Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-12-19
Evening Story
PENNY DARLING.
(By Dorothy Blackmore.)
1913, by the Mcclure News.
paper Syndicate.)

for the stature of the young woman
| Really, Penny we flatter you by|
that epithet," one Of the boys once said
to her; you're no bigger than Can
| adam five cent piece-a penny's too.
ambitious for you'll
| But Penny had tossed her curls att
him and continued to tangle herself upI
in the hearts Of the college boys with /
whom she came in daily contact. "She's
little but-oh, N.Y. more than one Of
them had quoted with sigh.
| Coe college was a co-educational in
stitute and in this as in all colleges the
freshmen and sophomores were at dag
gers points from the beginning of the
| term until the end. And Penny Darling
was as loyal little freshman as the
college ever had. The tilt of her dark
curly head and the lofty glanc. of her
brown eyes as she passed mere soph-
| omore on the campus or elsewhere were
| worthy of an actress.
| The night of the freshman class or
ganization meeting Penny dressed with
unusual care and pinned back her curls
as severely as she could In order to look
dignified and scholarly. For be It'll
known that Penny had aspirations of
her own; she wanted to be class presi-
dent. She was popular and clever
enough for the office but the members
| of the class teasingly told her it would
look undignified to see the president in
a high chair. At which remark though
1t was half in. jest, Penny had become
| discouraged.
| AS she tripped down the softly car
peted stairs of Wilton Hall and out Of
the great front door to cross the cam
pus to the class room in which the
! meeting was to be held, she was hum
| ming airily but her hands were cold
| and she felt nervousness unusual
with her.
Penny had hardly set foot on the
gravel OF the path at the foot Of thel
dormitory steps when she was lifted
bodily by two boys, who carried her.
basket-wise on their hands and ran
with her across the campus to where
a limousine was standing Opening the
door the boys put her gently inside and
| stepped in beside her, telling the man!
| at the front to 20 ahead.
you're very well behaved-for al
and Penny thought she recognized his,
voice.
! isn't she ?-and such a little one
tool" said the other.
Penny said not word, though her
heart was beating wildly. She had
| heard often Of these college pranks and
she was using all her wits now to
scheme a way out Of this one. Bounded
on ali sides by doors-and sophomoresi
and with the\great car going at a
good speed toward the village limits
| she felt very helpless.
If only one of her captors had been
| Tom Underhi)l, the situation might
have mitigating circumstances. Tom
was every inch sophomore but Penny
could not, somehow or other. muster up
! the hatred for him that she knew she
| should have felt. lie came from her
| own home town. and she had known
| MIN almost always. 1t was not his fault
| that he had teen sent away to college!
year before she was ready to go. And
n9W, because Penny felt an exaggerat-
eel loyalty to her class, she would have
| nothing to do with Tom. She had ireat-
ed thim far worse than stranger: she
! barely spoke to him when she met him.
| She felt the car slowing down and
| she looked out Of the window. They
were entering the long tree lined drive
way leading to the country club. Penny
knew the club house would be deserted
at this time Of the year and she won~
| dered what the boys would do with her
next. She dared not let her thoughts
dwell on the class meeting and her now
hopeless ambition to be elected presi.
dent. If she cared so little for the class
meeting as to be absent without send
/ ing an excuse how could she expect to
! Presently the car stopped in front of
j be chosen as leader?
/ the broad deserted porch of the country
club.
] Eve have an hour and half to kill,
Miss Darling. What would you like, to
do ?" asked one Of the boys, politely. !
| Go home" said Penny.
| "That's beside the question-what
would you like to do here?' he repeated
smiling broadly.
"sit right here and think what vii
lians you are-all Of you-though I
haven't found out yet who is running
| this car"
Both boys laughed aloud. you don't
| know"
| Penny shook her head and peered
through the glass at the back of a
broad shouldered fellow. who is it?"
she asked.
''Tom Underhill-shall we ask him
in? He might be cold"
Penny did not answer. SO Tom = had
so far forgotten-everything that used
l to be between them-as to aid and abet
Iany such prank as this! Penny tossed
her head in the dark. WELL" she
thought, "if tl:at's the sort he is I'm
glad ! showed my colors first
II say, Miss Darling, Wen leave you
to Toms tender mercies a moment if
you don't mind while we go inside and
! investigate the larder. Perhaps there's
a leftover som ething or the makings
of a cup Of coffee. May we be excused ?"
| You may as lar as am concerned"
said Penny loftily.
Laughing at the thought of what
they had done, the two boys closed the
door behind her and left Penny sitting
alone in the big cushioned seat of the
limousine. We'll bring back anything
we find that's attractive and share it
with YOU one Of them called back to
her
For the first time since the start the
man in front moved. Quietly he left his
seat and stepped in beside Penny.
Are you lonely, Penny Darling?" he
i asked, sitting opposite her.
Penny did not reply. She looked out
of the window at the shadows of the
poplars on the driveway.
did you want very much to be class
PRESIDENT Tom asked
] No answer
This was my ideal, alone, am re-
sponsible for the kidnapping of you,
Penny The boys know why; l got des-