Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-05-30
Evening Story
OVER THE FENCE.
~ Dorothy 0lackmere.
Nospy11ght. 1912, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.)

j.
the s4t11e day, the thing might no
have happened. She had been seem!
London from early morning unit
dinner time. It was a very tired little
American girl who arose from the
dinner tsble and looked out over the
garden In front Of the house.
The garden at which Doreen gazec
was one Of those squares Of which
London boasts, and was surrounded
BY the usual fence with the -four
gates, one on each side of the square
Il cannot go to my room with sc
perfect a twilight flooding the gar
den," Doreen admitted to herself
while her weary muscles carried he1
willingly over to the steamer chair
that opened its arms to her beneath
the great copper beech tree.
"Oh,"', she sighed contentedly, az
she sank into it. II am SO tired"
There were not many persons in
the garden and :Doreen had time to
think over the many wonderful tow.
ers and galleries she had visited.
Her eyelids fluttered and lay still.
It was perhaps two hours before
they huttered again. Doreen had
slept and during her sleep darkness
and mist had fallen about her.
After moment Of semi-conscious
reen awakened fully to her position.
II am in pitch dark garden and
an involuntary shiver swept over
her, II am most probably locked in. p"
She caught q swift breath and jumped
to her feet
It seemed as If the night had sud-
denly grown appallingly black Do.
reen was forced to feel her way from
one gate to the other in her attempt
to get out Of the garden.
Every one Is locked" she said
half aloud in her fright She put a
hand up to feel the height of the
pickets above the fence and drew
back discouraged. Il couldn't posi-
bly, climb over" she decided.
Doreen was both tired and fright
ened. Something that sounded like a
sob reached the ears of the man
who was tramping steadily around
the square. He drew nearer the gate
whence the sound came and stood
still.
who is there?" he called.
Il am" came back in very small
voice.
The man laughed, and Doreen found
courage in the heertiness of 1t.
"And who are you?" he questioned.
II went to sleep and that gardener
locked me in here" Doreen had come
close to the gate. She could not ris-
tinguish more than a big masculine
frame, the face was entirely hidden in
the darkness. Have you key to the
garden?" she inquired.
Eyes, the man told her, and Do
reen breathed freely. But great
Scott" he muttered, there is a chain
padlocked about the gate!"
"Oh-h," gasped the girl, then
will have to stay here all night"
mot if know it," the man ex-
postulated and for a moment he was
silent. Finally he asked, ''Do you
weigh more than
Il am not very big Doreen put in
quickly.
Then you will have to submit to
being lifted over the fence, the man
informed her. ,'Ts there anything in
tuCl you Soulu
"My steamer chair" Doreen sug
gested She carried it close to the
gate and stepped up on it.
The task was not easy to con-
template, even though the girl
proved to be featherweight George
Durant pulled together all Of his
Well-trained muscles ~
Put your hands on my shoulders"
he commanded
Strained and tense as was the awk-
ward position, Durant brought the
girl slowly up and over the jagged
pickets and down on the other side
of the fence.
For brief moment Doreen remained
a prisoner within those powerful arms
that refused to let her escape until
she had found her proper balance.
"It-7was very good Of YOU she
said, a triie breathlessly. THANK you,
very, very much" Without waiting
for his deep-voiced Il am glad to have