The Topeka state journal., 1913-09-23
THE EVENING STORY
That Letter to Joe.

ton and f1ofence 1ay1or pecaIle de-
quainted. girl of 20 and young
man a year older will find each other
in some way if the distance is not
over ten miles and the walking good
She lived in town. and he was the
son of a farmer living three miles
away. Joe's father was able to hire
help and Joe had been to college and
owned a piece of land on which he
was making experiments.
1t is sad in a way to have to record
the fact that after meeting Miss
Florence he wasn't half as interested
in his experiments as he was in her
Every day or two he had an errand
that took him to the village, and II
he did not catch sight of the girl her
self he at least had the consolation
of seeing the hired girl sweeping off
the veranda. Such affairs grow auG
progress. There came a time when
the mother of the girl asked:
FLORENCE, isn't young Ralston CALI
ing here very often?"
"Oh, I don't know was the reply.
II think the neighbors are begin
ming to talk little
What can they say?"
"That it's a case of love-.
How mean of them! Mr.. Ralson
knows that 1 am interested in his
farming experiments.
Just what's he experimenting on
now?'
swhy-why. you know what milk
weed is, of course? %
Yes
when ripe it exudes sticky
f1uid-about half a teacup full to
stalk. Mr.. Ralston has got an idea
that if he can save this liquid and
boil it up with mutton tallow he can
bring out a new pepsin chewing gum
that will make him a millionaire.
The mother turned her face away
with a smile.
Florence, you may give the young
man my order in advance for one
thousand pounds of his milkweed
gum' [ like to encourage expert
mentS!
And there will be no objections to
wedding when it gets as far along
as that, I shall be proud of pepsin
son-in-laW.''
And about the same time Joe Rails
tons father said to him as the young
man was greasing the buggy for a
drive to town:
''Going after shingle nails. Joe?"
why, father, might get you
some.'' was the reply.
"Oh, it's you that needs EN-. Get
about a hundred kegs and nail your
land down so that it will be here when
you get over fooling around.''
Joe looked at his father a minute.
Were you the same when you were
a young man? ?"
Guess I was"
''And had to get married to cure
it?,
Yep"
81 haven't asked her yet
fWell. don't waste any more time.
A young man in love hasn't the jude-
ment of calf, and he can't settle
down long enough to eat boiled din
ner. Get married and bring your wife
here to roost and We'll make the old
farm hum
And then came an old maid to up
set the apple carts of two pepole.
I, Inyr 1.-Two u
in town, but had been visiting at a
farmhouse two miles out. She had seen
the sunf1owers come and go many,
many times. She had seen other girls
marry. She had waited and hoped
until she had grown sour on the world
around her. She had never been in
troduced to young Ralston, but as he
came driving along she called to him
to give her seat in his buggy to town.
Providence helps old maids-some
times Hannah Clay had heard that
the young man was paying attention
to Florence Taylor. Florence Taylor
had once snubbed her.
This is Mr. Ralston, I'm sure?''
she Simpered.
Correct, ma am.
I'm glad to meet you. for I've
heard so many people speak of you. |
Please drive slow, for I want quite a
long chat with you.
The horse was pulled down to a |
walk.
You are a young man that any
girl should be proud to call her !
lover
Thanks" was the ambiguous reply. |
"You are certain to become a very |
prominent man.
"Ahemi'
Unless your career is wrecked
through your own guilelessness. You
are very young and innocent, and may
not see the peril ahead of YOU"
II don't think L shall go into poll
ties
"Oh, but 1 didn't mean that. There
is something far more perilous in
your case. and that is matrimony."
Just how do you mean"
why. getting the wrong sort of
girl, of course. Nine girls out of every
ten are flirts. There are others that
are all smiles and honey while being
courted, but when they become wives
rs that so?' asked the young man.
'It surely is. There is one young
lady in town you should especially be-
ware of. 1 will not name her, but I
do hope that you will not fall under
her influence. If you do nothing but
sorrow can come of 1t. She charms
like serpent.
She was coaxed for the name but
she would not give it. Well she knew
that it would be guessed right enough
within half an hour.
In driving to the village they met
several people both knew, and in the
outskirts who should they encounter
but Mrs. Taylor, the mother of Flor
ence? And when. it was seen that
they would meet her the old maid cud |
died up to the young man in the most
loving manner and laughed in tri- |
umph.
Young Ralston had made up his
mind to propose matrimony that even
ming The fat was in the fire now.
The mother would return home to tell
her daughter what she had seen, and
though he had no evidence that Miss
N1nr of
he realized that a cold wave awaited
him. The mother did go home and