The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-01-03
THE EVENING STORY
sonlnambulistic mabel.
by Lawrence Alfred Clay.

Aou tOlu MdDel DTaKe aIler Inelr en-
| gagement that he would trust her to
| the ends of the earth. She understood
him to mean by that that If she hap
pened to be leaving the postofice just
| as Billy Shaw or Tommy Tweed came
along and walked home with her no
| row would be raised over it, and the
poor girl went ahead and let them
walk. Then she suddenly discovered
4 that the ends of the earth did not
| extend very far.
On the evening Of the day that Billy
Shaw happened to walk a distance of
| i've blocks with her. and that half
| dozen persons happened to pass them
and then happened to drop in and tell
| the rising young lawyer about 1t, he
made a call with a serious expression
| On his face. 1t was SO serious as to
be legal, and. being legal. it alarmed
! Miss Mabel When she had asked If
his sister had been indicted for MUIR
| der, his mother held for conspiracy or
| If he had got mixed up in a 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
| himl"
'Weu?"
an ene1 of mine. Can't you see the
inconsistency of the thing?'
"Billy Shaw tried to make love to
me, but I laughed him out of it. That
was whole year ago. I never heard
that he was an enemy of yours
mo? Well. let me state for your
information that William Shaw once
proclaimed me young squirt of law
yer. Were those the words of a friend
or an ~re~ W"
Mabel could not restrain a hearty
laugh, and that laugh froze the dignity
of the lover until 1t was armor-plated.
In the most frigid sort of way he look
ed at her and announced:
81 thought 1 could trust you, but
see 1 can't"
Gust what do you mean by tf1at?"
You have two strings to your bow.
MIR. Egberti"
you must drop William Shaw and
others of his iik, 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 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
night"
And Mr.. Egbert bowed and found
himself on the other side of the front
door, with no interest whatever as to
who climbed Mt. Mckinley or wheth-
| er it was ever climbed at all. Laying
down the law to the girl is all right
and very interesting up to a certain
point, but when it goes beyond that
felt one and went home in a sort of
maze. His sister said he must be
coming down with the grip and ought
to soak his feet and bring about
h c Vzrl1n 17ra6 xyo0 re
more experience, darkly limited at
overwork and brain fever and mus
tard plasters.
AS for Miss Mabel-no matter how
she looked and felt-she couldn't
have done less than she did. Had Mr..
Egbert called the next evening with
smile on his face the matter would
have passed like summer shower
But did any one ever know of a young
man doing the sensible thing in a
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 determined
man. For the next three he was a
| martyr. For the third three he was
hunting through Blackstone and Coke
ers' 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.
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 a
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 walk forth on the
lawn in a state of somnambu1sm.
Here was the full of the moon. Might
oh ha VOL 1r IN af in
ute? Why shouldn't he walk. too
He was on the ragged edge, and that
was next door to somnambulism. Two
somnambulists might accomplish
what two persons awake had failed
to do.
With heart beating high, the young
lawyer hurried into his clothes, tip
toed down the stairs and five minutes
at a human figure slowly walking
across a lawn. 1t was the figure Of a
girl! 1t 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 Egbert acted. He be-
came a somnambulist and began pac-
ing the lawn almost within reaching
distance of the girl.
For five minutes the two sleep
walkers paced. They turned at a
gooseberry bush at one end. and at a
crabapple tree at the other. Then the
sleeping Mr. Egbert said to himself in
a sleepy voice:
st shouldn't have said that to the
dear girl-no, I shouldn't
There was long drawn sigh from
Mabel
''She meant no harm, but in my
jealousy I accused herr"
Another sigh. and just as they |
turned, the soft words fell from the
sleeping girls lips:
eff I had known-if I had known |
that he once called my George a |
young squirt of a lawyer I should |
have told him that I hated him"
Then the couple stood at the gooseberry |
bush a moment. as IL listening to the |
sad refrain of the katydids and George |
murnlured: