Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1903-01-31
WHEN THE BANK CRASH CAME
Copyright. 1902. by Daily Story Pub. Co.,
By JAMES s. EVANS.

Thomas Jefferson Bradley Herndon
was born with a silver spoon in his
mouth. His father was a prosperous
business man and Thomas attended
the best of schools and colleges. He
had clothes enough to I'LL a box car,
valet, stable of horses for private
purposes only, an unlimited bank &C
count and chest that measured AZ
inches, long before he had arrived at
the age of majority.
He became an athlete at college and
when he returned home he was the
pride Of the town. He tried law, got
tired; took up medicine, became
vearied3 wrestled with the teller's
desk in his fathers bank where, by
his carelessness, the cash was short
every night; abandoned the bank and
took a whirl at farming; gave that
up and then fell head-over-heels in
love with Grace Mckee, one of the
bellies of Ohio. Miss Mckee was not
wealthy. Her father was lawyer
who got Just enough money out Of his
practice to settle accounts with the
butcher and baker. But the family
could trace its blood back to the
kings of Scotland, and Miss Mckee
showed in every movement of body,
IN every fash of her blue eyes, that
she was of royal lineage. The family
stood aloof from its neighbOrs and
that is one of the reasons old man
Mckee got so little practice.
Thomas Jefferson Bradley Herndon
met Miss Mckee at a ball one even
ing and he did not sleep for two
nights afterwsrd. He sent her a
bouquet of flowers the next day, tried
to see her the next, wrote her fool
ish verses and walked by her house
twenty times every night after din
ner; called on the old man at his
Office, where he was uncivilly treated
and then went outside and began
drinking high-balls until he finally
shot up straight in the air. When he
came down he went to a hospital out
OF town, got sober and then returned
home with the name of Grace Mckee
ringing in his ears.
Eventually he got friend TO take
him to her house where she received
them in little parlor where log fire
burned brightly in the wide CRATE.
She was dressed in thin, muslin sort
OF an affair, cut low enough to show
the white skin below her neck. On
her corsage she wore q bunch of vio-
lets; in her hair was a rose as red
as her lips. Her manner was some
what strained and repressed, and it
soon became apparent to Herndon
that she did not like him. They
talked on common place subjects for
awhile; then she went to the piano
and played while Herndon sang. His
voice was good and presently she join
ed hers with his, which was glori-
Gus, rich contralto. Before Herndon
had bid her goodnight he was in bet
ter favor than when he was first
received. But at that Miss Mckee did
not invite him to return.
Once or twice afterward Herndon
met her at social functions to be
treated with respect, and nothing
more. He battered at her gates of
dignifed Indifference with all the i'm
plements of a devoted lover 1t was
clear to those that slyly watched the
affair that Herndon might as we'll
attempt to make a cannon ball out
Of straw hat as to win any sort of
admiration from the idol of his heart.
On0 uISnC ne Sdlu 10 jim BaL16y,
his chum: 'I am going away to-mor-
row; to Europe. When I'll return,
don't know. 1 can not remain here
loving this girl with the entire
strength of my heart, to be treated
with the Indifference that l receive
Why, hang it, man, III go crazy in
another MONTH"
Cray in another month";" replied
Bailey. "Humph! Two-thirds of the
inmates of the asylum for the insane
at Columbus are philosophers COM
pared to you now. Really, your case
deserves sympathy. You've been
| going around here for the past month
without enough gray matter in your
head to grease a pair of shoestrings.
It's time you were going somewhere;
and, when you get on the other side,
stay until you have forgotten her"
"Oh, you needn't worry replied
| HerndOn. When l come back I'll be
as free from her as a billiard ball is
of hair. But it's going to be hard.
This thing you call love, what is it?
Why God gave US that passion, can
rot understand. Still, it is an inexor-
able law that long before man has