The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-04

not to become absorbed by such
thoughts was impossible
Therefore" said T. Il must not look
into Gentian's eyes pending the conclu-
sion of this crOquet tournament
But again to be with Gentian and not
to look into her eyes, was simply out of
the question.
Therefore" said I. Il must avoid her
company and keep my heart hard, fit,
and in strict trim, until after I have
won the Challenge Cup"
A wise resolve. Moreover, l sternly
adhered to it until the last day of the
tournaments with the consequences that
[ kept my head cool my mind free. and
my thoughts clear for croquet; and, be-
ing in that condition, l simply sailed
through all my ties up to the final, in
which Gas it befelD l was to meet Gen.
Horncastle, who also had found moth
ing to stop him in his preliminary
matches.
Every one said how satisfactory this
was; and how fortunate it was that ne
and ! had not been drawn against eacn
other in the earlier rounds since, II that
had occurred, all the interest would
have been gone out of the tournament
as soon as the match had been decided
But now the two best players in the
county not meeting till the final. the in
terest and excitement would be sustain
ed up to the very last
Our great match-the best of three
o'clock on the afternoon Of the conclud-
ing day. But. observation-disclosures uf-
fortunately as it turned out-the ten
eral was detained at home by pressing
business. and he sent Gentian on with
a nessag e that he would not turn up
until o'clock. This message Chine lilac
lachrymae) Gentian delivered to me IL
person. In person. / repeat. And so by
the force of circumstances, and without
nv own will or consent, 1 found my
self exposed at point blank range TO
her magnetic eyes
They fixed me They held me. Blame
me not AS well you might blame the
frog that, when subjected to the g@ze
of the snake sits inert and heloless.
instead of hopping away into safety.
AS we'll might you blame the tin-tack
that, when it comes within the area Of
the lodestone. it springs. involuntarily.
into the grip of that compelling thing.
had no more power Of escape than
the frog; no more capacity of resistance
than the tin-tack. In the language Of
Whitechapel, I was a ''goner" My fats
was sealed.
'Shan we stroll round the gardens
while I am waiting for General Horn
castle?" l suggested, not because I
wished to suggest it. but because /
couldn't help suggesting it. Gentian's
eyes mesmerized me thereinto. and I
4 had 10 voiition / explain this lest you
should set me down as silly ass for
thus rushing into the jaws of destruc>
ton.
with pleasure" said she.
/ And we Strolled.
As we went 1 made Herculean efforts
to pull myself together, to fix my
thoughts upon balls, hoops, clips, mall
let's, pegs and all-round breaks. But il
was no go. They would wander away
to heaven, the angels, the pearly gates.
the crystal sea and all the rest of il.
until at length a possible possible, desperate It,
mind
Now. in my time 1 have dabb1ed a
little in medical science, and I knew
something of the formulas of the two
contending schools-the allopathlc ana
the homeopathic. Well, hitherto I had
| tried, so to speak, only allopathic meth
DDS for restoring myself to crOquei
health. and they had failed. AS der
nier resort I would now have recourse
to homeopathy. Like cures like >
Hair of the dog that bit you" and al,
that sort of thing.
In some cases-not eroquet cases, in
deed had known it answer. I ha6
(e. g. seen sDortsmen prove the truth
of the time-honored maxim that if you
must drink too much fzz at all at z
shooting lunch, you had better go the
whole hog and drink good deal toe
much, since, when Slightly inebriated
you see but two pheasants and do no
know which to blaze at, whereas. wheT
fairly sprung you invariably Sc,
three and can then make sure of you
bird by going for the middle one.
If in that case. reasoned / with my
self the i'll effects Of champagne upoT
shooting are neutralized by mor'
Champagne, why should not the il
effects OF love upon croauet be neutral
lied by more love? Both. beyond {
doubt. were strong intoxicants and i
was not unreasonable to assume tina
they were subject to the same laws.
little love had put me dead off M
croquet; perhaps much love would pu