Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1913-01-24
ONCE KEPT A DAIRY
BY KENNETH JONES.

why are you so worn and weary
looking?" inquired the little stenogra-
pher as she turned toward the book
keeper and scrutinized him carefully
/ before opening her desk for the day.
Did you ever keep a daryl" asked
the bookkeeper by way of reply.
"Oh. you poor mani" exclaimed the
little stenographer, understandingly.
Some one found it, of course"
He nodded and sighed
| of course. | might try to comfort
you by saying we all learn by expert
ence and there's nothing that time
doesn't heal and such things, but /
won't. It's all Just so much rubbish
to the person you try TO comfort. So
I'll just admit that it's perfectly aw-
full scrape. I can see that some one
has found It who oughtn't to know"
MY kid brother" explained the
bookkeeper, laconically.
What AS bad as that?" exclaim-
ed the little stenographer Mortified.
It's one kept quite a while ago
and I'd forgotten it," began the book
keeper, Frightening up at the prospect
Of unburdening his mind and gaining
sympathy Il noticed for two or three
days that Bill was grinning at me in
mysterious way and this morning he
made known the secret. He found
it in an old coat pocket up in my
closet. I used the pocket as a hiding
place, and haven't had that coat out
in ages to go through the pockets.
You see" he went on. 4 kept that
| diary when had an awful case Of I'M
dying love for girl, and, OF course,
| It's all about her W.T. 70" boz
- ~ -.
coming now make a bee line for ira
next corner and turn the other way.
! Why, I never even want to meet any
one with her first name. But my
present feelings didn't influence what
I wrote in that diary-not a Bit
When it happened I was ashamed
Of going with any girl and kept it
all a secret, telling the folks at home
that / was going to be out with some
of the fellows when I went to see her.
And as the diary wasn't dated-for I
considered that understandable
no proof that the whole thing isn't OF
present standingl
Bill called me aside today and
whispered audibly, so the whole fam
lily heard: Have you written In
your diary this morning?' When l
looked my surprise-for, OF course, the
truth didn't dawn on me fer a Sec
ond-he laughed and pulled out the lit
tie red leather book. That brought
it all back with lightning speed Then
he darted out Of the door before
could get hold of him
THE family began to make inquir-
les. Soon BIZ put his head in at the
window and said he wanted to speak
to me minute. When l refused he
called out: oh, well, I'll just read
a page from this little red book to
amuse the family So be began to
shout some silly trash about Mildred
l rushed out hurriedly TO buy him of.
But he won't be bought of. That
is, not once for all. He demanded 81 I
this morning, because his roller skates
need 10 be put into condition. I've |
always thought 10 cents too much for /
him. so you can imagine that the dol 1
lar came hard, But he wouldn't part (
with the book. and although I begged I
him all morning until l left to give It /
to me he simply thought up schemes /
for levying blackmaiI
Il don't dare thrash him and take /
away she book, because he's quoted .
so much Of it from memory that !
know he's got It all by heart, and he'd {
repeat it with interest If given half a
chance. II he did, of course, couldn't I
disprove It, without showing the orig /
mall
And to think it was about Mildredl {
Why, she's putty-faced and has the (
of a poodle. and she hasn't /
any more style than a bag of pota-
toes, and-oh, she's absolutely the (
limit Bill would go and read the
whole thing to her in a minute If he
took the notion I don't know how
I'm going to exist I'm toally in his
power, and 1t means ball games even
when l have previous engagements
It means taking him along in the eve
nings IL he wants to go It means a
thousand trials that VIII make death )
a blessed thing to contemplate.
Why on earth do people make
such fools of themselves? What good
did it do HE to keep that horrible
iiary, anyway? never read It over,
and it makes me hot to think Of the
good summer hours l wasted writing
he stuff just TO amuse Bill"
But why don't you let him do his
asked the little stenographer.
It'll only make Mildred Know you did
,are once-and she knows you don't