The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-12-21
The EVENING STORY
Afwater's Aunt.
tBy Harriet Lunmis Smith. }

{By Harriet Lummis Smith,
The two friends were sophomores in
college when Atwater first showed
Minfurn one of his aunt's letters. Min
turn read 1T with an appreciation that
was tinctured with surprise He had
aunts of his own who sent him occa-
sional checks, and frequent budgets Of
aovice, put their communications did
not In the least resemble that of At
waters aunt It was a long letter. but
Mlnturn was sorry when he reached
the signature.
Il say" he remarked, as he folded
the letter carefully, and returned it to
us envelope. "she hasn't forgotten that
she was young once. has she?''
You bet she hasn't" said the af-
fectfonate nephew, heartily and there
the matter rested for the time But
when Atwater sprained his wrist at
FOOTBALL practice, Minturn volunteered
aunt.
Atwater made such hard work of
dlctatlon that Mfnturn finallv dis
pensed with his assistance and wrote
the letters himself. He received a
nice note from Atwater's aunt. thank
ing him for his kindness and forth
with he developed a most surprising
soiicltude regarding Atwaters wrist,
limiting darkly at any number of
dreadful consequences that were like
y " ACSdll lIOIl uSlIR II D6fOTG 1t
mad fully recovered. When at length
ne could frame no possible excuse for
writing Atwater's weekly letter to his
aunt, he rallied his courage to make a
proposition on his own behalf
Ihe friendship of an older woman"
wrote Milburn to Atwater's aunt. "a
woman like yourself. who knows life
and the world, whose mind is enriched
by the culture of experience without
losing sympathy with youth. is an in
estlmable boon to a young man like
myself 1t was his best sophomore
style. which had resulted in his ap-
pointment as editor-in-chief of the
college paper. 1t proved equally eff
fective with Atwater's aunt. She gra-
ciously agreed to his suggestion that
they correspond
1t was rather singular that though
their novel acquaintance soon ripened
into sort of intimacy they did not
meet. The vacation Minturn spent at
Atwater's nome. Atwater's aunt hap
pened to be in Europe, and when the
boys graduated she was ill and unable
, to be present at the commencement
exercises. But the correspondence
continued without. break. Minturn
told Atwater's aunt a number of things
he would never have thought of con-
; fiding to anyone else, and she ad-
vised him in his various dilemmas with
| the calm confidence of one who has
lived through youths turmoil and
knows the peace that lies beyond Min
turn always thought of her as a wom-
an whose smile had in it a certain
wistfulness, on whose delicate face.
under the gray hair. love and loss had
left their unmistakable tracery. 1t was
not necessary to go into tiresome de-
tails with Atwater's aunt. She always
understood him.
Minturn had been in his uncle's law
office nearly two years when some
thing came up on which he felt the
need of a woman's counsel. Moreover,
! it was something he could not very
well trust to paper. His uncle had
said to him on several occasions that
/ it was time he was settling down, and
I Marguerite Foss had intimated the
same thing. not in words, it Is true,
but by means Of sidelong glances, and
unnecessary bushes. s.ag
y marguerite wassa. pretty girl, NJ I'M
| turn thought ii pity that she was so
| plump, and had so much color. But
! he told himself. judicially, he might
! do worse. He wondered what At
waters aunt would advise.
The legal quality of mind had not
become sufficiently second nature
with Minturn to preclude an occasion
| al impulSive act on his part. When a
letter came from Atwater's aunt, say
| ing that she had noticed signs of men,
| tai perturbation in several of his re-
cent letters, and delicately limiting at
her readiness TO be of service, Minturn
suddenly resolved to answer it in per-
son. He took the early train, and
| reached his friends home in the gold
| en- quiet of the summer evening.
| Atwater vas on the porch sitting in
| a hammock with girl-a very pretty
girl. If the cabman had been alive to
his opportunity, he might have given
Minturn any change he pleased, for the
young man vas thinking of the girl in
/ the hammock and how red and clumsy
and countrif1ed Marguerite would look
beside her. With an odd pang he
| wondered II Atwater were engaged.
There had been something in the at
titude of the two not unlike the affec-
| tionate confidence of acknowledge
| lovers.
| Atwater was down the steps before
Minturn had time for further rehec,
| tons Couldn't believe my eyes, old
man. he roared. ITO think of you
/ dropping down on us in this fashion,
1 Then he pounded Minturn on the back
| and prodded him in the ribs, all OF
| which is the masculine equivalent fol-
| cordiality These courtesieS having re-
ceived attention. he seized Minturn by
| the arm and dragged him up the steps
| to the divinity of the hammock
The girl had risen to her feet. and
| was looking down with conscious ali
/ that confirmed Minturn's suspicious
| He was devoured by sudden unworthy
jealousy of Atwater. who, good fellow
| though he was. did not deserve such
| lavishness on the part of capricious for.
tune. He suspected a dimple back OF
the girls occurrences and wished i'm
patiently that she would look up thai
| he might know the color of the eyes
shaded by the curling lashes. There wa:
a long, silent pause which might have
| seemed awkward to an outsider. though
not to MinturD, who was sufficiently oc-
/ cupied.
80, 1 say cried Atwater, who ha6
been looking from one to the other II
surprise, ST forgot you'd never beer
i introduced. Why, Minturn, this is my
Il aunt"
/ The dimple was there. just as Min
Il turn had suspected. but a sudden, un
4 controllable flush drowned it.
There's no need Of looking at mi
with such reproach." cried Atwater':
J aunt, in f1uttering defiance, '.5ust be
cause I haven't wrinkles and gra.
hair
mo she's an albright aunt" AtMa