The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-22
THE EVENING STORY
Miss Bradford,s HoIIvboclxs

N1lSS 6EdulOfQ'S dOllynOCkS.
by Ella NJ. Bangs.1
Look here, Hannah see what large
flower this is
The old servant pushed up the win
gov screen. and looked out. My land,
hollyhocks will be blowing out big
overs your head first thing you know"
For so years the Bradford place had
been known for it's beautiful holly
ilocks. The present owner. Miss Eli
nor, was no longer young, but as she
stood in the old garden, straight and
slender soft color in her cheeks, and
| the breeze rufiiing her brown hair, she
seemed fitting occupant for the place
she loved so well. The roses, phlox,
marlgolds. and hosts of other flowers
were all dear to her, but singularly her
most sentimental memories were asso-
ciated with the hollyhocks. They re-
called the one love Of her life, and
her youthful lover, Eugene Sargent, he
whom her father had forbidden to come
to the house. and who, at length, had
gone from the village declaring that
he would come back some day and
claim her. She was thinking now Of
| now they had stood on this spot. When
turning to leave he had said, st shall
think of you always standing here
among your flowers, and you the pref
test fcwe- of all.''
She had never seen him since that
| day. The woman turned half i'm
| patiently. for it vexed her that with
this memory of Eugene there should
lntrude that OF another, Tom Wyman.
| She had never cared for him, and
that fact had blinded her. perhaps, to
the seriousness of his feeling for her,
for year after eugene had gone.
Tom had spoken, finding her there in
the old garden. end Der response had
been so decided that he haG seen how
EnWelcome his attention was. A pink
| hollyhock had dropped from her hand,
he had picked it up. holding it for a
moment against The pink of her dress,
| with the words:
1T is like YOU
This she had resented somewhat.
Had he compared her to a rose or a
| lily there would have been something
poetical about it, but hellyhoek'
Tom, too, had gone out Of her know
ledge years ago. Turning to the house.
Elmer left her sentimental memories
and went about her usual duties.
One afternoon a week or two later
| she was sitting out on her woodbine-
| shaded piazza. her sewing beside her,
when a shadow fell across the walk,
followed moment later by its sub
stance-and a, solid one it was-a man,
rotund and f1orid. with a heavy mus
tachc and conspicuous watch chain. All
this Elinor's glance took in. with the
| fact that he was a stranger. AS he
saw her. however, he reached out his
| hand.
"Elinor." he began, "you amt for
gotten me, / hOpe?
| Who was this calling her by name?
There was something vaguely familiar
about him. Then. a shock of unpleas-
ant surprise driving the color from her
face, she said slowly: "Eugene-can
this be Eugene Sargent?''
with a laugh louder than the circum-
stances seemed to warrant. Didn't
4 expect me. I dare say
/ Elinor murmured some response and
sank into her chair. She could not at
once adjust her old ideal to the pos
! sibility of this presence.
/ Words old not fail him. however,
and he was soon speaking of himself.
Yes he Informed his hostess, I've
been in Kansas City most of the time
since shook off New England. There's
som ething about the west that brings
out a man. Now, If I'd stayed here all
my life shouldn't been the man am
today. 1 amt the boastin' kind. but
folks in Kansas City know who Eu-
/ gene Sargent is"
/ "You have a family?" Elinor Ques-
ltioned as at length he paused.
Zone son, he's comm in with me
as soon as he's through school. My
wife, she died a year ago."
i The man readily accepted an invi-
tation to stay to supper. and Elinor
went to tell Hannah.
"I heard somebody out on the piaz-
"a" the old servant responded, land
mistrusted what was comm. Ny
land! If he's got an appetits to match
his voice I'd better get Joel to go Kill
another chicken
The visitor remained late into the
evening, and before he put 1t into
words, Elinor could not be bnnd as TO
/ the reason of his coming, and she lay
awake long that night thinking over
the almost unbelievable fact that Eu-
i gent had come back, had asked her to
lmarry him. and she had refused.
/ The following morning she said to
Hannah, do you know Who my last
nights visitor WASP"
The woman turned abruptly, eager
curiosity alive in her face. mo.
eugene Sargent! That man? Why
Land Miss Elinor. I guess It's a
lucky thing you never married MINI
/ Her mistress smiled while the 9TH
err went on. Upon the whole. when I
see how different folks turns out from
what you think they're goin' to when
they're young, I wonder haif the mar
ried. folks are as happy as they pc,
The summer passed, the hollynocks
faded, later flowers blossomed ana
were gone, while Elinor realized that
the dream of her life, hitherto but
half acknowledged, had gone as. VEL
at least as contentedly as before Eu-
gene Sargent's visit. =
The winter wore away, and the old
garden was once more in bloom Wnen
one morning Elinor was arranging
! some flowers out on the piazza, she
. heard an automobile approaching, and
looked up. The next instant she sprang
to her feet. Two children playing
near by started suddenly to cross the
street. They were in the path OF the
oncoming vehicle.
She covered her eyes instinct1vely-
The next moment there was crash,
land tremblingly she looked out. me
autoist, at the risk of his own Ire,
had avoided the children by steering
against large rock rising on one side
of the roadway. The car was BABY
damaged, and its one occupant lay
beside it unconscious.
Elinor ran down the steps ana knell
beside the. still figure. In him she saw