Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-07-08
His Rehearsal

| OF dynamite explosion could startle
him, and that really frightening him
was quite out OF the question. How.
ever, few persons knew about his in
| fatuation for Eudora Carpenter.
Eudora was not quite up TO his
| shoulder when she stood on tiptoe
and she had mild and gentle eve
yet Trilling was Instantly victim OF
paralysis, tied tongue, enlarged hands
and feet and brain flag when he en-.
tered her presence. In spite of this
he was not happy unless she was in
sight II was joyful sort OF misery,
or miserable sort of Joy, that had
possessed thrilling for some time
Knocked dumb and senseless as he al
ways was when near Eudora, he sim
ply couldn't tell her Of his emotions
and get the agony over.
He had brooded over the situation
helplessly until he was ready to seize
at any straw that promised rescue. In
his case the straw appeared one even
ing when he was agonizing at Eu-
dora's house and painfully pretending
he was quite happy and even greatly
enjoying himself.
Eudora had turned ON the phono-
graph. II was very good one, so her
action was justiiable.
Il just love It," Eudora told Trilling.
often when / am alone | amuse my
self for hours with it,"
DO your" inquired Trilling, fatu-
ously And just then he saw daylight
He went home in trance of ex-
element, for while he couldn't face
Eudora Carpenter and propose to her
he could think of dozen ways to tell
her of his alteration when he was
away from her.
There was a very good photograph
at his home. So what would be east
er than to fill blank record with his
impassioned declaration, send 1t to her
and thus break the news? 1t would be
far better than stammering out a
mangled proposal face to face. She
would be much more likely to listen
favorably to an address of well-cho-
sen, graceful yet fervent phrases.
AllOScluSI AIlllluS WAS Nd6lly
pleased with his unusual idea.
With some maneuvering he got the
members of his family away the next
evening. He inserted the blank rec
ord, and then gazing into the insen-
safe NAV of the photograph horn, he
promptly experienced cold chill. For
a minute 1t was as disquieting as ga
zing into Eudora's eyes. Then he
opened his lips, coughed. opened them
again and, whirling on his heel stalked
away with a muttered exclamation.
hopping his brow he stared into the
mantel mirror. Trilling was forced to
confess that he felt like fool There
was nothing of the actor in Trilling,
and the task of making violent love to
tin horn suddenly doomed monu-
mental and overwhelming
He shook himself and tried 1t again.
"Eudora." he began family Then,
bracing himself, he repeated her
name more loudly. "Eudora, Ter
love you. Eudora, will you be my
wife?"
He walled instantly: Hang it!
That won't do! It's too cold, too for
mall"
He paced the room muttering en-
dearing phrases. He tried leading up
gradually to the declaration. He tried
the serio-comic, the thrillingly grave,
the pleading and likewise the tragic.
None of them sounded right. There
was an artihciality, a hollowness
about all of them that was repellent.
Something vital seemed lacking
Every time thrilling made the turn
at the end of the room the phono-
graph horn yawned at him primly.
demonlike. Once he picked up news
paper. wadded it and hurled the mis-
sile at the haunting machine.
Still, there was an odd pleasure in
putting his secret hopes and wishes
into actual words. 1t made them more
real somehow and he extracted a
strange and thrilling excitement from
the sound of his own voice. He
found 1t possible TO say "Eudora!" In
exactly ten different ways and to con-
yey the idea that he wanted to marry
Eudora a full dozen ways. Each time
he proposed to the empty air Tril-
lings chest inflated trifie more and
presently he was actually staggering
In his walk. Finally he stopped and
regarded the monograph thought
fully.
Disgust at fits Inconsistencies rose
within him. Then, without pausing TO
think. Thrilling jammed on his hat,
leaped into his coat and hurried over
the intervening blocks to the Carpen-
ter house.
The girl of his dreams opened the
door.
"Eudora," Trilling burst out, still
under the spell of his evenings hard
work, "it's just dawned on me that
I'm a double-dyed idiot. I've been
working like a mailer for two hours
proposing to a photograph that hasn't
got any hand to hold and can say 1t
in u different, perfectly good ways
and | want you TO listen, quick, and
pick out the way you like best"
You'd better take OF your coat and
sit down and tell me all about II" said
Eudora, soothingly. Eudora always
had a head for emergencies.
So, having got started, Trilling told
her all about II.
r-s1 vi II n