The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-11-24
The Epe,lis,e Story
WAITING O. tho C0eDef.
(By John Philip Orth.)


Miss Madse Seaforth was playing
the piano In the parlor OF her fathers
house when all at once there came
/ jangle. II one y playing The Old
Folks at Home" and absently wanders
on into the air OF Yankee Doodle"
there's going to be = jangle- And then
you suddenly remember that you bor-
rowed Bessie Walters dream-book
day or two ago. and solemnly prom
ised her that II the reading Of it caused
you to dream you would faithfully re-
late that dream to the lender Of the
book without unnecessary delay.
Well. Miss Madge had read the
book from cover to cover. Much OF
it's contents had made her gasp and
shiver. What hadn't had appealed to
her romance. She had dreamed. 6hej
snakes. wolves, bffgands and runa-
way locomotives.
They had run her through swamps,
thickets and meadows; they had run
her up hill and down; they ran her
through streets and alleys.
But for her hobble skirt she could
i have outdistanced them. As 1t was,
the pesky thing wopsed her ankles
and shortened her stride until she
could only keep about ten feet ahead
of the gang. This kept her hair
standing up and shivers kept chasing
up and down her spine
At last after the chase had contin-
ued for miles and the poor girl had
just jumped q fence nine feet high
without her French heels touching q
splinter. she caught the lower limb of
q tree and clAmbered UP to safety.
And she was getting her lost breath
back when chevalier came that way
u tall HHo~ 1~mk ~. H~vvaS
in life to. rescue fair maidens in dis
tress.
| Wasn't that a dream worth telling ?
Could the dreamer wait until she met
Miss Bessie face to face? She went
to the telephone to relate the dream
in full. even If 1t took an hour and a
half, and three or four persons wanted
to send for the doctor. Miss Madge
settled herself for q cosy chat when
the answer came back from the central
office:
Cant do it: the lines are crossed"
Whats the matter with the liner"
TITS never in order!"
And I wanted to talk to Wall
street, =;
You man with the big bull voice.
shut up!'
Miss Madge found herself interested.
There was one firm, clear voice that
dominated the rest, though it was lost
! caught these words:
! "At least ten thousand. About 2
O'Clock. The corner Of Willow and Stark
streets. Don't strike to kill, but to
stun. Yes, two of them. Then upstairs
and down the back way. Sure thing"
words! Miss Madge seldom read the
daily papers. and when she did she
skipped all the criminal news. Had
she repeated the sentence to her
brother Joe, who was still in knicker-
bockers, he would have replied:
What a doughhead girl is! Why,
that is to be anelopement.' -,.a1a'e's-
| But It says ten thousand" protested
the sister. 1.s.s5 .---Fs-- siffs-s1
sThat means the Teller is to have ten
Thousand dollars to see the thing
through"
to KILL
IT'S probably the chap who is going
to take care Of the girls old dad If he
gets wind Of the elopement and comes
around to raise q row. He isn't to be
killed. but only half killed"
| But how about upstairs and down
the back way?'
why. the clippers will have a taxi in
the alley. and that will be the way to.
reach it,
81 don't believe you know a thing
about it," exclaimed the sister.
| ''Oh, you don't? Then you go hang!"
| Here was something different from q
dream. 1t was mystery. There was
romance in it. Perhaps there was
crime. AT any rate. it excited the girls
curiosity. IS
| II am going to be there and see it,"
she unused. II never saw an elopement
in my life. can go out in the auto
and after seeing the fun I can go
along and tell Bessie about the dream.
A dream and an elopement! Won't
have news for her"
At las that afternoon an auto with
Miss Madge Seaforth seated in the
tonneau was at the corner of Willow
and Stark streets. It was yet q resi-
| dence street, but two or three large
factories had been erected. There was
nothing unusual going on at the COR
ner. Aside from pedestrians passing
to and fro, there were three tough
looking men leaning up against q wall.
The clippers are to meet here -
unused Miss Madge. The girl will
probably come down Willow street,
and the young man is in that drug
I store across the street keeping watch.
I'll bet they are both full of thrills.
| How mean 1t would be If the father
appeared 4.w
Two o'clock and no girl appeared.
No father showed up. No lover hove
in sight with his heart beating tu-
/ ''I wonder what can be the mat
ter?"
l. From down Stark street came two
men. One Of the men carried a leath-
err bag.
Miss Madge noticed them. but care
lessly. The trio on the corner
! Strengthened up and passed q word
with each other.
A moment more and things began
to happen. The three l0ungers at
tackled the two men with the bag.
There were shouts and blows and
I. scuffling. The chauffeur leaped to
lopened the door of the vehicle and
stood screaming. She hardly realized
L NH nH f1an h rs