The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-10-05
TIE EVENING STOR z



The serious. business Of setting "
her brothers estate was about finished.
Miss Morton leaned YEARLY back III
l her invalid's chair and sighed A1ts5
1 all, she was sorry; doubtless it would
mean a cessation Of her lawyer ire
/ quent and periodic visits And-Wen,
he had been something new under neI
SUM
L leave for Bar Harbor tomorrow
/ to be gone a week. On my return l u
send you a telegram and arrange Tor
our final interview" Howell Orchard
| crisp, staccata sentences punctured hel
revery. He was picking up his gloves
A high cart had just driven under the
porte cochere, and Miss Mortons hS-
cried groom was busy quoting the
antics of a pair of brown cobs.
Miss Morton CROPPED for a pretext 70
spin out the call of her lawyer-f only
/ for five minutes. It was stupid OF re
ter to have drivin up so early-ana SO
bourgeois! Her eye fell on the nearest
object-a bowl of orchids.
Exquisite, are they not?' she SAID,
with a slight, indicating motion Of her
patrician, blue-veined hand. Orchards
keen glance noted them, at the same
4 time ranging the extravagent renne-
ment of the room.
I'm keeping with their surroundings,
Miss Morton" he rejoined, pulling on
his left-hand glove. "ArtisticalIy cor
rect"
She made no further .pretext. 1t was
fatuous; but 1t answered her purpose.
/
It was an inane question. and she bit
/ her lip. But to her relieved surprise,
orchard gave her inquiry his eonsld-
'The closed gentian." he said, after
a slight pause
s'Wynchen," Miss Mortons country
home. with its ancestral acres, was
about far enough from Jersey City to
leave time on the suburban train for a
comfortable perusual of the paper ana
| a yawn or two besides.
Orchard spread out his sheet me-
Chemically; but even the stock market
news didn't seem to interest him, and
he looked far beyond his paper Ihat
| was only natural. He was looking back
/ through several seasons Of blossoms
/ and snow, this man, whos young as he
| was, had already begun to be called
/ graph wires and poles passed unseen.
The noise of the engine. the rumble
of the wheels dwindled into silence. In
their stead came the low, exquisite voice
of a girl:
IT'S such a beautiful little flower in
side, Howell, --''
The day had been full of late Sep
TENDER elixer, then as now; the tread
I of loneliness had been on the fields OF
| grass and fodder ripened by August
suns and tanned by early frosts to an
1 autumnal bronze. Somewhere from
among the hedges of sumac had come
/ the call Of a quail. Then, presently, the
| girl had stopped near q silvery stream
! and plucked a plain enough looking,
dark blue flower and pinned 1t on his
coat
It's a closed gentian. you know,
dear" she had explained, while the soft
tendrils of her hair had unconsciously
brushed his strong chin. You see.'
| she went on, stopping to pluck another,
| they're not so very handsome outside,
but inside-lookl' Deiicately as
I 81
! tails open. 1T puts the flaming golden
| rod and all the staring purple daisies
/ here TO shame, doesn't it?'' She lifted
her face to him-the face of girl not
! particularly beautiful-buU glorified by
| a dazzling smile.
4 little western home. and leaning over
4 the rustic fence In the privacy of the
/ broad oak. had bid her goodbye For
he was going to the big eastern me-
tropolis for a year or two to win fame
and fortune for them both. He went
away with the sweetness of her kiss
upon his lips; her tear upon his cheek;
her flower in his coat.
Later there had come a misunder-
standing--Of the slight insignificant
sort that most young lovers have. But
alas, in this case before the gentle,
healing wind of the real truth had
| blown, tragedy had visited the girls
home, and when the man sought her
she Was uOl IL ne lOUI1u- OQl III IEI
little western village people told a tals
of her fathers long illness and death;
how she had nursed him night and day
with untiring tenderness; how, their
slight income being exhausted she had
taken up Water-cOlOr work and filled
orders for dinner cards and little pic
lures; how, finally, upon his death she
had gone to New York city to earn
her living in such fashion as she could
That was all Orchard had been able
-, lac IN "a
ago To find a girl who does water
color work on dinner cards in New Y rk
city is not an easy matter. BY the time
| his train had reached the smoke Of
the tunnel the man with the unread
paper was thoroughly out of cenceit
with one Emily; by the time the ferry
boat had bumped into the slip on the
New York side he was thoroughly out
of conceit with himself
Miss Morton brought her lorgnette to
bear upon the flowers Miss Gray had
just brought in.
80 they are what you call closed
gentians?' questioned she, half tncre-
dulously. Are you sure2'
Tin very sure. Miss Norton The
girls voice was exquisitely low and
musical.
But they're so homely. so unfinished
looking, and I thought-well. never
mind Arrange them there in that
vase. if you will Ny lawyer, a young
fellow in whom I've taken great IN
terest is coming up to Wynchell to-
day and they are his favorite flower. =
Miss Gray lost the last of the sem
tence: from the silver fawcet in Miss
Morton's marble bathtub she was draw
ing water for the cut glass she held.
) Besides, Miss Morton had spoken more
than half to herself
It had been only three days now that
Miss Gray had been with her IN the
| capacity of companion, and already
Miss Morton found herself exchanging
that young persons status from COM
panion to confidante. She had always
had a liking for her, this girl with the
tired, pale face, ana the sweet, sudden
srnile-ever since the day when she had
come personally to explain that there