Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-01-20
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY.
The Power Of
the Imagination.

| IOrigtnall
My brother Tom was expected from
the city. and l was sitting in the sum.
mer house waiting for him. \ man APP
preached whom 1 recognized as one of
the attendants at the insane asylum a
few miles away.
'Have you seen anything of young
man about here who doesn't belong to
the placer" he asked.
mo. What does he look like?'
Handsome; black hair and eyes
with n glitter in them. lie escaped last
night"
II haven't seen him, and don't want
to-
IF he comes. will you please tele-
phone me?"
mo. I'll hide in the attic"
The keeper had scarcely gone when
saw a man in the distance coming up
the road. Great heavensI Could it be
the insane man? / stood my ground
bravely to see if he answered the de-
| scription till he came within n discrim-
mating distance. He was walking rap
| idly and carried a suit case. To my
horror he walked straight to the gate
and entered. / peered with all my
strength of vision at his hair. 1t was
| black as night. / looked at his eyes.
| They, too, were black and scintillated
like pin wheels on the Fourth of July.
81 beg pardon" he said, raising his
hat. lis this Old Oaks?"
NO. gasped. l lied. would have
| lied to an angel from heaven.
singular he said, looking about
him. Il surely can't have mistaken the
place. 1 followed the main road-the
only road in fact-and the gateway is
of stone, a round ball on each column"
| "You will find Old Oaks n mile down
the road"
He looked about him, every moment
more bewildered.
Are there two such gatewaysT he
asked presently.
"a dozen"
My heart was beating wildly. My
strained Imagination showed me only
Il mailman who would murder me if /
did not succeed in turning him away.
'These are the asylum grounds" l
cried. Go away at once! They are
looking for you. The keeper was here
this morning. He has been gone only
an hour. He told me if you came to
telephone him. but / won't. 1 hope
you will get away
By this time l had become hysterical
and began to laugh and cry by turns.
The young man looked as badly fright
ened as |. He cast n quick glance
about him, as if for some one To take
me in charge.
His action treasured me- Had i
made mistake? l looked again ut his
hair. this time through eyes unterri-
fed. 1t was auburn. l remarked his
eyes. They were blue and. instead of
scintillating. were very mild Mean
while the man was studying me. Grad
ually he came TO look upon me as sane,
after all. for he said:
81 am Arthur Andrews. I was to
come to Old Oaks for over Sunday
with my friend Tom Winslow. / have
evidently got into the wrong place"
Oh. my stars, 1 have mistaken Toms
friend for n lunatic, l would rather
suffer any torture than confess my err
ror. 1 must get rid of him before he
discovers who / am.
"Old Oaks is the next place to ours"
said. Doubtless you will easily find
It if you keep right on down the road"
''The gateway"
"Just like ours-a ball on each post"
'Are the columns brownstone or
granite? Yours, see, are granite"
Theirs are granite too"
Square or round?"
To this 1 made no reply. Somehow
I didn't like his tone. Besides. there
was no necessity in being so minute.
Thanks" he said. 81 will doubtless
find the place. am sorry to have dis
turbed you"
He departed. I arose. went to the
house and shut myself up in my room.
In the afternoon heard Tom talking
with some one on the piazza. looked
through the blinds and saw the-the
lunaticI
1 rang for the maid and when she
came told her to tell my brother that L
had one of my sick headaches and
would not be well till Monday-after
the train had gone.
Tom came to me and found me with
a wet cloth on my brow.
awful sorry, Lucy; have brought
Arthur Andrews up purposely to meet
you"
"Oh. go away, Toni You don't know
how suffer-
The next Saturday Tom brought "the
lunatic." as l called him, for another
Sunday. Before l met either of them /
overheard a conversation which indi-
Gated they had explained my action to
their own satisfaction. 1 went down
stairs and walked out on the piazza
as cool as an iced cucumber.
my friend, Arthur Andrews" said
Tom, "of whom you have often heard
me speak"
Think I have had the pleasure of
meeting you before" said the guest.
smiling.
"when?' 1 asked, with well feigned
wonder.
"a week ago today"
"You must be mistaken. Last Satur-
day l was confined to my room with a
sick headache"