The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-07-17
HIS TRUE STORY. d

1T is the only story I know said
the sad-eyed man. sit is, In TACT. my
own story or the story OF an ncldeht
In my early life. 1 almost hesitate to
tell it, because it is absolutely true,
and everything that I have heard you
gentlemen relate SO far is-Well, IKE
to be charitable, and besides, you nave
not asked me for my opinion. came
TO Chicago nearly forty years ago,
Young and full of ambition and hope,
but not overburdened with money
Many, you will say, have done that
before me. I agree, and eVen' IN
your strange Vernacular, go you one
better and predict that many others
will do so in time yet to come.
IT found boarding house over on
the west side where charges were
moderate and whose table was falrly
good, and I went to work IN the nler-
camille house of which l am now the
highly respected head ana IN SNORT
time considered myself fairly settled
down.
1T was nearly a year before any.
thing occurred to disturb the peace OF
the almost uneventful life l LED. Ihen
one morning l was awakened ny
most peculiar sound that seemed TO
proceed either from the room below me
| sound was peculiar, but it would be
more accurately described as unusual.
| 1t was this: Dunn dum-dum- dunn
! dunn dun dunn dunn Then pause
| and dunn dunn dunn dunn dunn
dunn dunn dun
IT should have imagined that you
would know without asking. Perhaps
| T didn't give it the right sound. 1t was
no? All right, l won't. 1t was the
| scales. Called by some the harmonic
scales, although it's hard to tell why.
1t was played on the piano and 1t
lasted-for I looked at the watch UNI
derneath my pillow-from o'clock
until $50 in the morning, mlnd you
| can tell you / was pretty mad.
You will hardly believe that the next
morning at o'clock that maddening
thing began again, Dunn dunn dunn
| if you don't want me to tell this story
you have only to say so. We'll, 1t was
the same I sung before. 1t lasted until
$50, as before. The morning after
| that I had it again, and, not to weary
you with unnecessary repetition, had
it every morning. l used to lie there
in bed and grind my teeth and say
things that had never thought myself
capable of saying. 1t fairly distracted
me. I suffered agonies. But I had to
take it. You will perhaps wonder why
1 did not pound on the wall or at least
Well, as to that was naturally rather
a modest and difddent young man, and
then there were reasons why just then
| 1 felt an especial delicacy about COM
planning and did not desire to give my
landlady the impression that was dis
satisfied. l was rather anxious to con-
| ciliate her than otherwise. l say so
much without deeming it necessary to
enter upon particulars. No, 1 just took
| it. 1 had to.
''Now 1 come to the strange part Of
the story. Naturally, with my at
tractive personality, 1 had no lack Of
friends and my society was to some
extent sought after. I was at the house
of one of these friends one evening and
was asked to sing. I had a fine barry
tone voice-you may have noticed it
just noW-Well, it was still better then
and it used to give my friends great
pleasure to hear it.
1T appears, however, that on this oc-
casion my hostess, who usually accom-
panied me, had sprained her wrist, and
1t seemed that the company was likely
to be disappointed, when somebody
said: Here's Miss Kelley! She can
play it for him if he's bound to sing
it.
Miss Kelley had met, but had
hardly noticed on my arrival. I now
looked at her more closely, and de-
cided that she was extremely pretty
nay lovely. She blushingly dis
claimed the skill that she was good
enough to say song of mine re-
CURED, but 1 treasured her, and at
last she consented, and I sung. 1t was
"A Life on the Ocean Wave, a Home on
the Rolling Deep and I never sung
better. She did not accompany me as
smoothly as she might, striking sew
eral false notes, but i made my voice
cover those little Deficiencies
TO make long story Short l was
favorably impressed with her, and ]
think she was with me. I requested
the honor Of seeing her home and she
blushingly consented. Well, why
shouldn't she blush twice in one even.
ing, if she felt inclined to?
Her home, she said, was within
walking distance and we walked. TC
tell the truth, 1 had no clear idea
where we were going. I was too bliss.
fully happy-too engrossed, too intox.
t icated With the divine essence Of i'm
: mortal love, of course. l knew moth
: ing until I found we had stopped, and
looking up found it was at the doo1
of my boarding house.
I live here, she said.
You do?' I exclaimed. Why, 81
, do I. Was there ever a more fortunat t.
5 and happy coincidence We stopped
= and talked over the coincidence-a
4 ooillS 1e1i6L III, uIlll dI last she sale
: (sWeet girD: We'll, we really must g,
in now. I have to get up at six oclocl
{ tomorrow morning to practice m,
. scales.
: you have guessed the conclusion
= but you have guessed wrong. ! did no
9 tell her what I thought of her incon
h siderate behavior-of her inferno
: stunning; OF her absurd, delusiol
. that she could ever attain any musica
skill. No, gentlemen, I believe I ever
i, stammered out some fool compliment
/ And the next morning awoke and lis
2 tened to her with pleasure that wa
g nothing short of exalted. strang,
I story, is it not gentlemen?
o Of course l didn't marry her wa
t no such fool as at.'-Chicago Dali,
o. News. - ~.