, after Mrs. Browns departure, poor
| Brown, relieved of all restraint, entered
upon a perfect orgy of golf, and for three
weeks the niblick hardly ever out of
his hand. Then he seemed to brace up for
a time but the tone of his system had been
so lowered by mis- long-coninued dissipa-
ton that the reformation was only tempo
rary, and he soon fell back into his old
courses, or, shall / say, links. 1t was pitt
able, and no one realized his condition more
acutely than he did himself, but what was
there to be done? Poor Brown was abso-
lutely unable to pass a golf club without
| lost all sense of decency and openly fire.
quented public golf courses The green COM
mittee felt very sorry for him. and he
had no regular home he was tacitly allowed
to take up his quarters in the Great Sa-
hara" bunker just this side of the eleventh
hole He had been accustomed to spend
most Of his time there anyhow, and | sup
pose that it seemed familiar and homeIke
to him. How he managed to live l don't
know.
''Well. one day Brown was in the bunker
as usual, working away with his nibck
He had just missed the ball for the seven
teenth consecutive time, when he noticed
that the. iron had dsinterred a soled and
ragged sheet of paper that had evidently
been torn out of some book. He picked up
the sheet and began to read it. 1t was from
the Badminton volume on golf, better
known, perhaps, as the Golfers Bible and
this particular page happened to contain
the resume of Mr.. Hutchinson's ideas upon
the science of driving. 1t was all new to