Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-06-18
EVENING STORY
ToBIN PLANS A HOLIDAY.
BY A. Howard.
Copyright, 1912, by Associated Liter
airy Press.)

his mother and little sister ClarisSa IN
q rather nice boarding house; so nice,
indeed, that in order to meet the board
bill the divers had to truck them
selves away in two tiny rooms on the
fourth floor back.
TObin was patient, kindly per-
son, with hair thinning on his tenn
pies and stoop to his shoulders
which made him look very much older
than he should, for he was still very
young When he was boy he had
had dreams, even as other young art
lists have, of painting pictures that
would astound the world; but now that
his father was dead and he had his
mother and sister to support, he chief
ly dreamed of lodging the laundry
man. and spent his idle moments in
figuring how to pay for Clarissa's
schooling.
These calculations allowed Of no
margins for expensive recreation, yet
Tobin was contemplating piece OF
wild extravaganza. Thus it was par
ticularly disconcerting when Clarissa
deliberately abandoning her pose, turn
ed her pleading eyes upon him.
please, Tobin, can't go to the
circus?"
Clarissa was an uncomfortable
and frightfully long legs. She was
everything he did, from fat policemen
and colored mammies, to fashion
plates and soothing syrup babies. She
was .draped over chair now, with
mirror and powder puff in hand, and
Tobin was drawing her as an adver-
|tisement for American Belle Bealtify-
ing cream. He had no intention Of
taking her to the circus, so he pre-
tended to be very busy with his pic
ture, and assiduously splashed the
paint on the highly colored cheeks Of
the American belle.
But Clarissa was not thus easily
slenced. She squirmed around in her
chair and repeated insistently: please
Tobin, can't I go to the circus?'
II the American Belle was to be fin
ished that day Clarissa must be hum
|ored, so Tobin answered discreetly:
II don't know whether you can or not.
I'll think 1t over and see If 1t can be
managed"
That quoted the trusting Clarissa.
but Tobin began to feel shamefully
Ideceitful He knew that he was not
going to take Clarissa to the circus
as he had already planned to take
some one else, the most precious per
son in the world. For. in the front
room Of Mrs. Bosey's fourth floor
Lived Tobin's inspiration. she who
would have been the lady Of his
dreams il he had ever had time for
dreaming. This Diana Garland was
an energetic, happy little woman. with
red hair and snappy eyes, and though
she smiled very often in public Tobin
wisely suspected that she cried rather
often in private. Teaching music in
a third-rate boarding school is not
the ideal existence for a girl and when
ever an anxious quicker appeared on
Diana's white brow, Tobin knew that
she was feeling rather forlorn.
There was trouble at the boarding
school one week and the pucker stayed
so long on Diana's forehead that Tobin
He longed to comfort her. but there
was nothing he could do until Diana
remarked quite casually one morning
that the circus was coming to town
and that she would like to see the baby
giraffe. That gave Tobin his oppor-
tunity. He knew it was reckless
waste Of money, but what cared he
for filthy lucre? He was too poor to
offer Diana his hand and heart. but
he could at least offer her glimpse
of the baby giraffe.
One wild act brings on another, and
having determined to take Diana to
the circus, Tobin found himself still
further involved in financial embar-
easements. The American Belle did
not bring in as much as he had ex-
rected, and when he went to buy the
tickets he found that he would have
to use Clarissa's commission.
AS he supported Clarissa and willing
Nv sacrificed his life to hers. there
seemed no real reason why he should
nav her for posing. but 1t had been
his invariable custom to give her a
fargmentary share Of all that he made
on his pictures. In keeping back
Clarissa's earnings Tobin felt as guilty
as if he had robbed a bank. even
though he promised himself that he
would pay her back some day.
However, he bought. the tickets,
bought them early in the week. for
he knew by had experience that money
has wav of escaping even when you
have made the best of plans for its
future. Once they were purchased and
safely slowed away in his pocket a
change came over the artist, his con-
science ceased to prick him and he felt