Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-04-06

NJ Charles w. Lanb.


Copyright. 1909, by Daily Story Pub. Coz
Jimmy Walker has spent his youth
full life in an atmosphere whose ozone
had been largely feminine; he had de-
voted by far the greater portion OF his
college days to the womanly attrac-
lions. and even after he had accepted
much sought after position on the Press
and had commenced to realize that his
education instead of being finished was
only begun, had not ceased his attrac-
lions to the ladies but rather, If possi-
BILE, increased them, until he met Miss
knight, tall, blonde Miss Knight, who
he remarked. would better have been
called Day.
1t was while dining with an old
classmate one evening that he met her,
and at first only remembered the tall
girl with the blue eyes and the sweet
smile, in a vague, pleasing manner; but
when one day she appeared in his dingy
city room with the friends wife and
asked him to give her amateur theat-
rieals a notice, he became aware that
there was something attractive in the
slender face beneath those bright, wavy
locks, and humbly apologized for his
undress appearance-he had thrown off
his coat-and the belittered condition
Of the Office
He went to those theatricals, refusing
complimentary ticket, and watched
her play the heroine with far more
school girl grace and bashfulness than
histrionic talent, and discovering that
he was envying the young man who
own.
He danced with her after the per-
formance, too, and vaguely felt that his
six feet two better became her tall,
slender figure than did the stout form
of her lover in the play whose eyes
barely met hers in direct glance.
So things drifted along. The spring
was born of the winters SHOWS and
the blossoms Of summer came out Of
the buds and died in the autumn's blast,
and the glow of the yuletide candles
gave warmth and beauty to the cold.
white reflections from out of doors;
anu he stood beneath the mistletoe and
taking her in his arms, pressed kiss
on her lips and called her his own, and
the only applause was in their hearts,
for this was not play acting.
Now, Jimmy Walker had never been
exactly saint, although no one had
ever called him fast young man. He
had taken life pretty much as he found
it and had never judged men by his
own comparison but by his ideal, and
had associated with them according to
his personal taste. He was rather free
and easy and would sit down in the
back room of the "Quiet House" and
sip his beer with a brother quill driver
OF the Press with the same relish that
he would enter into a theological dis
cussion with his mothers rector Still,
he was IN no way loose in his morals,
nor had he ever been in that enviable
condition called by the boys in the city
room, full He frankly told all this
to Miss knight and in compliance with
her earnest request promised to cease
his visits to the Quiet House or similar
places, and manfully kept his promise.
Jimmy was very happy in his engage
ment to Miss knight and looked for
wand to the coming fall with great
pleasure, for then was to come his we'd
ding For her sake he gave up his
visits to the rather Bohemian Press
Club and confined his time to her or
his den where his books were his COM
pany, and even gave up his pipe, be-
cause he felt that tobacco fumes were
not consistent with her purity, and that
the money he smoked had better be
saved. So his promotion came with the
autumn and he was transferred to read
exchanges and write editorials. But it
happened one forenoon In September,
as he sat at his paper belittered desk,
clipping the extracts from the brilliant
brains of the newspaper world that
the ''old man. sent for him shipped
him on an emergency assignment to
interview an actress who had just Sc
cured a divorce after a mighty sensa-
tional trial, explaining as he did so
that all of the city staff were out and
could not be reached for the purpose.
The interview was not long, and was
pleasant, for with all of his aversion
to the woman she could be very fas-
cinating. He found her with her street
wraps on ready to 60 out, and after the
interview she walked down stairs with
him, telling of wine supper she was
to attend that night, and as he left her
at the street door end turned away
she called after him in reckless bold
fCpr1-a inip irh