Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-19

and misty with lowering dust clouoS' s'
Law bet veen himself and the railroad that
would whisk him away TO the city Dc
hind him. conquered al idtSulHS coS'
were six more miles, stretching pach u
The village where not even team Co"io
he hired on Sunday. Rather than sPenu
the day in that dismal abode OF puritan
ism he had fed on foot, his business done
and this little creek, hooking, ailurlhs' II
resistible. was the only cheerful thing On
which his eyes had rested in that Wfoie
sitting journey.
Even this had a drawback lie Sidhce"
up again, with puzzled froWn' a' 'ne
queer sign glaring down at him from 'he
hedge 1t was the third one OF the sort III
the past quarter of mile
A.. warned from these premises under
penalty of the law.
Especially men.
lie turned away impatientiy. Dust
dust dust, He could feel il pasty on his
tongue gritty on his lips grimy on MS
face. 1t had stiffencd mis- hair, clossed
his nostrils, sifted through S ciothlnS,
settled into his shoes. II was everywhere
and all-peTvadinG.
The forbidden creek, in the very re-
finement of deriSion. suddenly bubbicd
into bar of blinking song-a perfect
crystal noteS-liltll dS Su"
denly died down. babbing and SurghnS
and flowed smoothly on. whispering ana
murmuring TO Itself o: the deights 10
come in the heart of the cool woods. JUST
here. with swift sweep between mossA
curved banks the stream turned It's BACK
TO him and hurried away among the
trees with coy invitation that was Well
nigh maddening. He remembered just
such creek as that where, as a boy, ne
had used to go with his companions after
school.
How delightful those boyish swims had
been. In fancy he could sui 1eel the
chill Shock as he had plunged IN the
sharp catching of his breath. the resound-
ing splash, the shower of icy drops, the
SOFT Welding of the Water-tnen. the de-
lcious buoyancy that had pervaded his
limbs. lie wondered, with whimsical
smile how long he could stay under.
and if he could hold his eyes open while
he OWED, and if he could still swim dog
fashion and back-handed on his back,
and if he could float and tread water ana
turtle.
How cool and shady and restful it
looked in there. Just before the creek
turned behind a clump of dogwood, a
patch of sunlight lay on II, shooting down
through the misty twilight of broad oak
trees and the surface of the water dim
pied and Slinted and laughed and f1irted
at him. before it slipped away into leaf
dimmed sylvan solitudes. in "a way That
was to be longer resisted He gave one
more glance of distaste at the white hot
road and gave up the struggle.
Here goes the especial man. he
said looking up at the sign in smiling de-
fiance. and forced his way through the
hedge.
What coquettish little stream that
was, 1t leaped merrily down tiny. boulder
strewn inclines, to show him how light
hearted and care-free 1t could be, II flow
ed sedately between narrow banks of turf
to display its perfect propriety; ii coyly
hid behind walls of graceful, slender
willows; il danced impudently into the
open and dashed across clear spaces In
frantic haste to escape him, ii spread out,
clear and limpid. upon little bars of gold
en- sand. pretending to frank! reveal its
pure nmost depths, then raced on again
ever reckoning, ever entlclng, ever ca
jolng until at last it plunged straight
at a wall of dense. tangled underbrush.
and with a vixensh gurgle of delight at
its own blandishins duplicity. vanished
underneath the low sweeping mass OF
leaves without even SO much as good
bye,
The pursuer was not to he Gaunted.
Doggedly he fought his way around and
through the swampy underbrush and
presently stood blinking his delighted
eyes in little natural clearing that was
a glorious climax to all the tantalizing
coquetry of the creek. Encircled by
themselves enringed by stately trees, lay
a broad. deep pool, clear as crystal. one
side carpeted with VelVety turf and
screened with leafy draperies. and the
whole canopied by the smiling blue sky.
With a cry of pleasure the young man
hastily threw off his clothing, and, as he
undressed school-boy taunt whmsically
required TO him.
Last one ms niger" he shouted
to the squirrel that he caught peering at
h i'm "a q "A
plunged into the pool
One by one he gleefully tried all the old
boyish tricks until at last, firing OF them.
he lay floating peacefully on his back,
looking up at the sky and covering the
entire visible surface of 1t with air
castles as young men will. There was
no dusty road. no broiling hot sun. no SIN
miles of weary distance yet TO cover.
There was a rustic and patter among
the trees. Two dogs came bounding to
the edge of the water and barked at the
bather in friendly fashion. They were
bouncing big St. Bernards. but scareelN
more than puppies. and they capered and
danced in awkward delight when ne
splashed at them. As a further evidence
of their friendly feeling they suddenly
bounced upon his clothing.
Hey there cried the bather. and
scrambled out Ia rescue his apparel. 1t
was kind of him. the dogs thought. to
take 50 much interest in the game, and
not to he outdouc in hCdrtineSS. they
scsmpered off through tn" woods. taking
The clothes with them. All they left be
hind was his hat. Lis shoes and one sock.
his collar and cuffs and tie. He threw
sticks and stones after them ana hdd
started to chase them when new and
dreadful sound Smote on his ear 1t was
the voices of women.
There was but one safe hldlnG-place-
the pool. With rare presence OF mind ~"
concealed the pathetic remnant or ms be-
longings and plunged just in time. diving
under "A cump OF lCw-hangInS WILLOWS
whore d friendly root gave support to his
arms and breast.
Two elderly ladies of severe and for
bidding aspect came slowly within his
range of vision. One was tall and Thin
and the other was short and thin. while
both wore plain. skimp. black gowns and
had their hair parted in the center and
smoothed down fatty over their ears.
They were silent with some NeXed and
wcighty problem they drew near. but.
as they came just opposite To him. the
taller of the two suddenly burst out with:
Men. men. men, Nothing but men,
morning. noon and night. Please explain
Sister Ann, Where did Adnah. during my
brief absence get her sudden curiosity
about the deSpcable scX?
1t was the recent visit of Or. laura
Phelps. Sister Sarah, meckly replied the
smaller woman. "Sne lost magazine
Willie here aud AdTah found IL. Inc pub
LEGATION contained several love stories. so
called. an illustrated article on Young
Captains of Industry and another on
Handsome Young Men OF the Sage.
burned the pernicious thing soon as il
came into my hands. but, alas. the dam