The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-15
The EVENING STORY
Deaf and Dumb-and Blind.
(By Paul Calvin Anderson


gaze out seaward and imagine they
can hear the songs of mermaids.
On certain day in the present
twentieth century Philip Gillett was
among those who walked He was
young man at the beach with his
mother and sister. and his occupation
when at home in New York was pre-
pairing himself for architecture. He
did that mostly by looking at one or
two skyScrapers a day from the out
lowed by his father. It was his father
who had insisted that the young man
take up architecture. There never had
been an architect in the Gillett family,
and he wanted one. He had a manor
house. and he wanted hennery built.
and he wanted to point to it after it
was finished and say, "a Gillett did
tI1at!''
On this particular day Phillip Gillett
mad tOothacf1e. and he set out to walk
it off. His sister had told him to hold
a wad of cotton saturated with pep
permint essence in his mouth and to
keep his mouth shut. He thought a
good deal of his sister. and he was
obeying her.
Toothache affects a person peculiar
ly-particularly man. 1t gives him
what is known as a crouch. He wants
to stand on the beach and see a dem
fist drown in the sea. He isn't to
blame, but everybody else is. And
what made young Mr.. Gillett crosser
still was the fact that he had to chew
cotton and keep his mouth shut. 1t
was not dignified. It was taking I'M
due advantage of fellow.
Among those who motored that day
were Miss Edna Blair and Miss Kitty
Waldron, girl chums. They were in
Miss Kitty's auto, and she was run
ming it herself After getting out of
the crowd and heading up the shore,
they saw a young man half mile
ahead of them. He was scuffiing along
on the hard track and was in their
path. The honk! honk! was sound
ed. but he paid no attention. He want
to be run over and have that aching
tooth smashed out
The automobile passed him within
two feet. and in spite of himself he
gave jump and swallowed the pep
permint-soaked Wad of cotton. He
then had to produce more cotton and
more peppermint for his aching tooth.
Mr.. Gillett's walk had extended two
miles when he sat down on a hum
mock and restorted to more pepper
mint. His sister was right; it began to
have a soothing effect. He began to
feel glad that he was alive and away
from the snow heaps of New York
city. Just then he caught sight of the
auto returning. AS it drew near, he
saw that Miss Edna Blair was passably
good looking and that Miss Kitty Wal
dron was more so. The auto was aim
ing to pass him within a few feet, but
that was all right. He reasoned that
the girls desired a near view of the
young man, whom they had so fright
ened, and he was right about it. They
didn't seem to see him. of course, but
that was false pretense.
And after that Fate stepped in. The
auto was exactly opposite Philip to an
inch, and exactly six feet and one inch
and a half away, when a front tire ex-
ploded with r Lang. The young ladies
screamed. The auto ran wild until
half buried in the sand. The young
man was blown over on his back by
the conclusion and swallowed his wad
of cotton for the second time in an
hour.
He would have been less than hui
man If he hadn't arisen with a face
as red as PART and cross all the way
might have gone running over the sand
dunes had not sweet and plaintive
voice reached his ears:
ooh, sir, please do help US! We
have brust tire!'
Yes, he would help. AS a gentleman
he must do so: but he made up his
mind to do. no more. That is, he
wouldn't speak word to those girls.
They had fed him on cotton, so to
speak. and he would have his revenge.
He advanced end raised his hat. Then
he inspected the tire.
CT hope you were not hit by one of
the flying pieces,'' saiG Miss Kitty ir
her most ingratiating manner.
NO reply.
"WilI We have to walk back to the
hotel?''
No answer.
You see we have a spare tire here"
No answer.
Mr.. Gillet owned an auto himself |
In fact, his mother and sister were |
down the beach in it at that very mo- !
ment. He knew all about tires. He |
took the jack from its place, and |
without motioning the girls to de- |
H. - L. ia, A$~1i
replaced inside of twelve minutes. He |
might have done it in ten except for |
overhearing such observations as:
Say. Edna, he must be deaf
yes, deaf as an old tin pan."
And he hasn't spoken word. Do |
you think he's also dumb?''
He looks it,
Poor young mani It's just awful /
He's got considerable style about /,
him.
"Oh, 1 don't know. Wasn't it funny |
to see him go over on his back? If i
his hat hadn't blown off he'd have
swallowed it!''
Hush, you bad girl! I'll tell you
deaf and dumb school And he owns :
an auto. too. See how handy he is. /
wish we hadn't frightened him So
If we had scared him worse he
might have got his voice and his !
hearing back. Think what it would !
be to marry a deaf and dumb man,
Are you going to thank him."
Not in words, but I'll look my
thanks
AS Mr.. Gilbert finished and stood
back and raised his hat the thanks
were duly looked and the auto whiz-
zed along. He followed at slow
pace. The toothache was all gone,
but he had been Inundated. He had
been made to jump aside like a kan
CARGO; he had been blown fiat on his
back; he had been made to swallow
wads of cotton: he had almost been
called names to his very face. No
wonder he wouldn't speak to his sis
ter for an hour after getting back to
the hotel, and that his mother laid
her maternal hand on his locks and
said: