Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-03-19

the rising young lawyer ABOUT II, ne
made cali with serious expression
on his face. 1t was SO serious as TO
be legal, and, being legal, it alarmed
Miss Mabel When she had asked II
his sister had been indicted for muir
der, his mother held for conspiracy or
IL he had got mixed up in filibuster-
ing expedition and was expecting a
United States marshal to lay hands on
him, he arose and addressed her, In his
best legal manner.
''You were walking with Billy Shaw
today!' he began.
"Well?" she replied.
You were talking and laughing
with him!'
'Well?"
"He is rejected sutton Of yours and
an enemy Of mine. Can't you see the
inconsistency Of the thing?"
BILLY Shaw tried to make love to
was a whole year ago. l never heard
that he was an enemy Of yours"
NO? Well. let me state for your in
formation that William Shaw once
proclaimed me a young squirt OF
lawyer. Were those the words of a
friends or an eneny?"
Mabel could not restrain a hearty
laugh and that laugh froze the dignity
OF the lover until it was armor plated.
In the most frigid sort of way he look
ed at her and announced:
II thought l could trust you, but
see can't"
"Just what do you mean by that
You have two strings to your bow"
Mr.. Egbert!'
others of his ilk, or you must drop
mel
And then the clock on the mantel
missed four ticks and other things be-
gan to happen. Young Mr.. Egbert had
mixed courtship and the law together
and brought about combustion. Miss
Drake regarded him for a moment
with flashing eyes and blazing cheeks
and then rose up and handed him his
hat and gloves and quietly observed:
Good night, Mr.. Egbert; good
And Mr.. Egbert bowed and found
himself on the other side Of the front
door. with no ii :erest whate..r :.s TO
who climotl Mt. Mckinley or whether,
1t was ever Climbed at all. Laying
down the law 20 the girl is all right
and very interesting up to certain
Point, but when il goes beyond that he
orator feels .. jar. Mr.. Egbert felt one
end went home in a sort Of a maze. His
sister said he must be coming Gown
With The grip and ought to SOAK his
feer and bring about a sweat: and his
mother. Mh has had years more ex-
pcf;cnce darkly Tinted at overwor;<
ana brair !evcr ant; mustard pllsrers.
AS for, Miss Msbel-no matter how
She looked and felt. She couldn'; have
done less than she did. Had Mr.. i;g-
bert called the neyt evening Win a
srnile on his face the matter VOu'i
have passed like a summer ahowar.
But did any one ever know of .
young man doing the sensible thing in
case Of this kind? He knows the
girl can't, and his silly pride won't let
him. And there you are.
For the first three days and nights
the young lawyer was a determined
man. For the next three he was a
martyr. For the third three he was
hunting through Blackstone and Coke
for advice on how to patch up lovers
quarrel without losing every shred OF
his dignity. Those volumes, though so
full of legal lore, gave him no help on
the subject nearest his heart.
The moon was more kind, however.
One night. as he tossed on his Sleep
less couch and called himself names
for the hundredth time the full moon
shining into his window brought
sudden recollection with it. Miss Drake
had once mentioned that on the full
Of the moon she had been known to
rise. throw wrapper around her and
somnambulism. Here was the full OF
the moon. Might not she be walking
at this very minute? Why shouldn't
he walk, too? He was on the ragged
edge. and that was next door to SOM
nambulism. Two somnambuists might
accomplish what two persons, awake.
had failed to do
With heart beating hioh. the young
lawyer hurried into his clothes. tip-
49, l~Yr %Hn t.,Sr nd Ave mi r II
later was two blocks away and gazing
at human figure slowly walking
across a lawn. It was the figure of. a
girl! It was the figure of Mabel
Drake. She was walking in her sleep.
There is no law laid down in such
cases. Attorneys must act for them
selves. Young Mr. Eebert acted. H.
became somnambulist and began
pacing the lawn almost within reach
ing distance of the girl.
For five minutes the two sleep walk
ers paced. They turned at goose
berry bush at one end. and at crab
apple tree at the other. Then the sleep
ing Mr. Egbert said to himself in q
sleepy voice:
Il shouldn't have said that to the
dear girl-no, l shouldn't"
There was a long-drawn sigh from
Mabel.
"She meant no harm, but in my jeal-
ousy I accused her!'
Another sign, and lust as they
turned, the soft words fell from the
sleeping girls lips:
"If I had known-.-if ] had known
that he once called my George Il
young quirt Of a lawyer l should have
told him that hated him."
Then the couple stood at the goose
berry bush moment. as If listening to
the sad refrain OF the katydids, and
George murmered;
II was wrong-I was wrong! Earth
holds no nobler girl that my dear
Mabel"
On the way to the crabapple tree.
with the distant watch dogs baying at
the moon and the tree toads keeping
up their Internal racket. Mabel sighed
again, and her voice was broken as she
said
1.-TWO strings to my bow! How could
George say such thing to me! l
have loved one and only one"
After the turn at the crabapple.
George uttered a sort Of groan and
said:
Can she-will she ever forgive me?