The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-10-11
TIE EVENING STORY
A LoHer,s Lobster.
DIV Donald Allen. }

(BY Donald All6n.)
Miss Kitty Henderson bought all
her shoes at Smith & Browns. She
didn't do so because she had any
wish to keep the firm out of bank
ruptcy, but because Horace Walpole
White was one of the clerks, because
he complimented her on her instep,
because she was a stenographer, be-
cause Horace was a fine young man,
and because. in time they became
good friends-and more.
Mr.. Walpole was no villain. He was
earning fair salary and lived with his
widowed mother. He had thoughts of
natrimony. When Miss Kitty came
along with her number two-and-a-
half feet, with a high and dainty in
step, he quite lost his heart. He had
paid more attention to the instep than
to her face, but Miss Kitty had
fair looking face and figure.
Miss Kitty also lived with her wild
owed mother. She also earned a sal
ary of s12 per week. She never even
glanced at the young mans feet. and
cared not a cent whether he had
high or low instep, but she also had
thoughts of matrimony Why not!
waiting for a young lord or prince
or for an old dotard with his mil
lions A good looking shoe clerk on
fair salary looked good to her.
All the young woman had to do
was to keep buying her shoes from
Smith & Brown-high shoes. low
shoes and slippers, and all Mr.. White
had to do was to stand ready to wait
on her Cupid did the rest. He gets
in his work in a shoe store as we'll as
in a palace. In time there came a
call at the house: then more calls.
Then the theater and little dinners
Then moonlight, sentiment, engage
ment and bliss!
1t was just at this happy per1oo
that the good mother of the. filial son
lost her appetite. Something must
be had to liven it up again. Horace
thought of pickles, clam broth, Jel-
lies, malts and other things, but fin
ally decided on a lobster-a live, &C
tive. aggressive 1obster-a fighting
mad lobster would be taken home
and boiled alive and afterwards
served to the ailing mother. 1t would
either kill or cure her.
What more natural than clerk in
shoe store at $12 per who wanted
to take home a live lobster should
select one of the hundreds of paste
board boxes around him? It was
done. The fish market man brought
ont the victim. The lobster. who had
bitten him three times that day was
trying for the fourth bite.
Mr.. White had to take the Elm
street car line to reach home. so dla
Miss Henderson. They dldn meet
on the car by accident He walked
down the street one block to find her
waiting. and they got on together
It is surprising how easy it is to
talk love on street car. on one
side of the happy pair is a deaf OLD
man. and on the other is an old
woman who is thinking of the pork
roast in the market basket at her
feet. and the two opposite have their
noses in newspapers. The PAIR can
go right ahead and plan bridal tours
COSY flats and bank accounts. It's
almost the same as sitting in the par
Tor onIy here is a constant change
of scenery.
On this particular evening she was
waiting on the corner, as usual. MOI
a thought of danger entered her mind
Not one horror appeared on her no.
rizon. She was happy. She was
watching for the appearance OF the
shoe clerk she adored He came.
He FASTENED. He had that shoe box
Henderson's place would have sa,
Iuted with: Hello, old mani! and
asked about the box later on she,
of course, asked about 1t the hrst
weak points in the armor of Horace
Walpole White. But no. one was
to be disclosed.
Mr.. White was sensitive about car
rying packages on the street or car
and especially so when his lady love
was with him. To have stated in re-
ply that he was carrying home live
lobster was beyond him He would
nerish first. He would lie first. He
did lie He said it was pair OF
shoes for his mother. The falsehooo
was believed. 1t even gave Miss Kitty
a warmer feeling at the heart to
know that she was soon to wed a
man who cared whether ms Ola
mother went around barefooted in the
nipping frosts or had shoes to her
feet.
once aboard the car, they sat down
together as usual. They were chatty
and happy. She was going that even
ing to learn how to trim her own
hats, and he was going to revive his
mothers lost appetite. Then, of
sudden, the dull thud came. Cupid
flew out and the live lobster crawled
in.
Shoe store boxes got great deal
of handling. When business is dull
the clerks throw them across the
store at each other in sportive mood.
The one in which Mr.. White was car
rying home the champion fighting
lobster had been sported with and
been busted and weakened. The lob
ster hadn't been in the coop ten min
utes before he caught on. 1t was
escape or boiling to death for him.
He didn't want to boil He went at
that weak corner and clawed and bit
and tore, with the result that ten
minutes after the lovers were seated
in the car, with the box between them,
he emerged into the sunshine of
liberty.
It is not necessary to read natural
history to learn that the first idea of
a lobster on getting his freedom is to
nip any one in the way. The lobster
| dropped to the floor with thud and
clawed the> happy Miss Kitty on the
ankle belonging to one of those aris-
tocratic insteps. He clawed in ear
nest. She sprang to her feet with
scream, and then shouted:
Horace, the man here-he has
pinched mel"
Horace didn't lose time swearing by
the beard of his father. The man was
understood and thin and unhappy. He
had lost dollar on the street the day
before, and was thinking of it when
the gallant Horace knocked him to
the floor.