The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-02-28
CHAPTER Il.
A Torn Telegram.

once. The sun had lifted the mists,
ana q fresh summer wind had cleared
away the smoke pail The boulevard
was full OF cars flying countryward
for She Saturday half.holiday, toward
golf and tennis. green fields and bah
bling girls gritted my teeth and
thought OF Mcknight at Richmond.
And then, for the first time, associ-
ated John Gimores granddaughter
with the West" that Mcknight had
irritably flung at me
still carried my travelling bag, for
Meningitis vision at the window of
the empty house had not been without
effect I did not transfer the notes to
my pocket. and ii lad, it would
not have altered the situation later.
Only the other day Mcknight put
this very thing up to me.
4 warned you he reminded me.
II told you there were queer things
coming. and to be on your guard. You
ought to have taken your revolver"
IT would have been Of exactly as
much use as bucket of snow in
Africa" ] retorted IF | had never
closed my eyes. or if / had kept my
finger on the trigger of six-shooter
(which Is noyelesQue for revolver), j,
the result would have been the same.
And the next time you want little
excitement with every variety OF thrill
thrown i'm, can put you by way Of it.
You begin by getting the wrong berth
In q Pullman car. and end
"Oh. ] know how it ends. he fin
ished shortly. Don't you suppose the
whole things written on my spinal
marrow"
But ! am wandering again. That is
the difficulty with the unprofessional
story-teller: He yaws back and forth
and can't keep in the wind: he drops
his characters overheard when he
hasn't any further use for them and
browns them. he forgets the coffee
pot and the frying pan and all the
other small essentials, and, If he car
ries love affair, he mutters a fer.
vent Allah be praised" when he
lands them, drenched with adventures,
at the matrimonial dock at the END OF
the final chapter
put in thoroughly unsatisfactory
afternoon. Time dragged eternally.
dropped into summer vaudeville, and
bought some ties at haberdasher's
was bored but unexpectant; / had
no premcnition of what was TO come.
Nothing unusual had ever happened
TO me: friends of mine had some
times sailed the high seas of adyen-
ture or skirted the coasts Of chance,
but all of the shipwrecks had occurred
after a woman passenger had been
taken on. Ergo ! had always said
mo wcmen." repeated II to my
self that evening almost savagely,
when found my thoughts straying
back 10 the picture Of John Gilmore's
granddaughter | even argued as
ate my solitary dinner at downtown
restaurant.
Haven't you troubles enough"
reflected. without looking for more?
Hasn't Bad News gone lame. with a
matinee race booked for next week?
Otherwise aren't you comfortable?
Isn't your house In order? Do you
want TO sell pony in order to have
the library done over in mission or
the drawing room in gold2 Do you
want somebody to count the empty
cigarette boxes lying around every
morning."
Lay il to the long idle afternoon, to
the new environment, to anything you
like, but began to think that per-
haps ! did. was confoundedly lone
ly. For the first time in my life its
even course began to waver The
needle registered warning marks on
the matrimonial seismograph, lines
vague enough, but lines.
My alligator bag lay at my feet,
still locked While | waited for my
coffee ! leaned back and surveyed the
people incuriously There were the
usual couples intent on each other;
any new state Of mind made me re-
gard them with tolerance. But at the
next table, where man and woman
dined together, a different atmosphere
prevailed. My attention was first
caught by the woman's face She had
been speaking earnestly across the
table, her profile turned to me. had
noticed casually her earnest manner.
her somber clothes, and the great
mass OF odd. bronze-colored hair on
her neck But suddenly she glanced
towaro.ne and the utter hopelessness
s-almost tragedy--of her expression
struck ne with shock. She hsf
closed her eyes and drew long
breath, then she turned again to the
man across the table.
I Neither one was eating. He sat low
IN his chair. bis chin on his chest.
ugly folds Of thick flesh protrudlng
over his collar He was probably 50,
hald, grotesque, sullen, and yet not
without suggestion Of power. But he
had been drinking; as I looked, he
raised an unsteady hand and sum.
sponed waiter with a wine list.
The young woman bent across the
liable and spoke again quickly She
uao unconseioasiy raised her voice.
Not beautiful IN hei earnestness and
stress she rather interested me.
had an idle inclination to advise the
waiter 70 remove the bottled fempta.