The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-10-24
THE EVENING STORY
Two Old Men.
(By John Philip Ortiz

| Miss Hazel Wright, mad also retired
/ from business.
These two old men had known each
| other and been friends for thirty years.
! Their wives were friends. 1t was
| known to husbands and wives-fathers
and mothers-that young Ford and the
| charming Miss Wright were engaged
and would be married within six
| months. It promised to be happy af-
fair all around.
Then came a sudden bolt from the
i blue. After breakfast one morning
| thev sat together in the park smoking
their cigars and trying to make them
| selves believe that retirement from
| business had brought contentment. II
hadn't done anything of the kind. They
had too much leisure on their hands.
They missed the excitement of bust
ness. They had reached the age of
sixty-five, but they did not feel a day
older than at forty-five. When a man
is irritated and there is no dog handy
to kick he may turn on human being.
Not a word had been passed between
Mr.. Bartlett and Mr.. Wright for five
or six minutes when the former re-
moved the cigar from his mouth and
said
Jim, it seems that you've got moth
ing to do in your old age but talk like
FOOL
I'm no older than you" was the re-
ply, land as for talking like fool L
don't think 1 can beat you"
Il wonder that you ever had a thou
sand dollars to retire on
Ditto"
You sat here yesterday with Shriner
and argued for two hours that the
world was created in six days"
And so it was
I'm denying it,
Then you can't believe the Bible"
Take any two old men and seat them
together on a park bench and they
will talk either politics or religion.
Even if both think alike in their minds,
they VIII differ by word of mouth. Mr.
Wright believed in the Bible He be-
lieved that the world was created in
six days. He believed that his old
friend was a man of intelligence. He
was irritated, however, and he wanted
a row.
1.-The Bible is one thing and com
mon sense is another" he said. "AIl
the men and all the horses and carts
in the world wouldn't create even the
you know it as well as 1 do
six days it was. and even the
squint-eyed heather of China believe
that
"Then I'm worse than heather,
am I %
I'm advising you to give up your
pew in church if you can't take the
Bible as your guide.
'sAnd who's asking for your ad-
vice? John Bartlett, maybe you don't
want to be seen sitting beside a
heathen?'
mo, I don't think 1 do
And James Wright went home to
tell his wife and daughter that John
Bartlett was liar and an idiot, and
that he had spoken to him for the
last time. While the wife tried to
sOOthe the angry man, the daughter
ran away to her room to weep. The
quarrel between the two men would
of course break up the love affair.
And John Bartlett went home to
tell his wife, and a few hours later to
inform his son that he had dropped
James Wright forever. and would not
move foot to save him from an auto
accident.
Hes a blamed obstinate old mule"
was added. land should he come to
me on his Bonded knees I'd never take
his hand"
That evening very detected pair
of lovers sat in the parlor of the
Wright mansion and talked things over
in detected way. Young Mr.. Bart
lett had expected to be met at the door
and told to take himself elsewhere,
and though he had escaped that humil-
iation there was cause for worry.
why We'll have to give each other
up said Miss Hazel.
s'Never in this world" was the firm
reply of the young man.
But what can we do?"
we can elope-"
"Oh. Fordi''
Yes. elope. I am going to have you
at any cost
But we'd be turned out doors
and there'd be columns in the papers
and they'd get my picture and
and
But an hour later Miss Hazel was
saying that she thought an elopement
would be just the thing. It would be
by night. 1t would be moonlight.
They would elope in an auto. They
would go Whizzi chugi chewi over the
roads and laugh at the old folks left
behind.
After the first outburst neither
father mentioned the quarrel again.
The son was not ordered to cease
calling, and the daughter was not or
dered to the garnet on bread and wat
er. AS a matter of prudence, and to
keep his trail covered, young Mr..
Bartlett ceased his calls, and for the
same reason Miss Hazel was very de-
mure in the presence of her father.
She must do nothing to excite his sus-
picions- She was prepared at any
moment to hear him break out again,
but he had nothing further to say.
It didn't happen to be a moonlight
night when the elopement at last took
place. On the contrary, it was so
dark that the auto ran over a cow
almost the first thing. That meant
stop of half an hour to repair brok-
en- lamps. Then the chauffeur tried
a fence and knocked down fifty feet
of it. Then there was another long
delay, and the lovers reached the
house of a country parson to be told
the the good man had the jumping