Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-10-07
SHORT STORY FOR
EVENING HOURS
A CH .NGE OF THOUGHT

said the great DIR. Knelling impressive
Ivy. And you must have It at once.
Get you mind off from stocks, or"
Barry Van Orden looked at him ir.
lritably, with an ungentlemanly desire
to punch him in the head, a desire that,
under various forms, he had become
familiar with In the preceding weeks.
Everything-everybody rubbed him the
wrong way until he surprised so many
amazed and inquiring glances that he
had begun to realize that something
was radically wrong with him.
| Get my mind OFF stocks." he re.
pcated with disagreeable smile. You
speak as II ii were as easy as changing
my clothes. can't get away from the
ohice,' and he eyed the doctor with tho
stubborn face of spoiled boy.
| This time the doctor shrugged his
shoulders with the air Of a person who
wishes his hands of the consequences.
I'm that case" he observed evenly,
the office will get away from you
in" lie paused, and with narrowed
eyes studied his patient for a mo.
ment-'in about one month, | should
say"
A week later MIR. Barry Van Orden.
aTayed In the most imaculate white
duck, with hat of the same pulled
down over a pair of disdainful eyes.
trousers turned up and hands thrust
Carelessly into his pockets, might have
been seen pacing restlessly up and
down the hard, white said at Shell
Beach.
Remote though the spot was. there
was touch of the usual seaside gal.
ETY.. Linen.clad children, with sag.
ging belts encircling their sturdy stom.
achs, moved about on brown, bare legs.
toting always the inevitable bucket
and spade.
Il must get me one and dig little
holes In the sand" unused Van Orden
sarcastically, ito keep my mind of
stocks. you know. Such rot! No more
use of my being here than"
The cliyk.click.click of the ticker
that had been following him for days
sounded family ominous in his ears,
and with quickened step and the
furtive manner Of one who Is trying to
escape some impalpable things, he
made on from the bathing lines.
Beyond the sound of voices. and well
beyond the limits Of the last straggler.
he threw himself down, staring say.
agely at the dark blue, joyous sea,
which seemed TO be kicking up its heels
with froufrou Of foamy pettlcoats.
A long time he lay, sometimes with
narrowed eyes fixed on the horizon,
where infrequent sails appeared and
vanished from time TO time; sometimes
with closed lids, but with the sense
that large, cool hand enveloped his
tagged brain. -."
IL was Sunset when he rose and start
ed for his hotel. For the first time he
observed dark blur on the sand not
far from him. A white dress skirt, be.
low which two trim feet protruded; u
great, tawny dog, evidently fast asleep
like his mistress. was all that met his
searching eye. The rest Of the picture
was hidden by large green silk UNI
brella perfectly arranged to ward of
down 10 gentlemen eXiled to the sea.
shore for their nerves sake.
With a lingering, inqulsitive glance
Van Orden passed on, but though he
was soon out of sight Of the green um.
brella, pair Of very natty feet seemed
lstill TO be within his vision. II came
Ito him afterwards that the strip of
stocking that showed between the short
skirt and low shoes was of black and
dark green mixture with black silk
clocks, and that the shoes were of calf.
Iskin, thick.soled and well polished, az.
Excessively boyish. yet deliciously fem
mime looking. over and over he dis
missed them from his thoughts, but
again and again they appeared before
his minds eye. persistent, provoking,
fascinating study of still life"
Have succeeded in getting my
thoughts off stocks and on TO stock,
ings,' he wrote recklessly in his daily
report TO DR.. Knelling that night, and
then he sat and for an hour or so list.
ened to the pounding surf and Won
dering why he felt so sure that she
was tanned, merry.eyed and had guam
titles of wavy. sunburned hair. Also
but that was an afterthought-he fan
cled that she had few freckels-freck
els are unworldly.
In the days that followed he became
quite used to the silent companionship
OF the dog and the green umbrella. Ev'
idently its owner, like himself, wished
to avoid the chattering crowd. Often
he would turn from some long, empty
reverie and find that his companions
lad taken their place, and then new
content possessed him, and Wall street
seemed as unreal as one of the vague
sails that were forever blotting them
selves out on the sky line.
One cloudy day when the waves top
pied over each other like panthers al