The Minneapolis journal., 1902-08-19
The Gentleman From Indiana
BY BOOTH HARRINGTON
Copyright by Doubleday & Mcclure Co., lsee>

1H-H-t-N-tt<- -tt<-t<-%-~<--
oil company that had been formed to pros
pect for kerosene in Carlow countys Do you
know anything about it," 80
Ross, surfeited with honor, terror, and pos
'sessed by sweet distress at finding himself
tete-a-tete with the lady, looked at the wall
and replied:
80, it's that Eph Watts foolishness."
do you know if they have begun to dig
for it YETI? IL i.
"Ma'am?" said Ross. .
7 Have they begun the digging yet?'
"No, a'am; I think not They've got
contrapshun fixed up about three miles south
don't reckon they've bgun yet hardly;
they're gittin' the machinery In place. -. l
heard Eph say they'd begin to bore
dig. mean, ma'am. I meant to say
dig" He stopped, utterly confused and
unhappy; and she understood his manly pur-
pose, and knew him for gentleman whom
she liked. -"
You mustn't be too much surprised, she
said; "but in spite of my ignorance about,
such things. mean to devote good deal Of
space to the oil company; it may come to be
of great Importance to Carlow. We won't.
60 into it in to-morrow's paper, beyond an
item or so; but do you think you could pos
sibly find Mr.. Watts and ask him for some
information as to their progress and II II
would be too much trouble for him to call
here some time tomorrow afternoon. or the
day after? l want him to give me an inter-
| view if he will. Tell him, please, he Will very
| greatly oblige u.s.
"Oh, he'll come all right" answered her
companion, quickly. III take Tibbs' buggy
and go down there right off. Eph won't lose
no time gittin' here!' And with this en-
couragng assurance he was lying forth,
when he, like the others. was detained by her
solicitious care. She born mother. He
protested that in the buggy he would be
perfectly sheltered; besides, there wasn't
| another umbrella about the place; he liked to
get wet, anyway; had always loved rain. Ihe
end Of it was that he went away In a sort
Of tremor, wearing her raincloak over MS
shoulders, which garment, as 1t covered lts
| owner completely when she wore It, hung
almost to his knees. He darted around cor
ner, and there, breathing deeply, tenderly re-
moved it; then, borrowing paper and cord at
a neighboring store, wrapped 1T neatly, and
stole back to the printing office on the ground
floor Of the Herald building, and left the
package in charge of Bud Tipworthy mys-
teriously charging him to care for it as for
his own life, and not to open 1t, but If the
lady so much as set one foot out OF doors
before his return, to hand 1t to her with
the message: He borrowed another Oft J.
Hankins."
Left alone, the lady went to the desk and
stood for time looking gravely at Harkless'
chair. She touched it gently, as she had
touched it once before that morning, and then
she spoke to it as If he were sitting there,
and as she would not have spoken, had ne
been sitting there.
"You didn't want gratitude, did you?" she
whispered, with sad lips.
Soon she smiled at the blue ribbons, pat ted
the chair gaily on the back, and, seizing upon
pencil and pad. dashed into her work with
rare energy. She bent low over the desk,
her pencil moving rapidly, and, except for
momentary interruption from Mr.. T1pworthy'
she seemed not to pause for. breath; GER
tainly her pencil did not. She had covered
many sheets when her fatherAreturned; and.
as he came in softly, not to disturb her.
she was so deeply engrossed she did not hear
him; nor did she look up when Parker en-
| tered, but pursued the formulation OF heI
fast-dyng ideas with the same single pur.
| pose and abandon; the two men sat anc
waited while their chieftainess wrote absorb
| edly At last she glanced up and made E
little startled exclamation at seeing them
there, and then gave them CHEEKY greeting
Each placed several scribbled sheets before
her, and she, having first assured
herself that Fisbee had bought n1s
overshoes, and having expressed {
fear that Mr.. Parker had found her um
brella too small as he looked damp (and in
deed he was damp, cried praises on thei
notes and offered the reporters great ap
plause.
at is all so splendid! she cried ''HoV
|
rain, too! This is exactly what we need. 1v
done most of the things 1 mentioned, think
and made draught of some plans for here
after. And about that mans coming out TO
congress, l must tell you it is my creates
hope that he will. We can let
20 until he does, and then But doesn'
it seem to you that it would be good motion
for the Herald to have :woman's page
For Feminine Readers or %Of Interest t
Women'-once week?'
"a woman's page!" exclaimed Fisbee. g
could never have thought of that, could you
Mr.. Parker?'
And now' she continued, t'I think tha
when I've gone what I've written an
beat it into better shape shall be ready TO
something to eat Isn't it almost time fo
lunchecn?"
This simple, and surely natural, inquiry ha
| a singular, devastating effect upon her hear
ers. They looked upon each other wit
fallen jaws and complete stupefaction. Th
old man began to grow pale, and Parke
glared about him with wild eye. Forum
ately, the editor too busy at her wor
to notice their agitation: she applied herse
to making alterations here and there some
times frowningly crossing out whole lines an
even paragraphs, sometimes smiling an
beaming at the writing; and, as she bea
earnestly over the paper, against the darl
ness OF the rainy day, the glamour about hi