The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-11-11
TIE EVENING STOR
A Losing Game.

!
The girl who was hurrying to catch
a suburban train put back her pale
blue veil in surprise
WHY Aren't you going out to the
club to see the championship game p
she INQUIRED. "Ross Green is to playl'
The young woman with the badly
sun burned face tried to look scornful-
Indeed I'm not!" she asserted, a lit
tie too positively. IT don't care in
the least to see Mr.. Green play. Be
sides, golf is such a foolish gamer
The girl with the veil abandoned
her train recklessly and. clutching
the arm of her friend, led her to a /
soda fountain. Nov, you might as
well make a clean breast of It, she
said. ANY one who has slept, eaten I
and breathed nothing but golf for six
months doesn't get tired of it all at
once just for nothingl"
The girl with the sunburn wanted !
to talk and so she began her story.
Just take stock of my personal at |
fractions, will your" she demanded |
savagely. 81 used to be a tolerably |
good looking girl, if I do say it. Now
I'm sunburned till my complexion is /
like leather and the rims of my ears
are rusty. My hair is all faded In /
strealxs by the sun and the palms OF
my hands are calloused exactly like a
blacksmith's. I'm a wreck"
but you've had the fun of playing
GOLF objected her puzzled friend.
A dull red rose under the sunburn
as the victim leaned forward. ''To tell
the truth" she said, I've always
hated golf And now well I just
loathe it, Oh, you needn't look sur
prised! I don't care if you do guess
lit-there'S nothing so very dreadful in
trying to make a man like you, is
there? And Ross Green has always
been such lunatic over golf
mo wonder, either. For doesn't he
look perfectly stunning with his broad
shoulders and keen eyes when he
makes long drive? That IS, used
to think so. I knew the only hope of
attracting his attention was to excel on
the links. Well, maybe didn't slave!
I haven't had time for anything else
/ this summer. I know I've walked
million miles over that abominable
course. I gave up an organdie frock
| and squandered the money on lessons
from an expert. refused a month at
a lake because hadn't time for such
useless frivOlity. I had to wear regu-
4 lar brogans, with great spikes in them
/ and. OH but they hurt my feet.
} Still, it was in a good cause. I
4 knew Ross admired my devotion to the
game. The first time he ever asked
to play with me it had started to rain,
/ but a real golf enthusiast, especially
a man, doesn't stop for a little thing
like rain, so I didn't dare refuse. When
we came in after two hours he ad-
/ miringly said I was a plucky girl. I
may have been, but I was also a sight!
! My white duck skirt was mud to my
| knees and my shoes and stocking were
plastered; my hair was sopping wet
! strands and water dripped from my
sweater. OF course Ross was the
same. but somehow he still looked
/ handsome in spite of it while well,
F.! I really didn't blame that silly little
Jenkins girl who sat attired in the
smartest of raincoats drinking lemon
ade with two adoring men. When
she saw me come into the clubhouse
;. 80
murmured, Did you ever see such a
fright
4 could afford to stand it, though,
for I knew Ross had no use for these
on the club house steps and firt while
others work hard at the game. I could
afford to bide my time.
1.-THE day it was SO degrees in the
shade and as I Sternly sailed out to
play that jenkins girl sat tanning her
self dressed in a most ridiculous and
inappropriate dress of lace and inser-
ton. OF course she looked pretty-any
girl would look pretty under a hat
covered with pink roses. She asked me
in childlike wonder if I wasn't afraid
of getting my arms and neck all tanned
: and did I really enjoy it? wish you
} could have seen Ross look at her as
l she spoke-such wondering contempt
2 was on his face! At least thought Il
l was contempt.
= 1T was kind of hard to go to the
cruz QdIte lDdL IiSul Will my HeNr
blistered down to the sharp line where
my natural complexion began and act
as though I didn't mind. Well thai
Jenkins girl was a perfect and un-
blemished pink-and-white dream.
couldn't see what Ross found to tall
about when he danced with her. fol-
actually she doesn't know golf stiel
from a horse and wagon.
at must have been a relief for hin
to get with an intelligent person lik'
me who could talk puts and lofts and
bogey and all the rest. He was so en-
tertained that I know he didn't notice
] the sunburn at all. And so I can't il
the least understand how he-why he
''What?'' asked the girl with the vel
f anxiOusIy.
''Why. the hateful weak-minded, un
, grateful wretch has gone and got en-
: gagged to the Jenkins girl, who neve
| played a game of golf in her life anC
( who said once she should think they'C
: made golf balls bigger-like croque
balls-so it would be easier to hit them
= That's what he's done!"-Chicagt