Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-21
MISSED. THE BOARD WALK


| ington papers.
Everything packed?' repeated Mrs. job
son, looking up from her paper with a sur
prised look. why, where are we"
| Where are We going?" broke in Mr..
Jobson. Mrs Jobson 1 trust that you are
| not laboring under the delusion that we're
| going to take little spin overseas to the
Cape of Good Hope. are you? You don't
| imagine that were going on a midsummer
| seized with the impression that we're going
| to make a dash for the farthest north,
have you? You're not Of the idea"
| But interrupted Mrs. Jobson. her fea-
lures still betokening great surprise. you
| are not thinking Of"
| "Exactly-you may go right straight to
| the head of the class; you've guessed right
| the very first time We're going home,
| home. Mrs. Jobson," cut in Mr.. Jobson
with great elaboration. What's more,
we're going to take that train that leaves
| for Washington shortly before o'clock
| this afternoon. so that it'll be about up to
you, Mrs. Jobson, to Immediately furnish
an exhibition Of lightning trunk packing
unequaied in the annals of that essentially
| feminine art. We're not going home tomor-
row afternoon or the day after tomorrow
| afternoon or some afternoon next week,
but we're going to start for home in some
thing less than three hours, and"
l. But" exclaimed Mrs. Jobson folding her
paper and turning around in her chair the
better to look at Mr.. Jobson. II thought we
were to remain at least two weeks longer.
| thought"
Mrs. Jobson," Grated Mr.. Jobson with
great impressiveness. spreading his legs
wide apart the better to give himself an
air of judicial elaboration, II desire to
state here and now that it grieves me beyond
words to be forced to the conclusion that
| you care as little for the home which L
have struggled and shaved to provide for
you as the common or garden variety of
oyster cares for the rocky Businesses of the
Blue mountains. 1t creates within me a
| of q
stage of our lives that you would whole
| lot rather be in almost any old pace on
the habitable globe than beneath the smell
| ter of that roof which it has required so
many years of toiling and moiling on my
part to erect over your indifferent head.
| / firmly believe that you would a heap pre-
| fer at this present moment OF time to be
resident of Taku or of Tfen Tsin than TO
be wrapped around by the tender. If nom
exciting, household joys of the abode which
| you know very well that am fond of
my home" interrupted Mrs. Jobson, but
| was 1t not the distinct understanding when
| we came down here to the beach that we
were to remain throughout the entire perl
| cd of your leave? Did you not say only
the other morning that you dreaded return
! ing to humdrum existence in the city
| that you hated to think of the day when
we should be compelled to pack up and
| take ourselves back to"
| mo, Mrs. Jobson. l never expressed my
| self in any such idiotic way, under any cir
| cumstances whatsoever cut in Mr.. job |
| son. with asperity, land II I had such an
| ornate imagination you possess L think |
| l could find some better way of exercising
it than by holding down a green wicker
chair on the veranda of a hotel located in |
| monotonous seaside resort and making |
mental criticisms of the clothes worn
| by
"But only yesterday" Interrupted Mrs. |
| Jobson again, you said that you wished |
| you could cook up some kind of scheme |
whereby you could prolong your leave SO
| AS
|
ly. We'll. if did was in daydream, or
| else the gallon or SO of salt water swirling
around in my head must have made me
| temporarily insane. The fact remains Mrs
Jobson, that going home on the
| train that departs for Washington shortly
| before o'clock The other fact looms up.
| likewise. that. far from ever having exuded
any such SomnambuliStic conversation as
| that with which you unblushingly credit
| me, wouldn't have spent twenty minutes
at this place If 1t hadn't been for you"
| WELL" began Mrs. Jobson, "of all the ex-
| traordinary statements that ever heard
YOU
ut is painfully evident" Mr. Jobson
sternly Interrupted, that the daily pro-
| gram of a resort like this is perfectly cal
| culated to fill you with iuexpressble con-
| tent. This getting up in the morning in
room wherein the curtains flap in hot
| land breeze-eating a breakfast composed
| of the same old deadly hotel dishes-sitting
| on the veranda for half an hour watching
| the gyrations of Willie boys and ladies who
| irwardly vituperate and scorn each other
| going to hot bath room and preparing for
| teeth-chattering plunge in a clammy,
body-bruising sea-stickily dressing and
| feeling hotter after dressing than before
| eating hotel dinner that all tastes like
PAPER mache-laying around the aforesaid
boiling room for the remainder of the after
noon until 1T Is time to put on more hot
| clothes for the evening meal, which is like
wise as tasteless as squash-then trudgng
down to listen to a lot of aliens discoursing
the Intermezzo' and All Jes KANT Bear
| Tub See Nah Baby Lose'-and then tum-
| bling into a granite bed in the previously
mentioned sizzling room-this, Mrs Jobson,
| 1t Is plain to see, is your idea of the acme
of happiness-this is the sort of thing for
which you enthusiastically surrender the
comforts of your home. Well. have given
you several weeks of it. and for once-just
| for once. Mrs. Jobson[I am going to con-
slider my own feelings, and I'm going home.
| 1t is hard, l know, to drag you to the
squalid home that awaits you, but we're
| going, all the same, and you have been in
| formed of the hour at which We are to
| start"
And it came to pass. of course that the
Jobsons cid start for Washington at pre-
cisely the hour Mr.. Jobson had indicated.
1t was a hot ride, and the Jobsons didn't
get into the station in Washington until
after 10 o'clock. Mrs. Jobson had tele-
graphed ahead to the trusty Jobson house
| hold servant to open the house and pre-
pare a nice luncheon, but for once the job
son servant wasn't trusty. and when the
Jobsons got home they found the house
| gloomy and stuffy and smelling strongly |
of the mating on the upper floors. Mr.
| Jobson threw all of the windows open
and then went out to the corner cafe to |
get some sardines and sausage and crack |
ers and beer and things wherewith to pre-
pare a lunch. After the boardwalk the |
streets of Washington at IL o'clock at
night perhaps seemed bit quiet and dull |
to Mr.. Jobson, for he didn't have much |
| to say.
"Well, it is delightful to be home again
| after ALL isn't it?" said Mrs Jobson. as |
| they ate their late lunch.
"Um, replied Mr.. Jobson, and then he |
| leaned back in his chair and looked at the |
| ceiling once more.
| 1t was pretty hot on the following morn |
| ing when Mr.. Jobson started down to his |
Office to look the situation over. He still |
had several weeks leave coming to him, |
but he just went down to his office to see |
| how things were going. By IL o'clock the |
temperature was pretty fierce, and it was |
| shortly after IL o'clock when Mr.. Jobson |
| clomped into the Jobson home with a look |
| Of mingled martyrdom and determination |