Newport weekly independent., 1903-12-04
Scribsleg's Short Story By Epes Winthrop Sargent

c CRIBNER writes for the newspa- pers for a living-sometimes he merely writes for the newspapers. It all depends upon the men who I1ake the Sunday papers whether ScriDner smokes good cigars or plug tobacco in a pipe
 Scribner has the artistic tempera- ment. He is very proud of the tenn perament. This is as bad as small dog when one lives in a fiat. It leads one to make nasty remark to the jam itor, Whereat that functionary will ab- sent-mindedly remove bottled milk from the dumb waiter while forgetting to remove the waste basiet.
 Scribner also has a typewriter. AL though it is of the mechanical variety he speaks of it as she because it is so contrary. That is another instance of the artistic temperament working out, Scribner purchased the machine from a friend. None of the mans enemies would purchase it, so that he had to dispose of it to a friend. It was about seven years old when it changed hands.
 The other day it celebrated it's tenth birthday by losing a screw, Eight times Scribner pushed the screw back into the hole where the thread used to be. The ninth time he took it off the table and headed for the nearest public telephone station.
 He telephoned the maker with some heat to call for the machine.
 Two hours later a small boy ap peared with a twin to the decrepit | type machine, done up in black cloth. FTake this dod gasted internal ma chine to the repair shop!" urged Scrib- l ner. Tell 'em to clean it and fix it up." Then he set out to butter his daily bread with love story. Scrib- ner was so glad to have a new machlne to work with he could have composed serial romance had there been the ghost of chance of selling it.
 From the very start there was trouble. Scribner opened the tale with hoydenish heroine swinging upon a low-hanging apple bough. He had to leave the lady up the tree while, with prayer and fasting, he sought to dis cover why the ribbon guide would tear off every time he slid the carriage up for fresh line.
 In about 20 minutes he discovered that one of the paper guides hung too low and caught the ribbon guide. He mended the machine with tack ham mer and helped the lady down from the tree.
 The villain came strolling through the orchard. The machine caught the infection of his villainy. Now the rib bon guide fell off at the end of the line instead of at the beginning. The remedy was easy, for the tack hammer was near.
 The villain proceeded upon his crim- inal way and the hero was just spring ing over the low fence inclosing the orchard when the machine suddenly needed at one end of the feed as at the other. The hero defed the laws of gravitation for half an hour until Scribner found that by backing the sheet with six others he could induce a more even feed.
 Then the hero lightly landed, and ir half dozen strides confronted with blazing eyes Jack Darlington, who stood with uplifted arm above tht covering form of Jessica Carew.
 Lay but a finger upon this lady, cried the brave Harold Vane, "ant Ill--'
 There was a whirring sound tha scared Scribner out of his seat Witt the aid of a wooden plug he managed to make the spring stay wound up ant five minutes was all the time required
 The machine ran very evenly fol fully ten minutes. Jack Darlington with muttered curse, had turned anC slunk away with the appropriate re mark about his time coming in tht : distant future. The brave Harold haC been prettily thanked by the gratefu Jessica, and had obtained permission to escort her to the house He wa strolling back down the lane whei suddenly Jack Darlington spranl through the hedge. Curse you!" h. cried
 His further comments upon the situ ation were postponed and Scribne echoed the curse. Two letters had ap parently raced up to the paper togeth CT and were locked in deadly embrace Incidentally they were tangled up il , the ribbon.
 They were disentangled through tn kind offices of the screwdriver, am , Darlington was able to complete hi heated conversation with Vane, wh