The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-26
THE EVENING STORY
Kitty, Sam and the Peacemaker-
(BY Colin s. Collins.)

(By Colin S. Collins)
When it has been "Sam" and
kitty from babyhood it is rather
| difficult to pass suddenly to the Mr..
Hastings" and Miss Norwood" stage.
Both Sam and Kitty felt the strain,
though each took mental obligation 10
| do nothing that in any way m1gnt De
| construed into an overture OF 1rleno-
| ship.
1t had all started innocently enough.
Kitty, on her way to the postof1ce, en-
countered Jim Saunders. She regard
ed Saunders as a persistent pest, Out
she could not very well refuse his sug-
gestion that they stop in the drug
store and have a glass of soda.
Then it happened that they turned
| into Bedding street in animated con-
versation, and Sam could not know
that they had met just around the cor
ner.
Of all the summer visitors TO Au-
burnville, Sam disliked Saunders the
most, and Kitty knew 1t. 1t looked
to him as though she had denperateIy
accepted Saunders attention to pun
ish him for a trivial quarrel of the
night before.
kitty was just fishing the last tiny
| lump of ice cream from the bottom OF
| the tall glass when Sam entered the
store with Belle Paulding, Kitty S
dearest enemy.
He had bowed stiff1y in salutation,
and Kitty had responded with GOOD
morning, Mr.. Hastings" emphasizing
the name as sweetly and as coldly as
| the frozen delicacy she had just con-
sumed.
That had been the start Of the trou-
BILE. but the end had been slow IN
| coming. That afternoon Kitty went
motoring with Saunders, though she
| hated motor cars, and Belle went bug
CIV riding with sam to punish Saun-
| ders for his imagined disloyalty.
| Saunders and Miss Paulding had
quickly patched their quarrel up but
| Kitty was unyielding, and there was
| a. squareness to Sans chin that did
not argue in favor of pliability of per-
sonality.
With ceremonious politeness each
strove to show the other how little it
mattered, but Kitty cried herself to
sleep night after night, and Sam swore
softly but fervently at what he was
pleased to term the foolishness of
womankind.
| sion of the Auburnville Cornet band
was announced. The boys needed a
new uniform, and Dick Potts had
promised to learn the euphonium If
they would buy him one
All public spirited citizens pur-
| chased tickets. Sam bought two
through force of habit, and then
viciously tore them up, whereby the
| band profited another so cents, for
| Sam was determined to go on that ex-
|
go without Kitty.
He never had gone on an excursion
alone save once when Kitty was
| spending a week with her aunt over
| in Cadyville and he had miserable
! time. Now he did not look for enjoy
| ment, but Kitty needn't think he
could not go alone If he wanted to.
Much the same sentiment animated
Kitty. though she arranged to go with
married sister, and it so happened
] he rlla
together with the formal greeting that
| was now customary.
! The picnic was held on Paddle ISL
| and out in the lake, a favorite picnic
ground. A narrow strip of land con-
nected two rough oval extremities that
| by an abuse of the imagination might
| be said to resemble paddle. Bobby
| Seaton, who was in the primary class.
aptly, if improperly, described it as
"a peninsula with an island at each
| end
AS soon as lunch was disposed of,
| the elders settled themselves near the
| baskets, while the young folk wan
dered off to either end of the island,
followed by a fIfsillade of injunctions
to hurry back the moment the first
whistle sounded.
Sam and Kitty followed suit but
Sam made certain that Kitty was
headed for the southern blade of the
paddle before he started north. 1t
was dreary work sitting all alone on
the point, and presently the fresh air
and the soft bed of pine needles COM
/ bined to bring sleep to the worried
brain.
1t seemed to Sam that he had en-
joyed only a brief nap, but by the
time he had hunted up the cabin some
of the boys had built for use in the
duck season, and had borrowed the
bathing trunks he found there, he
was in the cool water a few minutes
when the warning whistle blew.
Madly he dashed from the water
into the hut to find that in that brief
interval someone had "chawed" his
clothes. His underwear was as full
of~knots as a snake that had been
lunching off a full set of pool balls,
his trousers were tied into a true
but sentiment, and the lace of his
shoes offered a good ten minutes of
unpicking. Sam was still surveying
the damage when the second whistle
sounded.
BLOW. durn ye." he cried savagely
as he attacked the knots. "If you
can't wait for fellow, I'll swim for
it. I'm not going to make my dee-bu
in this
He cast a glance of scorn at the in
finitesimal swimming trunks and at
tackled the knots with haste that
verified the old adage as to speed. The
boat was a good half mile from shore
as he burst through the bushes that
grew about the rude landing, and
shook his fist at the departing steamer. |
He was still expressing his opinion
of things when there was a rustic in |
the bushes, and Sam turned to face
Kitty. who walked with a limp and
carried stick in her hand.
HAS the boat gomez" she cried in !
despair. 81 started up so quickly that |
wrenched my ankle. I called for /
help, but no one seemed to hear"
81 was at the other end of the ISL |
and" explained Sam, who seemed to |
think that the reproach was directed |
against him. 'I took a nap, and didn't /
realize how long 1 slept. I took a |