Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-06-27
SHORT STORY FOR
EVENING HOURS
PUTTING TWO And TWO TO,
GElntR

There never was such hand as Mrs.
Marshall for putting two and two to-
gether No matter how infnitesimal
the scraps Of information she got hold
of she could piece them together and
make four. Il was through her Won
ferful intuitive processes that she
found that Jerome Sylvester intended
to kill himself. She made her deduc-
tons from the two folded slips of pa
per that the maid brought down from
Sylvester's room. and from certain con-
ndences sylvester had imposed in her
a few evenings before.
81 am confoundedly blue. Mrs. Mar
shall" sylvester had said. on the oc-
casion of his post-prandial disclosures.
II have been blue for several months.
Everything goes against me. and feel
that | have got about to the end of the
string"
Mrs. Marshall had been properly
shocked at that revelation, and had re-
piled with emotion: Dear me. Mr..
Sylvester, do wish you wouldn't talk
So" Whereupon sylvester had said:
Il cant help It. Bad luck has the up
per hand. and feel that must end
the whole business soon one way or
another. am simply waiting for the
psychological moment. When It comes
| 1t will be all up with ]. Z. Sylvester
Mrs. Marshall had said, Dear me"
again. but she had been too much up
set TO try TO argue Mr.. Sylvester out
OF his suicidal intentions. However,
in the succeeding days she had given
serious thought to his mental unrest,
and when the maid came down stairs
with the two notes, she was prepared
for most anything.
"A prescription and a telephone
call" she said. Il do wish Mr.. Syl-
vester would get up in time to attend
to his own affairs"
Mrs. MarshalIs husband took her re-
mark as a personal affront.
1T is your own fault" he said. you
shauld not have humored him SO at
the start"
| Mrs. Marshall veered with discon-
certing swiftness. Il am sure" she
retorted. "tnat II the poor dead gen.
tleman wants to sleep till noon he has
a right to-
"oh, OF course" assented Mr.. Mar
shall weakly. II thought YOU"
81 don't" exclaimed Mrs. Marshall.
II expect him to sleep. He told me
when he came TO board with us that he
intended to. I always sleep till ~
O'clock, he said. and II anybody wakes
me before that time | will raise devil
OF row. hope none Of your folks
will ever wake me before that time.
He looked perfectly awful when he
said IT,, sighed Mrs. Marshall, land
] told him none OF us would ever wake
him. Then he spoke about messages.
IN ! happen to want any errands at
tended to In the morning, he said, i
Will write out my instructions and pin
the paper on my door. You will oblige
me by looking there every morning,
and II have left directions. kindly
see that they are carried out will
reward your maid literally"
Mrs. Marshall paused. "Well." said
Marshall, "he has kept his word hasn't
her"
"Oh, yes" she replied, but he does
ask us to do such funny things. This
morning he wants us to get prescrip-
ton filled and leave the bottle outside
his door so he can find II there when he
gets up and to cau up telephone No.
20-13 and tell Mr.. Robinson that he
Iwill be ready for him at o'clock and
would like him to call then"
Those messages seem commonplace
enough" observed Mr. Marshall. "Since
You have undertaken to run his err
rands for him you ought not to shy of
in this instance. Sallie can attend 10
the matter all right, can't she?'
NO" said Mrs. Marshall Il could
mt trust her to telephone. I'll do II
myself"
At 10 O'Clock Mrs. Marshall went
around to the corner drug store to per-
form the confidential services for hel
star boarder. She attended to the pre-
scription first. The expression OF the
druggists face as he read II presaged
trouble.
"Who is this for?" he asked.
Mr.. Sylvester" she replied "Ht
lives at our house."
What is he going to do with the
stuff?" the clerk persisted,
The unexpected catechism in regard
TO her lodger's unexplained intentions
stirred up a spirit of antagonism in
Mrs. Marshall's soul. TAKE II, | pre-,
sumo she answered sharply "Wha
DO people generally buy medicine for?'
Heaven help him If he takes this
said the druggist, magnanimously dis
regarding her Incorporate remark.
"Why?" queried Mrs. Marshall.
Because II is poison. Four drops
OF it would kill man as dead as {
doornail inside of five minutes"
Mrs. Marshall was conscious of |
physical inclination to keel over agains