The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-08-14
The Euening Story
Hearts.
(By Clarissa Mackie.)

!
travelled automobile roads crossed.
1t was a cosy little bungalow with
| gayly striped awnings and verandas
set with many little tables, and a great
| room inside all done in blue and white,
with a border of willow pattern plates.
| In the absence of the proprietor,
/ Mrs. Burton, Elsie Wayne had as
sumed charge of the little wayside
stopping place.
| It was mid-afternoon in August The
motor races at Begloft had led the
motoring world away from the Will
| low Plate Tea Room BUSINESS was
not merely dull-it had simply ceased
to exist for that day.
| Elsie yawned, f1uffed up her golden
| brown hair, examined a few unex-
| pecued freckles which powdered her
! perfect nose, and picked up the morn
/ ing newspaper.
At that moment the growing purr
| of high powered motor came
through the open easement window
| 1t slowed down and stopped at the
| gate of the Willow Plate Tea Room.
| "Oh, bother,'' pouted Elsie. as she
| went into the little kitchen, for Su-
sauna, the dusky maid, was enjoying
an afternoon off.
| Presently Elsie returned to the room
| to discover a solitary man seated at
one of the white enameled tables. He
was far from being an Unlocking spec
iment of masculinity. On the other
hand, he was decidedly handsome, al
though his clean-cut features were
sternly set. His dark head was bent
over the menu card, but Elsie noted
that his hands were brown and well
shaped. He wore white fannels, and
his linen dust coat was thrown over
a chair.
He did not glance up when Elsie
placed a glass of water before him,
although she spilled few drops in
the process.
She stood there, pale and pretty in
he fTOck DAINTY
lace-trimmed apron.
'You may bring me- he said de-
liberately, "some iced tea and some
cakes"
Just then he glanced up, and for
long moment they looked in each
others eyes before the girls glance
fell to the tablecloth.
"And you may bring me poached
egg on toast he added. and, turning
away his head, he looked out of the
window.
Elsie hesitated and then marched
stiffly off to the kitchen. Once there
she shook her fist at the back of the
unOffending stranger.
''Poached egg! And it's the one par
ticular thing that l can't maker she
groaned
The etakettIe was boiling and she
proceeded to brew the tea in one of
the little willow pattern china pots
which matched the table service of the
tearoom.
Susanna's shining aluminium sauce
pans and pots were temptingly ar
rayed on hooks over the gas range;
there was an egg poacher, too, and
Elsie proceeded to prepare the de-
lectable Wand.
Three trips she made into the tea
room-once to set tempting pats of
butter and the pot of tea before the
patron, again to serve him with the
burned bit of toast on which was
sprawled the yellow, leathery-looking
egg The third trip was in answer to
his summons.
please bring me another egg" he
said in a tone of polite WEAKNESS
This one seems-e t1er over
done"
Elsie carried out the unappetizing
looking mess and cried over it in the
kitchen. Then she essayed another
and met failure. and still another
failing again. The kitchen table was
a riot of broken eggshells and slices
of toast of varying shades of COM
plexion.
There were UNDERGONE eggs and
overdone eggs and eggs that looked
like omelets, but there was not one
fair specimen such as she had seen |
Susanna serve with never a mishap-
a square of golden-broWn toast rich |
with butter and crowned with a pinky |
yellow circle filmed with white and |
set in a larger circle of cleaning white, |
flecked with grains of pepper.
Elsie Wayne always remembered |
nightmare of eggs that. refused to be !
poached and of endless trips into the |
tea room to present her trophies to the /
grim-visaged young man at the table. |
Invariably he waved her offerings |
away, always with that look of bored |
patience.
Never mind" he said at last, and !
not unkindly. Perhaps you have some |
cakes What are those little pink |
frosted ones yonder?"
a ia I1f
the plate of pinkand-whi heart |
shaped cakes. These de1ectab NOR |
sells were favorites with Mrs. Burton's |
patrons.
Those look very tempting" he said |
smoothly. You did not make them" |
ON the contrary. I did make them"
she affirmed spirited1y.
Indeed ?" His tone was amused
He picked up the top cake and broke
it in two
ing tone. Easy to break, but impos-
sible to mend"
mot impossible to mend" retorted
Elsie "A little frosting will mend it
nicely
Sweet words to hide the break
but no permanent healing" he in
sisted.
The other cakes are not broken
you will soon forget this one," re-
minded Elsie.
But it is this particular heart 1
care most about" he argued gently
- - CORY
"And you will mend it with
sug@-
1T is not worth mendfng-bearts
are all alike" she said. and. gather
ing up his dishes, she disappeared
kitchenward-
Again the tiny gong sounded from
IF you please. may 1 have some
iced tea 2" he asked