Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1906-11-29

2Y paying assiduous
court to the not
plump landlady who keeps the board
ing house next door.
Three times week, including Sun
day, is the extent of the favor vouch.
safed me by the only girl, but Mike
Is at the house next door every one of
those times, and I am told that he is
there the rest of the nights, too. Mike
is caretaker of the mystic halls and
portals of lodge No. Al. It is only
fair to say that his duties detain him
from opening his evenings siege until
after 10 o'clock.
Sitting on the doorsteps OF the
only girls house, the only girl and I
would see Mike carefully close the
inner doors after turning down the
lights In the lodgerooms. Then he
would come running across the street
and stand bowling, hat in hand, at the
foot of the steps next door.
"'Good evening" he would calculate
cheerfully. His greeting would be re.
turned by the not plump landlady,
who then hastily vanished into her
house, and emerged soon, bearing a
large water pitcher. This Mike seized
eagerly, ran back to the lodgerooms
and presently returned with 1t full of
mineral water and blinking ice from
the lodge tank. This was the invari-
able opening OF the evenings siege.
Then Mike would seat himself on one
of the steps of the house next door,
as close to the landlady as decorum
would permit. From that time on con.
versation would flow, In an uninter-
rupted stream-wonderfuI converse
ton of trips on the lake, happenings
at amusement parks, the days news,
the price of board and of rent Es-
pecially naive snatches compelled our
attention, and the insistent burden of
it was forever crashing into our lower.
toned talk.
Sometimes Mike would lead the
landlady to the corner drugstore,
where we suspected that ice cream
sodas created rather than filled gaps
in the conversation. On one. mem.
orable occasion Mike had a holiday
and took the landlady and the land.
lady's niece, who was visiting her
by steamer to Lincoln park. But these
were the only breaks In the regular
programme. Weeks flew along. AS
often as l sat on the only girls front
steps the tinkling water pitcher was
borne from across the street to the
house next door, and always when
had said good night and turned my
face resolutely down the street, there
sat Mike upon the steps next door.
There came an evening when a
stranger sat upon the steps of the
house next door. He was big and
cumbersome. His face was weather
worn and scanned, and his voice was
brusque and incisive. In due time
Mike came running across the street
There was faint introduction by the
not plump landlady and Mike and the
stranger shook hands suspiciously
Mike received the pitcher and, as
usual, returned with it filed. The
strangers eyes followed him. For
once conversation did not flourish and
for once Mike did not outstay me.
when he was gone the brusque, In
cisive voice asked some questions
in tones which shattered the silence
and overbore our half-hearted at
tempts at dialogue. There were low
monosyllabic answers and then sobs
"By special privilege / came again
the next night. The stranger again
occupied the steps next door. The
landlady from time to time shot fur.
tive glances toward the door of the
lodgerooms. On time Mike appeared
closing the inner doors behind him
Looking across the street he must
have caught warning signal, for he
closed the outer doors also, locked
them, removed his hat in an ineffect
i've bow and then sauntered down the
street.
"All was silence, IL not peace, next
door. The stranger seemed to lack
the powers of entertainment of the
gifted Mike. I suggested stroll to.
ward the park, and found, as / had
hoped, that the only girl had made in.
,quiries to some purpose. The
stranger, it appeared, had wooed
and won the not plump landlady when
she was not landlady and had gone
west to win his way. There he sue,
ceeded, as he thought. He had re.
turned to claim his reward and had
found a landlady who appreciated
offerings of ice water from across the
street.
"The end is not yet. The stranger
still hangs around, trying to regain his
claim. Mike has returned to the field
and brings his tinkling offerings as
before. Our sympathies generally
go out to the hero of romance who
goes away to fight obstacles and
achieves success. But there Is some
thing very human about Mike dare
say he thinks 1t would be convenient
to board SO near to the scene of his
watchful care. STILL the bringing
Of Ice water to the not plump landlady
is a delicate attention, and-I can't
help admiring Mike. He Is again
staying later. much later. than dare. .
Chicago Daily News.