Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-07-19
DAILY SHORT STORY
The Girl From New York
[copvrIght. 19O2. by c. D. lewis. ]

The girl from New York appeared at
q farmhouse thirty miles from the city
one hot day in August for two weeks
vacation. 1t was Il place where linn
tied number of people We're ''accommo-
dated" for 81 per week and scenery
thrown in, but Miss Davis happened TO
be the only stranger at the farm just
then. She was good looking, knew
how to wear her clothes, and the hired
han who swung her hammock between
two trees lost his heart to her in the
doing of it. He had thought of mar
riage in an indefinite way and had
thought of n bride big enough and
strong enough to wash, churn, milk,
make soft soap and rag carpets and be
n practical helpmate. Miss Davis was
petite and white faced, but his love
went out to her just the same lie de-
cided that if she would marry him he
would keep hired girl and cut the
carpet rags himself. That evening he
saw more of her and fell more deeply
in love, and his mind was made up to
Law his heart at her feet as soon as he
had finished blowing out the corn
There were other hired men around
there, and near by was q farmer who
was a widower. There was also IL
windmill man laying" up with Il game
leg and young man circulating
around TO sell incubators. 1t wasn't
three days before the girl had them all
at her feet. One had rescued her from
bumblebeeS, another had twisted the
neck of an old ram that menaced her.
a third had heroically killed q garter
snake that crossed her path. and
fourth had pulled her out of swamp
where she was looking for cocoanutS
and bananas on the huckleberry BUSH
eS.
As for the windmill and the incu-
bator men, they came in on their cheek.
They began by offering her unprece-
dented bargains in goods and ended by
falling in love. 1t wasn't the stenogra-
piers fault. She was out for her
health and to break the routine of of
fee work. and the greater the number
who fell in love with her the more de-
lightful the vacation. She gave them
all an equal show and fair show, but
the trouble with each and every one OF
them was opportunity. Even n man
selling the best windmill on earth, one
warranted to produce wind to run it
self. is n little shy about popping the
question In the presence of two or
three other men. If she made Il date to
walk with the incubator man in the
orchard, at least two hired men turned
up to spoil it, and If she wandered over
the meadows in the dusk of evening TO
hear the whippOorwills sing as she
chung TO the arm of hired man they
were closely followed by ghostly fig
ures.
The usual thing followed. Five or
six men can't court one girl and still
be friendly enough with each other to
talk politics. The windmill man got
out of bed i'll the night TO VOW that he
would smash the incubator man and
his incuDators t9 Il jelly, and he of the
chicken hatcher raised his right hand
to heaven and took his solemn affidavit
to ruin the windmill industry of the
United States. The hired men swore
to various things In various attitudes,
and of course all this swearing was
Bound to produce results. Not q week
had passed when one night as he was
vending his way homeward through
the summer darkness one young farm
er was hit in the ear by cucumber
thrown by q ghoStly yet vigorous hand.
Then n second encountered ghost
face to face and was warned in an
awful voice that death was OH his
trail, and the next night the windmill
man was hit with Il rock as he saunter-
ed along with bulging heart.
Things couldn't go on In this way for
ever, of course. In the first place, the
stenographer had only two weeks off.
and in the next man i'll love must
either have things settled within Il rea-
sonable time or hang himself. There
came n time when the girl from New
York must speak up and let her choice
be known. and she was equal TO the oc-
casion. She made 4 date with each and
every victim, irrespective of politics or
religion, down on the edge of the frog
pond at u certain evening hour. Each
thought himself the favored one, and
each was there to swear that his love
would last through ages. 1t was
tryst and a twist. There were Il good
many twists. They had discovered each
other and scared all the frogs out of
the neighborhOOd with their swear
words and their solar pleXus blows and
their rolling about before it occurred to
the windmill man to sit up and say:
Boys, 1 had n date to meet the girl
ON this spot"
$50 did l." was answered in chorus.
"She was to give me my answer"
"Same here"
But has anybody seen her?"
"No."
''Then let's quit smuggling and inves-
tigate. She may have fallen off fence
and broken leg"
The crowd moved nm IN fhe farm
house. The red hammock no longer
swung between the cherry trees. The
green rocker on the sveranda no longer
rocked. There was no sylphlike form
wandering around the rosebush or
looking for firefies on the croquet
grounds. The girl from New York had