Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1902-05-30

Dwight Van Vert was not oeioriheu
in any way, and yet he was fearruily
and wonderfully made-there was no
denying that His luxuriant crop OF
flame-hued hair took on quite without
culture indeed despite all culture the
contour Of a full-blown prize cnrysan-
themum, from an archipelago OF
freckles resembling sepia map of
Oceanica. His nose rose ike the
tower of Lebanon that looketh toward
Damascus. To right and left spread
ing ear tapped defiance to any threat
ening head wind and this was Dut the
cupola, so to speak, for an ASSORTMENT
of legs and arms that had apparently
been selected quite at random from
pile of left-overs in some forgotten
corner of the creators workshop. All
of which description is grossly exas-
gerated. of course, but in no way mis-
leading. for found out long ago mat
in portraying Van 1t was apsoiuIeiy
necessary to exaggerate in order 20
make one realize how far from peau-
tiful he was.
From the day he entered school ne
was the legitimate prey OF tease anu
bully. | suppose it was hard on van
at first, for at home his mother nad
not called him Bricktop nor his father
tainted him with the upward I'LL Oh
his nose. but he took 1t all WIN
stoical heroism, thrashed whom Ee
could, diverted whom he could, helaed
some with their lessons and priped
others by judicious outlay OF his spend
ing money until, at graduation, ne WIS
as popular as any fellow in the Glass;
howbeit as far from handsome as "hen
a little tad of six.
At college he came out at the head
of his class. He took year In hu-
rope after that; then he came nome
went in with his father and teii III
love with Grace Serene.
OF course, he fell in love with Grace.
Grace had a nose Phidias could not
have bettered, complexion like the
blending Of the wild rose and the NY
of-the-valley, figure that was the
glory of tailor-made and the apo
theosis of ball gown, hair she couid
let fall in lustrous pillows to her feet.
eyes so big and brown and deep 1t
made you dizzy to look into them. u
was simply heartbreaking to coHtem-
plate, and all the more so when the
victim was a personal friend.
Van never took me into his conf
dence, but suspect Grace had figured
in his plans ever since his first day at
school, when she had asked TO have
her seat changed because 1t made her
feel SO bad to look at that little van
Vert boy" Anyway. h', had always
done things for her; written to her,
sent her presents, and now he went at
1t deliberately to pay her every cour-
teous attention affection could suggest
or money furnish means for.
II you have ever done anything in
vivisection, you remember how yon
felt the first time you saw live AMI
NAL cut to pieces. 1t is not pleasant
sensation, but with some of us 1t came
to be almost chronic while we watched
van 5 COuI lbnlp uid5 ous 49, S'N~-'Ao
length.
He was such a good fellow and she
such nice girl. To pour his soul out
in her service and yet never bore her
seemed to have become the purpose uf
his life; to let him know the truth and
yet spare him all she could seemed to
be hers.
Grace and her mother spent the sum-
mer at the lakes, and so did Van. In
the latter part Of November she went
into the city on her aunt's invitation,
and Immediately Vans business took
him in at least as often as once week.
When she returned early in February,
and Van was as attentive as ever,
knew that that blindness-of-love bust
ness (man's love- is true story for
Van never seemed to realize that she
had been running away from him, and
the whole miserable thing was worse
tangled than ever, because we saw that
she had got to strike hard. which was
not going to be pleasant for her, and
Van was going to be cut up to beat
= everything.
1t was up in my room one night in
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