The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-28
CHAPTER IX.
AGAINST THE CURRENT.


on the subject
Its the real thing" he said 10 her, land
I give up right now that I don't know
beans about this thing of falling in love
If there's two people on earth as little alike
as Noel shacklett and Mary stoddard I'd
like 10 see EN-"
Miss Mckee looked interested. She had
some curiosity about this man without
much style, who seemed to be beginning a
courtship as he would begin a campaign,
by assaulting the intrenchments with ar
tillery. Her brother went on:
THE short of it is that we all expect
Mary stoddard to marry a preacher and be
a model minister's wife, for which she's
exactly cut out by nature and education;
and up at Springfield the little we've
thought about it at all was in the direction
that Shachlett would pick out rich widow,
carefully and scientifically court her, marry
her, and have the bank account transferred
TO his name before the honeymoon is over.
''Shacklett is about as far from being a
preacher as Mary Stoddard is from being
a rich widow with an ambition TO be the
wife of congressman or Governor; and
yet it looks like Shacklett is going to marry
It's ahead of me-"
Mckee bridled little as his sister smiled
indulgently. She replied with a continu-
ance of the smile:
81 don't see how Mr.. Shacklett, or any
other man. can help falling in love with
Mary Stoddard; but 1t doesn't follow that
she'll fall in love with the fine worker from
Springfield because he helped her father
sell his land TO the State. Politics isn't the
only thing that's uncertain and
"Oh. that's all right" her brother inter-
rupted. but, you see. if Shacklett falls in
love with her he'll want to marry her, and
If he wants to marry her he'll marry her.
If he wants her to fall in love with him
she will. That sounds kind O. silly, but it's
a fact. You don't know Shacklett when
he's in earnest On the other hand, he's
so changeable that you never know till the
votes taken where he's at; he's as likely
as not to change his mind at the last min
ute. like he did in that asylum deal. and if
ne carries the same methods into this deal
Wen get cards to his wedding. and the day
before the date for the blowout he'll run UP
TO Chicago and marry somebody else
Miss McKee's eyes began to blaze little.
She said promptly:
There's one thing settled here and now,
and settled once for all. Not once more
are you to ask him down here. Not sin
gle other time. I'm determined on that,
and L mean it. You keep him away from
here"
Her brother whistled a soft little double
note. threw UP his arms in mock gesture
of unintelligibility. and left the room
Shacklett did not notice that he was not
asked to come over again, for he considered
his welcome toe sure to need the invitation.
When he wrote Mckee, six weeks later,
saying that he was coming up by way of
St. Louis and boat, he was a little dis
appointed TO get a reply that Mckee was
In the act of beginning work for the river
improvement people. and would be living
an a quarter-boat the rest of the summer,
for which he was sorry, old fellow. and the
rest But he was rather glad that Mckee
had spoiled his other plan when he re-
ceived letter from Mary Stoddard stating
rather casually that she would not be at
home either, since she was one of a party
going to St Paul and return that week
Shacklett looked very cheerful after he had
knit his forehead into wrinkles for five min
letters at once; but he could not exactly
understand why Mckee was throwing of
on him, he said to himself, and he won
dered just what the relations were between
the Stoddards and McKees up there.
He walked over to his room and wrote a
letter on judiciary committee Ietter-head.
He hurried back to the postoffice to mail
IL in time for the west-bound mail, which
would allow its delivery in St Louis early
next morning. giving plenty of time for the
answer to reach him before Wednesday.
When the answer came it stated that the
Diamond 10 line was happy to inclose
transportation, st. Louis and st. Paul, and
hoped Mr.. Shacklett would enjoy his vaca-
ton trip and notice certain things at GER
tain landings In Illinois which would inter
est the next Legislature.
Noel told his mother that he had worked
hard enough during harvest to deserve a
little rest, and. since some of his friends
were going on the river trip and he coulc
so with them without much expense, he
believed he would take the vacation.
The City OF Quincy had the usual crowd
OF tourists that trip. most OF them from ST.
Louis. Shacklett made a few acquaint-
rooms filed and the saloon cabin emptied,
and sat by the rail until o'clock in the
morning. 1t was the perfection of luxur-
ious travelling the next day, somebody said,
but Shacklett was lost in wonder that any
body rode on a steamboat when they could
go by rail and get there in one-third the
time. The boat reached Warsaw Just as
the twilight was shading into darkness.
Shacklett stood on the forward deck, close
by the landward stack. as the boat made
the landing, and when the gangplank was
showed out and the people began to come
aboard with that funny little haste which
reminded Shacklett of young turkeys trot-
ting to the coop. he stepped over by the
forward rail, sure that nobody below would
look up. AS the party Of eight young peo-
pie came UP the stairs Shacklett stepped
aft along the rail, and. looking back,
watched Mary Stoddard and her friends
waving handkerchiefs at two or three 9TH
ers ashore by the packet depot.
1t took ten days TO make the trip to St
Paul and back to Warsaw that time For
the others IL was ten days OF vacation from
routine work; for Shacklett il was week
and half Of the hardest work he ever did.
To make love to a girl who starts with only
the most languid sort OF interest
in one. and that rather a feeling
of ones reprehensibility, while both
are cOOped up on a slow-moving
steamboat. IL a hard task in real life.
In later years. when friends asked Shack
lett what was his most careff4lIx- MANNED