The Oakley eagle. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1901-1908, 1906-12-06
he TAUGHT her
TO PADDLE

himself on the cold hard brown stoae
steps OF the boarding house. Satur-
uay evening. Il haven't been arguing
with an lnterurban car nor starting
the furnace for the landlady," he
growled, in response to the anxious
inquiries OF the assembled boarders
But you look it." insisted Miss
Spent. handing him some candy and
a sweet smile
I've been spending my half-holi-
day teaching a girl to paddle a
canoe" he confessed, and then sat
back to watch the girls look Jealous,
and the other men sympathetic
Next time a girl tells me she is
simply dying to learn to paddle I'm
going to pay all the funeral expenses,
but III never let another in my canoe
If | die bachelor" he continued. "A
canoe is the one spot on earth where
it is good for man to be alone.
1.-THE girl | was with to-day had a
lump of red-gold hair, and a nifty
bunch of white ruffies around her hat
that made every girl on the horizon
look as WORKOUT as a Canadian on
May 25. The other men on the boat
kept sizing her up until felt so lucky
at having made a hit that l was as
important as a sporting editor at q
ball game
But | knew what l was up against
the minute we pushed away from the
canoe shelter. She was trying to live
up to the daintiness of her attire, ana
she took up the paddle as though 1t
were teaspoon at pink tea. In less
than three minutes | had mentally re-
peated the prayers for the dying, re-
signed myself to the inevitable and
rejoiced in the fact that | hadn't paid
my board bill yet.
I'm spite of my coaching, we kept
going around in circle, until l felt as
though | had been living in the Elec-
trio park swing for a year, and when
we finally got Strengthened out for
minute, we hit the bank with a thump
that might have started another
quake in Frisco.
1T bumped so hard that several
cushions-some of those l paid for
by many theater tickets and boxes of
candy-went into the water, and then
she got mad because when | fished
'em out I insisted on slowing the
wet, bedraggled things in the boat
My skirts will be a sight, she
walled, and in trying to tuck them
around her ankles ran the paddle
so far up her short sleeve that she
tore a lot of the lace before we got
untangled. When she went at it
again she grabbed the paddle as
though she were going to WELD it like
broom.
But we got more water later on in
the game. She tried to force a pass
age through a stone bridge, and
scraped my arms steadying the craft
by hanging on to everything in reach
Il tried to use diplomacy and get
her to change seats with me, but
well, say, did man ever get a girl
to do what was reasonable? During
the argument we drifted right into
the worst disaster of all. 1t happened
to be another canoe which we never
noticed until it was right upon us, and
then the girl In my boat shrieked and
stuck her pad die into the water send
ing us precisely the way she did not
intend to. l was just wondering If
we would walk or swim back, when
the other boat swung around. anc
its deft guider got out of harms way
In wink.
Say, you should have seen those
women glare. The girl with me was
so angry and excited that her pompa-
dour was drizzling all about her face.
Her sleeve was torn, her hat at a
slant, and her finery rather the worse
for the water she scooped in with
every stroke.
"The lady in the opposite canoe
had pompadour, but it was as slick
as politician, and her shirtwaist had
something around the neck that
looked cool and simple Her arms
were bare and l didn't notice any
ruffles or rings or bracelets. She just
grinned cheerfully at my girl and
said:
oh, you'll learn after a while,
and fioated past
Il guess my girl would have gone
to the bottom rather than give up
the paddle after that We Jared the
foundations of two bridges until
thought the canoe would split from
one end to another. She spattered
me, the cushions and herself very
impartially, and then she called me a
brute for sitting still and not swear
ing.
IF she had made any progress by
the time we got back to the boat
house 1 couldn't notice 1t, and l was
more occupied in estimating the dam
age than in soothing her vanity when
we landed.
II really think we should have
parted without row, though, II the
trim-lookingf expert had not passed us
on the ws,Nout
"She glazed at my companion'y
dampefSed shirts, torn waist and fiat
tened hat.
) u Wear bathing suit next time