The professional world. (Columbia, Mo.) 1901-192?, 1902-01-03
JIMMIE'S ASSIGNMENT
ny CHARLES w. LAMB.

days to the womanly attractions, and even
after he had accepted a much Fought after
position on the Press and had commenced
to realize that his education instead of
being finished was only begun, had not
ceased his attractions to the ladies, but
rather, If possible, 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 class
mate 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 name but one day when she
appeared in his dingy city room with the
friends wife and asked him to give her
amateur theatricals a notice, he became
aware that there was something attractive
in the slender face beneath those bright,
wavey locks.
He went to those theatricals, refusing a
complimentary ticket, and watched her
play the heroine with far more school girl
grace and bashfulness than histrionic tai
ent, and discovered that he was envying
the young man who took her in his arms
and called her his own.
So things drifted along. The spring was
born of the winters SHOWS and the bios
SONS 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; and he stood beneath the
mistletoe, and taking her in his arms,
pressed a kiss on her lips and called her his
own, and the only applause was in their
hearts, for this was not play acting.
Jimmie was very happy in his engage.
ment to Miss Knight, and looked forward
70 tla onr,,-- fon ,-,Nl -,ao -1~oz,,1 Co.
then was to come his wedding. 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
company, 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. Sc
his promotion came with the autumn and
he was transferred to read exchanges and
write editorials. But it happened one fore
noon in September, as he sat at his paper
belittered desk, clipping the extracts from
the brilliant brains of the newspaper world,
that the cold man" sent for him and
shipped" him on an emergency assign
ment 10 interview an actress who had just
secured a divorce after a highly sensational
trial.
The interview was not long, and was
pleasant, for with all his aversion to the
woman she could be very fascinating. He
found her with her street wraps on ready
to go out, and after the interview she
walked downstairs with him, telling of a
wine supper she was to attend that night,
and as he left her at the street door and
turned away, she called after him in a
reckless boldness: Come join us tonight
you'll have a good time" And Jimmie
ctrplo lpyvp tha Siraat without nptipiOu thn
ladies standing in the doorway of the ladies'
entrance just behind him.
That evening Jimmie spent in his den
with Macauley, and after a chapter of
Stockton as a rest for his brain, retired
with a light heart and a clear conscience,
for it was one day nearer to November.
The next morning as he sat among his
exchanges, thinking of the call that he
would make that evening, a district mes
senger boy came into the office, whistling
the song the actress was making famous,
and gave him a dainty, perfumed note,
which he took smilingly and gazed for
some seconds at the superscription, for he
:, knew it was from her and giving the boy
time to get out of the wayne wished to
be alone when he read her notes-slowly
, opened and read it. The bright smile died
away as he read, and as he finished and sat
holding the open note in his hand, his eyes
gazed away into vacancy, a troubled look
: on his face. Gregg, of the city staff, ~strolled
] into the room and greeted him with:
whats up, old man; you look blue. Bad
2 news?"
. Gust thinking, that's all" but the under
' tone of the would-be jolly voice was such
that Gregg quietly withdrew.
Bad news! Thinking! That explained it
for the little perfumed note, written on tn,
! delicate lavender-tinted paper said simply
/ Having witnessed your conduct with tina
woman at the Normandy yesterday, l vii
not be at home this evening nor here
after"
. He could not understand it. There wa!
surely some mistake, and all that day h,
worked like one in a trance, scarcely know
ing how the moments passed, and a
: soon as the paper was on the press, h,
closed his room and went directly to he
home. There he was met by the maid tn
C same as usual, but she brought back hi
{ card with the message on the back: Mis-
Knight is not at home to Mr.. Walker" Ant
Jimmie went back to his den and, throwing
himself on his couch, buried his face il
e his arms and shut the world from him,
So the months drifted by, and the com
o ment of his fellows was: Whats the mat
e ter with Jimmie?" But they soon becan
used to his changed manner and ceased t
talk about it. The glorious Indian summe
Q with its mellow skies and its golden air; tn
joyous yuletide with its snow and ever
II green; the first month of the new year wit
y its ice and billiards. were passed and Febru
n airy was bringing its searching winds whe,
one day again the cold man" came to hir
l. in a hurry and asked him to take an as
d signment and report the annua meeting G
q the Children's hospital, and it was a wor
in which she was interested. During a
, these weary months he had not seen hel
. nor had he allowed himself to inquire 70
her, still he knew that now he should NEE
" her, for this was her special work.
At the entrance he met the matron, an
was ushered into the Office while the secr'
q tary was called, and he stood pale an
trembling for a moment as in the person {
the secretary he recognized Miss Knigh
T" and he saw that she, too, was pale. FO
a moment only it was thus, and then HI
deem. calm voice broke the quiet with: