The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1908-10-27
The Anyways
Call
But Not When They Were Expected.

or anybodies drop in of an evening to
see us the wife and / look like-wel
like tramps.
Now, don't know why it is. but in
New York it's hard to get folks to
name an exact evening for calling
upon you. You invite 'em to drop in
and see you on such and such an even
ing, but they always flag you so far
as any particular evening is con-
cerned.
oh, we1l look in on you some
evening next week, is the way you
get it.
And then, of course, in your state
of uncertainty during all of the even
ings of next week you've got to stand
by with your wife to greet visitors.
That's the way it works out with
us. Every evening this week we've
both been looking as pretty as the
dickens after dinner-until last even
ing.
"On Monday evening last. to begin
with, by way of illustrating a lot of
weeks we've passed through, said to
the wife:
By the way, | met Jim Annyday
on Saturday, and he said he and Mrs.
Annyday'll be digging us up some
evening this week. So guess we'd
better not get into the easy toys for
while tonight, eh?'
OF course she agreed with me. Now,
our easy togs, worn when we're not
expecting anybody, are nothing short
OF disreputable. Well, when one or
the other of us sounds the warning
that maybe therell be visitors of an
evening of course we don't put on
this delightfully."- slouchy makeup of
ours.
we fixed up and sat around on
Monday evening last in expectation of
the Anyways. The Anyways are a
swagger sort of couple-though I've
no doubt that in their hours of relax.
alton they look just as bum as we do
and of course we didn't dare to take
a chance on having them sail in on us
and find us looking like a pair of out
casts.
Tuesday evening, the same. But
the Anyways didn't show up Tuesday
evening either. The wife and l sat
and yawned in each others faces and
read sort of abstractedly and felt sort
OF stif and sewed up and each had
a sneaking sort of longing for the
punkerino old toys that permit of so
much Jolly comfort, but of course we
couldn't switch so long as there was
chance for the Annydays to drop In.
Same goes for Wednesday and
Thursday evenings. We sat around |
stiff and wretched and yet in fear that |
If we permitted ourselves to get com !
Portable the notwithstanding to
the dope we've kept on this thing, as
l say, ever since we were married. |
would happen again.
Last evening after dinner 1 felt |
dog tired. 1t was hot, and I'd had a
skewgee day at the office and 1 didn't |
feel a little bit like sitting around in
clothes.
I'm going to take chance says |
to the wife. Those Annyday people |
won't come out on a night like this
rain threatening and all that-even If
they're even meaning to come. I'm
going to shed this gear and get into
the old stuff. Might as we'll gamble
on their not coming tonight as any
other old night
." Put wouldn't it be awful if they
we're to Gomez said the wife. I really
Am afraid myself to put on
oh, you've got to change into the
I'D stuff if do, my dear said to her.
1t wouldn't do a particle of good if
7ou were all fused up if they came
Ind caught me looking like a tramp.
What's the difference? It'd be a give
way anyhow. So come on.
(Which we did The wife removed
he nine or ten pounds of suppositi-
ious b; that she packs around on
Ter head and climbed into the easy
tuf, and me similar We'd just got
fgged that way, and were spraddled
nut comfortably in the sitting room,
ne reading the baseball junk and the
wife pulling on some best seller,
7hen-
But you know the rest. Yes, 1t
7as the Anyways, logged to within
n inch of their lives. The maid had
one of course, and l had to answer
he bell My wife hadn't time to make
err visit to her room to tidy up before
he visitors were in the apartment.
nd there we were, the pair of us
airly caught!
I'VE tried to square it, of course,
18th a lot of cheap witticisms and
UGH like, but nix. didn't go. The An
ydays pretended to take it as a fine
Ike. the horrible way we looked, and
list laughed and laughed about it, and ,
ade as if to let us down easily by
aging they themselves often made !
lemselves comfortable of evenings ]
lie same way-which was no doubt
ne; but all the same I'll bet a hat ,
ley went away commenting on what {
pair of sights we looked and all like I
lat 2
Never knew this to fail, as | say. t
nd if there really is any such thing '
luck, why, l wonder why we don't /
It an occasional break, eh?"-New