Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-02-03


10 finish before going home Especial"
'or the next days issue
Through my open door | could see
the dingy desks of the so called edi.
torial room, most of them vacated now.
and from the farthest corner came the
irone OF a proofreader. CHANGING mt
this familiar scene, / stopped my writ
ing q moment rs my eyes rested on his
copy holder. Instead Of the rough young
tobbledehoy who usually filled that
place, there sat the most young girllike
of young girls, making sunshine in
The grimy place. She had soft light
brown hair drawn smoothly back into
the decentest Of little knots. She turned
toward me the neatest Of little profiles,
and che devoted herself to her copy with
the gentlest bend Of her small head.
Just as l was idly recalling the fact
that old Martin, the proofreader. had
once confded to me his desire to get
this position for daughter of his,
Bentley, the "star" reporter of The
Appeal. came stridin8 in and toward
me.
'Spare me minute from the tariff
he questioned, standing in my door.
way, pushing his silk hat to the back
OF his red head with one hand and rest
ing the other, which held lighted
cigar, against the door frame.
When l had declared my willingness
to lay aside for time those political
labors with which IL pleased Mr.. Bent
ley to imagine me always occupied, he
took off his hat and laid 1t with his
cigar on the steam heater outside, came
In and seated himself astride my vacant
chair and for moment stared at me
In silence over the back Of IL.
When he spoke. he said: "I'm going
> TO ask favor Of you. Miss Addington,
and wish by large majority that it
was you going to ask one Of me. Oh,
yes. / know. you're mighty nice.
pleasant. accommodating little girl
that's aside from my wanting some
thing out Of You just now-but you
don't have 1t any too soft down here,
anyhow. and now I'm going to ask You
I'm ashamed Of myself. But-well,
let me open with the curtain music,
and work up to the last farewell by de-
grees. The beginning is'--he stopped,
waited an instant, got up and turned
his chair around, sat down properly and
took mp his sentence again as IL he had
never dropped it--"that I'm in love
with and want to marry that little
nimini pimini. white faced girl of old
Martins out thers'-then relaxing a
little from the uncommon seriousness
with which this was said-'and I'd
give 800 to be able, without arousing
suspicion. to get hold of that seat that
Calvert has there by her. That amt
sentiment, Il would We're glove upon
that hand kind of business it's pure
science That desk is the strategic key
to the whole campaign. I'm not in
with Calvert, we've been hating each I
other too long for me TO be able to work
up an intimacy with him now just PEE
vious to asking him to give me his desk,
and 1t would be too thin. anyhow
There Is no way to get that desk-here
comes the climax Bentley stopped
and looked at me deprecatingly, appeal
ingly. was amused to see that he
could command such an expression
"unless'-he stopped again, scowled !
and drew long breath In burlesque of /
his own discomfort and his resolution,
and. as he wonld have said. took the
plunge-'you' be so angel white as to ,
let him come in here. He's been want
ing to do that this long time, not alto.
gether because of his secret desire to be
near yOu, but he thinks it would he
nice to be in here away from thu lower
orders. and convenient to the encyclo.
pedias that he gets his little pieces out
Of"
The Appeals limited library was in
the room ! occupied. Expression of my
Willingness to share my seclusion with
Mr.. Calvert did not still Bentley's de-
sire further to explain and justify him
self
lyon see. he went on. "I've got
the campaign all planned ont, though /
cant explain 1t in word. I'm perfect
Iy willing to explain it. however. I'm
even willing to admit that it would be
a pleasure to me to do so. I'm too old
and tough to talk about this kind Of
thing to man, but there's sensible
Of dangerous pressure in
letting off TO you little"
shall utterly fail in giving any idea
Df Bentley unless l am able to convey
an impression Of the personal uncon.
sciousness that characterized his con-
Gersation. He expressed himself in the
way that was easiest to him-that is
10 say. as much as possible by estab-
ished formulas intelligently applied,
sometimes slang, sometimes quotations
hat became slang in his mouth-but.
.hough he often felt the humor of his
'wn ideas, his verbal clothing of them
arely enough attracted his attention.
He turned look at once grave and
Iuizzical through the door and upon
he copy holder.