Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-02-17
THE EVENING STORY
DEAF AND puMB-AND BLIND.
BY PAUL CALVIN ANDERSON.

Copyright, 1910, by Associated Liter
airy Press.
When the tide is out at Palm Beach
hundreds of hotel guests walk up and
down on the hard wet sands. Others
speed up and down in their autos.
Others, still, sit on hired chairs and
gaze out seward 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 for architecture. He did that
mostly shy looking at one or two sky
scrapers day from the outside and
spending $500 per week allowed by
his father. 1t 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 a hennery built and he
wanted to point to it after 1t was fin
ished and say, "a Gillett did that"
On this particular day Philip Gillett
had toothache and he set out to walk
it off His sister had told him to hold
wad Of cotton saturated with pepper
mint essence in his mouth, and to keep
his mouth shut. He thought 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 den
| 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 dig
nified 1t was taking undue advantage
Of a 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 running
it herself After getting out of the
crowd and heading up the shore, they
saw young man half mile ahead Of
them. He was scuffing along on the
hard track and was in their path The
honk! honk! was sounded, but he paid
no attention. He wanted 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 hum
mock and Hresorted 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 few feet but
that was all right. He reasoned that
the girls desired nearer view of the
4 young man whom they had SO frighten
ed. 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 ar
inch and exactly six feet and one inch
and half away, when front tire ex
ploded with bang. Two young ladies
screamed. The auto ran wild until hall
buried in the sand. The young mar
was blown over on his back by the
concussion and swallowed his wad OIL
cotton for the second time in an hour
He would have been less than hu
man if he hadn't arisen with a face as
red as paint and cross all the way
/ through. He grabbed for his hat and
might have gone running over the
sand dunes had not a sweet and plain
tive voice reached his ears:
oh, sir, please do help us! We
have burst a tire!''
| Yes, he would help. AS a gentleman
Inc must do so: but he made up his