Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-07-06
DAILY SHORT STORY
A Canoeing Episode.
tOriginal.l


you in moment"
a young girl in a narrow, sharp
| pointed boat with rowlocks on out
/ riggers had been caught in some rush
| es where the current was strong. had
| lost control of the boat and was on
| the point of being capsiZed. \ young
man in a canoe was padding swiftly
| toward her He caught her boat by
| the nose, extricated II from the rushes.
/ picked up an oar from the water. hand
| ed it to her and held the boat till she
had got both oars in position.
Look out. Don't get fiustered.
/ There; dip both oars at once
But instructions did not avail. The
| girl was demoraIized, and every move
she made tended TO destroy her equi-
| librium. The young man attempted
TO instruct her, but lost his patience,
called her stupid. apologized and end
ed by taking her into his canoe. Then,
| towing her boat behind, he padded up
| stream.
where shall take you?" he asked.
up where the lake begins. We
have little summer cottage there"
Horace Fletcher had just been grad.
uated from one of the oldest colleges
in the country. He had been captain
of the university boating team and had
been q medium scholar. In other
words, he was an "all round good
man. Nothing seemed more physical
ly and intellectually helpless than this
young girl, who did not look to be
more than seventeen-she wore Il skirt
to her ankles-whO had no skill to sit
in IL narrow boat and hadn't sense
enough to keep out of one. As he pad
died on he felt 1t his duty TO say some
thing to her and, being full of college
life, began TO chat about 1t. She lis
tened TO him attentively while he told
her OF college athletics. college
FRANKS and college gatherings of girls
and students-indeed, just such mat
tiers as would interest a schoolgirl.
She made so little response to all this
that Fletcher at last relapsed into ST.
lence. shes better fitted he re-
marked to himself, for kindergarten
than companion for q grown man."
But silence was not entertaining, and
Fletcher, thinking that his CONVERSE
ton might not have been simple
enough for her, started In again, this
time gauglng his chat for a girl of
fourteen.
"Girls differ as TO their amusements,'
he said. Il have known a girl of six
teen who was a companion for
grown man, and have known girl of
fourteen who hadn't yet given up her
doll. Do you'll mean, rather, did you
take much interest in dolls?"
"I've got them all now" she replied.
81 think there are six of them"
HIN. Well. some girls don't like to
part with their dolls"
The girl looked over the water to-
ward a cottage they We're nearing and
said that she thought she would rath
er pull home herself than be inglori
ously carried home So Fletcher put
her into her boat, started her. and by
this time, having collected her facul-
ties. she did fairly well. He watched
her till she reached the landing. then
pulled on to summer hotel short dis
lance beyond. where he proposed to
spend the night.
He found the guests dining on the
piazza, the dining room having been
| cleared for hop that was to be held
| that evening. Stumbling on some peo-
| pie he knew, they persuaded him to
| take part in the festivities, though he
was obliged to do so in canoeing cos
| tune When the music struck up for
| the first dance he noticed Il girl come
in on the arm of an elderly man, grace
| fully sweeping the waXen floor with Il
| train of white skirts. and ii suddenly
dawned upon him that she was the
| girl he had rescued. Passing him she
gave him cordial smile in which
there was mingled something of amuse-
| ment. 1t was evident to Fletcher that
| he had been mistaken rs to the girls
age, that the short shirt she had worn
was for boating and that he had been
making a guy of himself. He rushed
to one of his friends for information.
That girl" said the person inquired
of, lis Miss Edith Hawthorne. She
has Just been graduated from -- col
lcge, taking every honor for the senior
year and most OF the prizes during the
rest OF the courses. She is considered
to have the best mind of any woman
who has been graduated at - college
since il was organized. Shall l pre-
sent you TO herr
Present me! Rather take me out
| ana drown me.
Miss Hawthorne was looking at them
and. though she could not hear the
words spoken. saw by Fletcher's ex-
preston their intent and. walking
across the floor Joined them with all
the confidence of middle aged wom
an.
Il want 10 thank you" she said to
! Fletcher, for eXtricating me today
and apologize for permitting you TO
mistake me in my short skirt for lit
| tie miss Your error was apparent
| from the start. and | could not resist
the temptation TO let you go on in it,"
II Will forgive you for dance" said
! Fletcher, the color of Il JacqueminOt
rose. and. 10 cut an embarrassing in
| tervlcw short. he sailed away with her
TO the inspiring music.
When they parted they had discover