The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-08-20
THE EVENING STORY
when Susie Pouted.
(By Josephine Reardon. }

l 1t was Miss Susie Cline's pouting
| day. Firstly, she had received q letter
from girl chum giving the news of
a matrimonial engagement. 1t was
written to make her feel bad
| Secondly, Miss Susie's Aunt De-
borah, who was also her guardian,
had charged her with carelessness in
losing a piece of Jewelry.
Thirdly, she had expected a girl
| friend to come and pass the summer
| with her, and that girl was going off
| on yachting party to Norway in
| stead.
| The list could be strung out to
| tenthly without exhausting it. When
| things begin to go wrong with a good
| looking girl of eighteen, with q $2O,-
| 600 estate coming to her at one and
| twenty, it's sure to be blue day.
Miss Susie at first thought she would
| go to her room and have a good cry.
| Then she decided to sit on the
| veranda and let her eyes brim over
with tears The third decision was
to go out into the orchard and climb a
| tree, but she had only started when
| she changed directions and wandered
| down the country highway without
| to have her pout out. She had a
| stick in her hand as she walked. and
| the thistles and mayweedS lost their
| heads as she came within striking dis
| lance.
There are girls who look horrid
! when they pout and wish they had
| never been born. but Susie Cline was
| not one of them.
Half a mile down the road stood
what was called the old bachelor s
place. The five acres and cottage
| were the property of Mr.. wayne
| Ashley, twenty-five and unmarried.
| in his country retreat in summer. He
| was called a recluse, and there was a
story to the effect that he had loved
and lost and was the enemy or all
| womankind. Had Mr.. Ashley chosen
| to explain to the country folks ne
would have told them that certain
flowers and vegetables were fads of
| his, and he was out there to grow
them and communicate results to GER
| tain horticultural and agricultural
societies. In fact. he was the partner
! of a leading florist in the city, though
his name and money were hidden UNI
| der that of GO" No woman had
ever broken his heart nor smashed
Miss Cline and Mr.. Ashley had
never met. If she referred to him 1t
was as a poke" He didn't refer to
her at all. AS the girl reached his
place on this day her chin was in the
air. Had she belonged to the other
sex it would have been said that she
had chip on her shoulder
In the "poke's" front yard grew
blue hollyhock. the result OF one OF
his experiments. Miss Susie opened
the gate and walked in for closer
look. Seeing no one about she walked
to the rear of the house to look. at
| the vegetable garden. A feeling of de-
! fiance was mingled with her pouting.
| Any other day she would not have
/ dared to open the gate; on this day
she was ready to defy the old bach
.elor.
"U-r-r-r-r! Bark, Bark
Miss Susie looked to her left to see
big watchdog coming for her
through the sugar beets. Ten feet
away was a small Toulouse with the
door swinging open. Scarcely con-
scious of what she did, the girl made
two or three jumps, reached the shell
ter and pulled the door to. Five sec
onds later the dog was leaning against
it and uttering growls to chill her
blood. She had just begun to beg and
plead with the dog to go away and
let her get back to the highway when
she heard a voice saying:
Good dog, Dicki Hold him therei
It's dollars to cents that you've got a
tramp for a priSoner!
Miss Susie wanted to cry out that
she was no tramp, but only girl who
had come out to pout; but she could
not get the words out. The chip fell
from her shoulder and her teeth chat
tered.
Come out of that, you tramp"
called the mans voice after hushing
the dog.
"Oh, you won't Ell? Well, We'll see
about that Watch him. Dick"
The place was provided with
windmill and water tank and garden
hose. There was a small unglazed
window six feet from the ground in
the end of the Toulouse. The poke"
attached the hose, turned on the wa
ter, and thrust the nozzle through the
opening. Susie screamed wildly. If
it was a tramp in there he had fall
setto voice. The hose was pulled
away, the door opened, and there
I,oI II in 1nn
limp, wet heap.
"Great SCOTS, but what is it," he
exclaimed as he stood there holding
open the door.
a moment, regardless of grammar.
why, Miss-Miss 1 didn't
know you We're in here! I thought
it was a tramp or a cat. shall
you call out? Allow me. please
Perhaps a girl crouching down in
a toolshed with her arms over her
head is a more handsome object
having had a dozen barrels of water
swished over her. The peach
basket hattie linen dress-the
chin that had been in the air
where had all the jauntinesS disap-
peared to? And in addition to all
the other wetnes. tears were rolling
down the girls cheeks over her
humiliation.
80 sorry-so sorry" the man kept
repeating. ''You-you are Miss Cline. II
think? I am Mr. Ashley. 1 wouldn't
have had it happen for thousands Of
dollarsr'
All of a sudden. Miss Susie dashed
the tears from her eyes and began TO
laugh Her pout was over with and
her sunshiny nature had asserted itself.
And Mr.. Ashley laughed. She was
laughing over the situation and he was
laughing because she laughed.
or n I haan
served right said the girl. Yes 1 am
Miss Cline know voII will offer to |