Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1903-04-30
Th h Tragedy
OF Toto
III HEN Kubelefsky had visited
w every part of the ship and con-
Ry ELLIS PARKER BUTLER
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

WHEN Kubelefsky had visited
wv every part of the ship and con-
WINGED himself that it had been de-
serted. and that only Toto remained to
keep him company, he seated himself
on one of the steamer chairs that had
not been swept overheard during the
gale and gazed out over the sea.
1T is bad, bad!" he said, more to him
self than to Toto, and then his ire
pressible optimism asserted itself, and
he added: "But things are not as bad
as they might be-"
1t was indeed bad. TO be adrift in
mid-Atlantic on an abandoned steam
or. It was terrible: It was donner-
blitzlich! And the ship all mussed up
and broken by the storm! But on
the other hand, there were endless
quantities of food, the ship did not
seem to he sinking, there was still
Toto, and there was still his violin.
Things were really not as bad as
they might be.
All the world knew Kubelefsky, the
REMEMBERS his hair, his art, his &C.
Gentricities, his triumphs, and his
Toto. His tour was one. grand ova-
ton, one round of teams. cheers and
kisses. Musical womanhood knelt in
rapture before his hair, throbbed with
his art, but, above all, talked about his
Toto. But every genius has his eccen-
tricities, and Kubelefsky would not be
Kubelefsky without his Toto. Some
said he affected Toto for her advertis-
ing value, but we who knew him best
did him no such injustice. He loved
her. He loved her only as those great
souls that are set high above the world
by their surprising genius can love
that which is lowly and soulless and
animal.
How Kubelefslzy and Toto happened
to be overlooked when the ship was
abandoned I cannot pretend to say.
Kubelefsky had been unutterably sick;
sick as only the great genius can lie,
ind as he always was when the sea
was rough, and they may have left
him, thinking him dead. But Toto had
not been seasick. Z She was splen-
did sailor. All cats are.
Yes, Toto was q cat; but she was
more TRAN a cat, she was q friend, a
companion, almost a lover, and in the
weary weeks that followed the storm
she was Kubelefsky's refuge from sol
itude. She was his audience, his
plaudit. his appreciation, and apprecia-
ton is demanded by genius. Genius
lives on appreciation. For weeks, as
the derelict floated on the summer sea
Kubelefs11y' lived on Toto's apprecia
ton and canned goods. 1t is such
occasions as these that bring out the
noblest qualities. They are, as the
Advertisements of certain liniments
say, good for man and beast"
Things were truly not as bad as
they might be. Kubelefsky had his
violin and he had Toto, and he drew
great solace from each. When hi
pressed his chin against the vibran,
wood of the violin and drew the living
bow over its speaking strings, he for
got the world in an ecstasy of Joy
and when he glanced down at Toto
sitting sedately and watching his eye
for the smallest token of love, his sou
was filled with contentment.
They had always been good friends
had Toto and Kubelefsky, but the.
become more than that as week fol
lowed week. In all his walkings t.
and fro she followed at his heels, an,
when he paused she would rub agains
his shins and purr with delight. H
talked to her as che would talk to
sweetheart. He fondIed her, and he'll,
her in his arms, and when he wa
weary after playing a difficult rhap
sody, he would bury his hot face in he
soft fur and gain new strength.
Sometimes he would vaialy specu
late whether he loved his violin o