The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-09-02

Sill or not my dear Mr.. Roe" gjit
Ida. Il simply cannot; have al
,ther engagement"
Exactly" sung out Roe, with a trl
umphant afr. with the lawyer 10
the other side; with that mean. d.
splcablc little Holland; n man win
gt00ps to accuse women Of nntruth;
man who stooDs to steal witnesses: /
thief, a.
Il refuse TO listen to you. Mr.. Roe
fared Ida. aud she turned and lef
Roe In his wicker chair to finish hi
cigar In solitude.
Iioc's face did not take on q yer,
disconsolate look. Indeed, a casua
observer would have said 1t was over
spread with look Of absolute content
ment And later In the Afternoon
when be saw Llda Graves and his bes
friend, Hugo Holland making thell
way toward the wharf the expressiog
OF Roc's face was still that OF grc5t
satisfaction.
LgGo pulled fine stroke, and the}
swung into the little cove In a shorl
time. The twilight shadows fell about
them and conversation had Jagged
Letting tho boat drift slowly where
the tide chose TO take 1t, Hugo leaned
forward ard gazed into his compan-
ions face.
Lets play court" suggested Hcl
land.
IAN right agreed Ida. "Tn be
the Judge"
mot at ALL" demonstrated Hugo
you've had no experience In that line
You viii be the witness In the chair"
"Well, all right. But what are you
going to be" asked Ida, somewhat
bewildered.
"oh," said Holland, with great au.
thority, ''I'll be all the rest. I'm the
Judge, the jury and the lawyer for
both sides. Now, you're on the stand
and under oath. remember
Promise you won't ask me how old
! am nor what I do for a living"
laughed Ida.
II am now talking to the judge" be
began, and, turning to an imaginary
figure, he continued: "You see the &C.
cused, Hugo Lawrence Holland, Is des.
perateIy In love with the plaintiff, Ida
Graves"
"0h, Mr. Holland" interrupted Ida,
II really do not think
"order In the court" roared Hol.
land. Then, looking directly at Ida,
he said, "wlll you listen to this suit
OF Holland for your heart and hand?'
Ida laughed. The situation was ir-
resistible
"It seems that l must-whether
viii or not"
'The one bad feature of the case is
the existence Of two legged beast"
continued Holland-"one Russell Roe"
Looking directly at the witness, he
said, do you love this monstrosityr
Certainly not" asserted Ida.
The entire court seemed greatly re-
lieved.
'0n your oath7" added Holland.
ION my OATH" repeated Ida.
%And-and"-- The counsel seemed
to hesitate. He had lost his grip In
some manner. Finally, after much
halting, he asked:
"And this man, this one Hugo Hol-
land. do. you care for him--just the
least little blt?~
Ida looked at him for a moment,
and then, with merry twinkle in her
big eyes, she said, 'Please let me be
the judge-just for a minute?"
"All right" said Holland as he
gripped an oar for support.
"Ahem," began Ida with judiciary
manner II think this case should be
settled out of court. 1t seems to me
that the plaintiff and the defendant
can make satisfactory arrangements
without the aid of outside parties"
Hugo now gripped both oars and
rowed as If he had entered a varsity
race with his life at stake. They were
ON shore in the twlnkling of an eye,
and the testimony given there was
even more direct, for Ida was in
Hugo's arms and her face was very
close to his.