The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-11-16
THE EVENING STORY
Engaged to Three.
by Donald Alien.l

by Donald Alien.1
For two years Mr.. Enos jackson had
been driving over a certain route in the
state of New Jersey and selling sewing
machines. He was a widower, over so
years old, and he had a heart in his
bosom. He sold the best machine at
the cheapest price: he gave credit; he
was pleasant to the wives and sympa-
thetfc TO the widows. He had a pa
ternal air, and he had venerable whisk-
ers. Everybody liked Pap Jackson,
as he came to be called, and Pap
liked everybody in turn.
There We're three widows on the
agents route, and just how he came
to fall in love with the Widow Turner
not quite clear to him. He thought it
over many times. but the clew always
eiuded him. However. the fact re-
manned that he was in love, and had
proposed and been accepted. Things
had gone that far and then stuck. He
wanted to marry and meant to marry,
but there was no particular hurry
| about it. Money was rather tight, and
| IL would be wiser to wait until dollar
bills could be picked up in the road.
The Widow Turner was a very nice
widow. She had good farm and
comfortable house, and if she was in
any hurry to clinch the bargain she
was woman and couldn't say So
lcept now and then one. Enos got
around once in ten days, and he threw
out hints about next month, and six
months and next year, and so things
went on.
The Widow Turner lived at the
southern end of the route. It one day
struck Pap that he ought to get en-
gagged to widow at the northern end
| of the route to sort of balance things.
He therefore asked the Widow Shevlin
he n Sh
| she would. In her case. also, there was
no great hurry about it. She, too, had
| d farm and was getting along all right.
Once in while. as the wind to.'ed with
| his venerable wlliskers while the old
horse logged along. Enos fell TO Won
dering how he was going to marry both
Widows without getting himself in the
tolls of the law. but he didn't let it
| worry him. His business was to sell
| sewing machines on the installment
plan. One day, when his whiskers had
blown off sideways over front wheel,
| he suddenly checked the horse and ex-
| "By John, but why not! OF course
| I wiil!''
| It had just occurred to him that
as he was engaged to a widow at
either end of the route he ought to be
| engaged to one in the middle of it to
preserve the geometrica1 relation of
| things. H was then within half a
mile of the Widow Smithson's house,
and he fastened the gait of the horse.
| Nothing today, Pap" said the
| widow as she opened the door to his
| knock.
"Oh, but I think there is. wilder
think there is he replied. as he
i hustled in. ''Widder, I've been liking
you a long time
ST hadn't suspected it,
But it's the truth, and now I'm
going to ask you to marry me- It's
rather sudden, but you amt going to
faint away over it."
Eyes, it's rather sudden. but if you
are in earnest
"Never more so in my life. If you
don't say yes I'll go and hang my
SELF
II The widow bit her thumb and
blushed and said she guessed she
would, and that settled that. Enos did
not press her to name the day. He
/ did not say whether it was to be next
went out and pursued his way, and
month or forty years hence. He simp.
! ly kissed her and said ''all right" and
she did not see him again for fort
night.
Il 1t is to be supposed that a man en-
gagged to three widows at once would
have had some solemn moments. but
such was not the case with Enos
i Jackson. He went right on being
Il happy and trusting to the luck of q
sewing machine agent. For six months
i he kept those widows guessing. Three
widows within five miles OF each
other, and yet none OF them heard ne
was engaged to the otheri
1 Nemesis may be slow, but she is
sure So are some widows 1t was
the center widow. Mrs. Smithson, who
first got a hint of what was going on.
She lay low for Pap. On his next call
she spiked him right to the floor. This
was in the forenoon, and she in
formed him that he must appear with
| a minister by five in the afternoon or
the engagement would be Off and a
1 . -
| was rather glad to hear her say SO. 1t
/ seemed to settle things. He promised
| to be back on time, and when the
hour arrived the widow was dressed
| for the occasion. No Pap and no
| preacher She waited one hour and
| then removed her wedding dress and
loaded an old shotgun used to menace
hen1awks. Next day she would go
| on a quiet hunt for the man with the
| whiskers.
Soon after daylight Enos showed up.
He had been to~a village seven miles
| away to get hair and whiskers co1ored
| q jet black. The change was tremen-
dous. It was like painting a straw
| stack with lampblack. The venerable
whiskers glinted green, blue and black
| in the morning sun.
"Sit down." commanded the widow.
after looking him over.
He sat, and she went to the wash
house, filled a tub of water, handed
down a gallon of soft soap, and, re-
turning to Enos, she took him by the
ear and led him out and said:
/ "Soap-scrub-rin
| 1t was 10 o'clock in the forenoon
| before the last of the dye had disap-
peared. When Enos announced the
! glad news, he was taken by the ear
and led to the smokehouse and pushed
in and the door locked on him.
1 'What are you going to do?" he
called through the door.
keep you safe until I get back"
was the reply.
Then the widow drove three miles
and got a. preacher and picked up two
| witnesses on her way back. and Pap
was brought from the smokehouse
and stood up to become a married