The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-06-17
THE EVENING STORY
Anne's EIopement.
(By Effie stevens.)


dale terminal, and waited impatientiy
until the trolley car, on which she nad |
come, had gone clanking back towards
the city.
down the lonely stretch of bush-oor-
dered country road, which ran at rlghl
angles to the car track iali3wing tH5
winding course ct the Pc unk river.
Now. viii: direction .. old ID W sal1ed
her self, puckering her oroWs IN
frown Of ,perplexity. 81 shall JUST
have to look at his letter again: II
was lucky that I thought to prlng II
with me-" $50
log which was lying conveniently py
the roadside, and, drawing a puiAy
epistle from her leather hano-Oas'
ran hurriedly through its pages Do,e,.
"Oh, here it is on the slxtn pase'
she exclaimed at last
Then her frown deepened.
ssWhy. he doesn't say" she gasped-
isn't that just like his thougntiesss1,
ness? He says to follow the IOdu ul...
I come to a path leading to the river,
he will be there with boat. or ne
cannot come himself, he VIII sehu
friend in hts place. NOW, the quSS
ton is did he mean me 70 20 up ne ne
road Or down the road? Wen, as the
a1,oice seems to be left to me. I'll try
! ooine down the road. don't dare re-
main here much longer. Tor II 1atlL I7
| should have found out, there Ho leIA.
| ing at what moment ne may c pir,,
urI7izzinr along in that new, hign
snaed car of his It's pity the ROADS
between here and town are so GOOD
1 Thereupon Anne jumped to ner Ieet,
and proceeded to walk brlskly down
the dusty road, her eyes seArcl lliis
! eaqariv for the path. which Woulu
1asd her to the riverside, where she
IMAGINED Walter must be impatlenL,,y
aUaitine her. and her ears keenly
alert for the dreaded wnlr OF an @p
preaching motor car z.-to,,.a
NAT seemed interminable to her over
S.r,o,,obt nerves; but nothing occurred
w break the peaceful monotony OF
her surroundings. .o,.o, thu
| I'm almost sure I've taAen
wrong direction after all" Anne con-
rlained to the solitude. why coulon
waiter have been more explc1tE II
DOVE come to that path soon, sha1l
have to turn about and go pach' az
like as not walk straight into the arms arms
of father-that is If he doesh run oFeA
me before he recognizes me-
A few steps farther on, however, Anne
caT,oa To a path leading towards the
river. which she unhesltatlngiy tooN'
tbongh If proved decidedly unpleasant
walking. o,,osa, a
Il think Walter might have CHOSEN d
nicer place for me to meet MIN, sho
thought ruefully as she stunned oNes
a treacherous stump, and barely saveu
A moment later Anne came out upon
the river bank, but no Waiter was u
sight.
Immediately. Anne's anxiety IN
creased tenfold. She could not help
imagining all sorts Of unpleasant posi-
biHties as to why Walter was not there.
what if her father had had him ar
. rested for contemplated kionaPIns
She didn't even know Il one couio nay :
, a person arrested for proposing TO 90
anything-her ignorance of law was
profound-but the uncertainty lntensl-
fled her Tears.
; Anne was on the point of sobbing
aloud, when she caught sight OF
small motor boat approaching from
across the river, and the world grew
, bright again, for, though the boat was
I SO far away she could not actually tell,
! she never doubted but that its occu-
: pant was Walter.
n took her but a short time to dis
cover that the boat was headed for
. point much farther up stream than nei
: present position
II came the wrong way after all. sue
. walled, as she waved her pocket hand
: kerchief franticaIIy in the almost nope
less effort to attract the artentlon o.
2 the occupant of the boat Thougf
: how was I to know there was mort
than one path?''
E Anne was seen, nevertheless. and thu
f little boat soon changed its course ant
e came directly towards her.
At tho same instant, TO compncat'
t matters, Anne heard the unmistakaole
4 though distant sound of motor ca
= approaching along the road.
Ordinarily Anne would have real
lied that a large number of people ar
the possessors of motor cars at tn'
present time, but now she immediate
w Jumped to the conclusion that J
= must be her father.
A dreadful fear asss,iled her les
t walter and her father shouIi meet, i
this lonely spot. Her tatler was
n vigorous. hot tempered man. He ha'
never liked Walter. What might d
Q NOT do now in his anger? Waite
would certainly stand no chanc
IT against his possible onslaught
: Anne suddenly wished that Waite
was not quite so, oh. well, lady-llk
Ie land namby-pamby-ther were n
= other terms for it-though these Wer
The qualities which had especially al
n tracted her to him in the nrst pIac'
8 If he were only more IKE HeID e
IT Sergeant He could have fought nj
louTn battles and hers. toe. And the
II The hot color flooded her cheeks as sh
!. = remembered that it was Herbert Sal
= peant whom her father had desire
Z, her to marry, and that it was on NJ
y account that Walter and herself ha
n been forced into hasty action-
)" on. If she had only let the boat 6
m it's course unhinderec-
Of Rut that wish was vains for Whal
n Anne had been giving way to hf
; fears. the motor boat, all unheeded Z
A. her had come close to the shore, ~