Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-08-08
The Daily Short Story
A Study In cowardice.

reads like romance.
John Haweis was an easy going
young fellow in the little village of Lee
land, Ind. He was fairly well off and
possessed Il good business. But there
was 4 weakness in his make up which
made him-well, to put it mildly, not
popular. He was the most arrant cow
ard In the world.
From earliest boyhoOd he had loved
village schoolmate. Jennie McDuff,
a sort of rustic belle, but when the
show down came and he proposed he
was rejected with scorn. Jennie told
him plainly that she would not marry
a coward.
"This decision had weighty reasons
back of it. He had been known to let
his sweetheart nearly drown because
he was afraid of the water. At anoth-
er time he had run from a very peace
| fully disposed steer as the two were
crossing pasture. But why go through
| the whole list?
when Jennie refused him so decid-
eddy, John seems to have walked up to
| the insignificant position he held in the
hearts OF his neighbors on account of
his inherent weakness and decided to
leave Leland. He sold his business and
i disappeared.
Departing from Leland. he was mix
ed up in n wreck over in Ohio as he
was making his way TO Cleveland. In
this wreck he received an injury to the
head which rendered him unconscious.
and he was taken to the hospital In
| Columbus, where he remained for
three months. He had money with
him, the result of the sale of his prop
| erty, and so was well cared for, but as
/ there was no clew to his address about
him his Indiana friends were not noti-
fed OF his accident.
| Here was the turning point of his
life.
"It has become an old story that
blow on the head will sometimes effect
a radical change in n mans DISPOSE
| ton. 1t was so with Haweis. He lost
his cowardice. also lost his memory.
His past was entirely wiped out.
when he was released from the hos
pital, still having plenty of money, he
| wandered around the country for
awhile and then fell in with our men
agerie. We let him travel with us, as
he seemed TO have an enormous liking
| for animals and would have worked
for nothing I'm order to be with them
had we not been willing to engage him
at a salary. And he was a good man
for the work, always careful and fear
less, absolutely fearless.
after a time we gave him more and
more confidence. and at last he asked
to be allowed to assist the lion tanner
to learn the business under him. We
did not like to grant his request. but
our lion tanner had taken n fancy to
John, and so the permission was re-
luctantly given. Then, when the for
mer received better offer, John took
his place.
''Well. sir. we never had such lion
tanner before, and l doubt il we ever
will again. He went into the cages Of
the widest and most ferocious animals
with n total absence of fear. 1t seemed
as If he actually loved the fierceness of
the lions and the tigers. Yes, he even
patted their heads.
after John became our lion tanner
we had remarkable success. for he
seemed to have an occult power over
animals. They easily and quickly learn |
ed new tricks and when under his infiu- |
ence became passably tame.
'Then came this affair of yesterday.
Jennie, his old sweetheart, I'M |
known to HMM fact. he had forgot !
ten her with the rest of his past-waS |
visiting friends in this city and came |
to our performance.
"She was seated well down in front. |
and when it came Johns turn TO enter \
the cage with the lions she shrieked |
out in surprise, and perhaps terror, as |
she recognized him.
81 was standing outside the bars by /
the gate and saw his face. As the girl !
cried out he glanced in her direction. |
He passed his hands across his eyes in |
n dazed manner. and then there came 1
into them n look of absolute terror as |
he saw the animals. 1t was as IL he
had walked from dream and found !
Himself in n dangerous position from
which there was no escape.
1.-The sight of his old sweetheart had
brought back his memory and with IL
his cowardice.
THE animals recognized It also and
with a bound were upon him. We
rushed I'm with iron bars. always kept l
handy for that purpose. and beat them
off. but not before they had given him
his deathbIow.
1--WE dragged him out and laid him
on the floor beside the cage. The girl
came flying down and knelt beside him,
calling his name and weeping.
"a few hours later he died in her
arms.
1--WE told her of his bravery during
the last three years. and she wondered
at it She mourned because the sight
of her. as she thought. had thrown him
off his guard for a moment and caused
his death.
'As for that returning cowardice. she
never knew, but before his death he
told me of 1t. He could not understand
how he came to be in the cage. for
with the return of his memory all re-
membrance of the last three years van
ished. He had forgotten all his tri-