Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-10-05
Evening Story
BRUNETTE PREFERRED.
BY Hope AInslie.
Copyright, 1915, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.)

BY Hope Alnslie.
Copyright, 1915, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.)
Its not any question of sentiment
at ALL" the doctor said with dignity.
"A brunette is more reliable and sta
BILE in disposition. Nelson; that is all.
A blonde is predisposed to superb
cia!ity. She is liable to be selfish. A
brunette may be jealous, but she
makes a better nurse, assure you.
Here we can't afford to take even so
slight chance. l want a girl who
can take hold of D cottage and han
die it. Put brunette preferred in
the ad., and I'll pick her out when
they begin to arrive"
Nelson drew a sigh and typed the
adj to catch the mail. He occupied
several positions at the works. AS
sistant superintendent was one, also
general correspondence manager and
first aid to the injured hustler when
any accidents happened. That day
two of the brass pourers had got into
fight just at 4, and stopped their Ia
dies over each other. The doctor had
rebelled and demanded regular
nurse from the city to help him down
in the little stuffy hospital behind
the pattern room. Three days later,
even while answers by mail were pill
ing up for him to select from, the
down train from Beauchamp left
young woman on the platform, and
after one quick survey of the barren
landscape she headed for the low
brick factory buildings down near the
river.
She's got red hair, doc" Nelson
announced gently, as he hunted UP
the doctor and told him of his visitor
She had. Undeniably red. Dressed
in dark blue serge, with the perkiest
kind of tricorne white felt hat on
her curly red hair, and her hazel eyes
brimful of determination, she over
came the doctors aversion and got
the position.
And she wore, later on, when she
appeared in her uniform, the most
coquettish sort of white lawn cap. 1t
was sort of double frill, caught in
the middle, that gave her the appear
ance of disdainful young white peo-
cock She talked little. When she
had occasion to come to the office,
NckSOu ucdIu ucI AuAAIAAA6 W ACA oCAA
all the way along the corridor.
Now. even Nelson was aware that
he was not an ordinary looking young
person. Six feet two, weighing In at
about hundred and sixty, was not
SO bad. He had rowed in the varsity
winning crew and was nephew to old
Rarhburn, the owner of the Rathburn
Malleable Iron Works. 1t had been
his idea and suggestion to take the
hospital department out of the build
ings and build decent cottage out
at the end of the yards, where acct.
dent cases could be handled.
DR.. O'Farell had backed him up.
While he held his own practice in the
small manufacturing town he was
under contract to the works to patch
up the accident cases. Sometimes a
week went by without any. Some
times, f work were rushing and the
weather cry hot, the men seemed to
catch the contagion of thought worry
and become quarrelsOme among them
selves. A rush contract would fill
several beds over in the cottage.
Louise Hall was her name. She
came from northern New York. Nell
son found that much out the day the
big belt caught at her dress skirt as
she passed it's lower shaft, and he
pulled her away.
Don't use this passageway," he
told her sternly Zone of our boys
was caught here and landed up
against the wall yonder.''
You ought to have the belt pro-
tected," she answered coolly. Where
upon, thinking it over Nelson went
to his uncle and had the belt pro-
tected. So in one way and another
she introduced a better and more
careful system into the works. Life
was a precious thing she taught even
the doctor, while he smiled and
wished her hair were few shades
darker. Red hair was a sign OF a
preponderance of executive ability he
told Nelson on the quiet. Still she
was doing better than he had ex-
pected. Then came the day when Big
Kalmuck, the foreman over in the
gray iron division, tumbled over with
the heat and when he came to at
tackled the doctor.
There was no one in the hospital
cottage when it happened but the
nurse and couple Of patients, but
somehow cone soaked in chloroform
was pressed over Kalmuck's nose
from behind, and he dropped in a
quiet, innocent heap at the doctors
feet.
BY the time Nelson answered Miss
Halls phone call the doctor had
slipped down beside him, protesting
that he was not hurt, but Kalmuck's
knife still remained neatly plugged
between his ribs, and he became
patient at the cottage under the COM
It was the end of the first week
that Nelson asked her to be his wife.
He had been over every few hours to
help with the care Of O'Farrell, and
had brought down the city surgeon
for him, as we'll as the local man but
thew All knew it was the care Of the
red-haired nurse that was saving his
life.
II was along about 8, and Nelson
was saying good night. The door into
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