The Topeka state journal., 1914-01-20
The Euening Story

| The Euening Story
Shooting . Man.
| (By John Philip Orth.)
l Miss Blythe Milward was taking q
walk In the park at an early morning
hour.
Her brother George had told her that
If she would get out early she would
find the squirrels hunting for their
| breakfast.
II she went around by the Zoo she
through paper hoops and playing .
! mouth organ-a thing he never did
after the hour of o'clock.
| A hippopotamus has his hours for
play and his hours Of dignity, the same
as United States senator, and when
| he's on his dignity he's a very inter-
eSting animal.
Miss Blythe saw the squirrels.
| She saw the hippo.
| Incidentally. she saw the kangaroo
sues.
Some one also saw Miss Blythe. He
wasn't an animal but a human being.
He was a young man under thirty. and
he had a smile and a smirk. He also
had a mustache and wore a bogus dia-
mond ring.
| He might have been in the park to
gee the squirrels and the hippo. He was
sauntertng about and flourishing his
cane and pulling his mustache. when
hat with a great flourish. He smiled.
He smirked. He observed that 1t was q
fire morning for a walk.
For a moment Miss Blythe looked at
him in astonishment. 1t was her first
| meeting with a masher. Then the
identity of the creature slowly dawned
upon her and she drew herself up and
Indignantly exclaimed.
Sir. pass on about your business!''
"Ah! See you again." he smirked as
he passed.
What's the matter with the kid?''
asked Miss Blythe's brother George, as
she reached the home with tears In her
eyes.
old. and he really hoped that something
had happened to call for q display Of
chivalry on his part.
'Man-in the parkr' sobbed the sis
ter.
wild man2"
-sNo-tamef'sa So
What did he do?''
"S-spoke to mel"
And what were you doing?"
Looking at the squirrels
And didn't you blast his eyes?''
Yves
And you told him to go on about his
business?"
Yes"
IF he hadn't I was going to call for
help
I'm glad you didn't have to-" sage
ly replied the brother. Sister, never
call for outside help If you can avoid
it. If you do they will get your name
and your picture in the papers, and q
great lot Of stuff about your fighting
to the last gasp, and all of that. They
will also want to know what sort Of q
cowboy I am not to be around when
wanted"
'.But what shall do if meet him
again?'
Tonight I shall hand you my revol-
yer. It won't be loaded: but when
you go to the park in the morning.
you carry 1t with you"
"And it won't go OFF," asked the
sister with a shudder.
How can it? You want it simply
again As soon as he begins bowling
and smirking you want to pull your
gun on him and say:
"'Out of this with you, base wretch.
or you are dead mani!
But he may laugh at me-"
mo danger of that, II you speak in
a stern voice. The sight of gun gives
such scoundrels the quake every time.
There's hardly day passes, sister.
take to his heels by drawing q gun
and looking at him. You just try 1t
once. Money back IL it don't work.
When Miss Blythe went to the park
next morning she had the gum along
with her, but she didn't mean to mem
ace anybody with it If she could avoid
it. She therefore took another path.
II that masher was on the watch he
would be fooled. When she = had
reached q spot half a mile from the
encounter Of the day previous she sat
down on q bench and lost herself in
watching the robinA
"Ah. there, good morning!"
t1A II
hadn't been fooled!
Beautiful morning?"
No reply. ]
Beautiful park ?''
.swhat = happy bird the robin .is."
squarely in the eyes.
Would that were . robin to be |
looked at by beautiful young lady!"
speak to me Asain!''
call me not thua. fair one. adj
init that admire, but it u with All
due respect"
Mis-. Blythe rose to her feet and
out came the revolver!
George said that It wouldn't be
loaded but It was to be used only to-
menace with
However. It turned out to be an
other Of those frequent cases Of
didn't know Il was loaded"
Up came the weapon on . line with
the masher'e right eye. Tho girl
didn't know the trigger from the mu1-
that anything was done beyond wob-
bling the weapon about. but all OF = /
sudden there was an explosion
A,a bullet ct, not f 1ssnr nee sof spy19og took
and then went singing away into the
brush. Tho masAef yelled out He
jumped clear OF the ground. He clap
ped = hand to the bleeding ear. and
~. - ~ fr1v> - g.