The Penn's Grove record., 1916-03-31
WEEDS
BY LOUISE OLIVER.

ner zap as ner ABSORBED expression
would indicate. The flush on her
cheeks. although very becoming, was
a signal of considerable disturbance
within.
Gary Osworth, fifty feet or so away
on the links, seemingly intent upon
addressing" a minute sphere of hard
rubber with a ~silly-looking stick hav.
ing an iron end, may have been just
as absorbed as he looked, but then it
is just likely that he wasn't.
Crack! The ball went far-and-
wide of the green, landing in a bunker
which spelled disaster. Gary stood
and watched it's descent, compressed
his lips and picked up his bag.
Eldred, on her diminutive porch,
giggled. She couldn't help it in spite
of her "reminiscences.
She was pretty, twenty-five, and
drawing teacher in enough big brick
city schools to scare her to death.
Gary was homely, thirty and superin.
tendent of those same schools. More,
over, it was the superintendent, not
the schools, that scared Eldred. Not
his ugliness-dea me, no!
But he ridiculed art and laughed at
Eldred's pictures on the b~lackboards,
which stiff little fingers tried so hard
to reproduce.
Then, the last day in June, when the
thermometer was ninety-five near the
water cooler and his desk was stacked
head high with papers to be disposed
of that day and the two telephones
were ringing fiendishly every other
minute and his neuralgia started to
dig out his right eye and everything
went wrong and everybody was a tor,
ture, then Eldred Reamore had
breezed in and asked about some cray,
on supplies for the coming year.
Saints could have endured less-and
Gary went to church only every other
Sunday. He told her several things
he thought of. Her art was silly-her
work useless, her aim purposeless and
her ambition not worthy of her. He
spoke of dicky birds, frog ponds, and
finally, in a fine frenzy of rage, he
had mentioned something about the
damned weeds she made the kids
draw.
Eldred drew a sharp breath. What
could be more foolish" she asked her.
self, than for a full-grown man to
chase a little ball around for miles
every day? And yet he says that my
work is silly" Her eyes flashed.
Through a tiny isinglass window she
scould see her enemy in the distance
trying to dig his ball out of a sand
ditch. The next shot landed him in
the water moat around the green.
"Oh, how very, very funny" she
cried. 1--WE heard him talk golf in the
most awesome terms. If some of those
people in town could only see him
now" She stopped, struck with a
sudden idea.
Billy Hawkins, ~cartoonist for the
Daily News, had made this remark be-
fore he went away on his vacation:
Tin off for two weeks. If you see any
thing good, send it in, particularly if
you can get anything on anyone.
Somebody prominent, you know"
Eldred put the tea things away and
SOI Out uSr Sh0LcH DOCK.
A week later Gary Osworth opened
his mail on the porch of the club.
house before going out to play. On
the front page of the Daily News he
spied six sketches, and this legend in
large type. Our Superintendent at
Golf"
There he was, ridiculous in all sorts
Of contortions.
The line below the cartoon read
thus: Mr.. Osworth dislikes anything
that is frivolous and useless and that
does not strengthen the mind"
He threw the paper down s~avagely.
Then he went out to his game and
vented his wroth on the turf, the air
and the ball when he could hit it.
And the ball, going wild upon one
occasion, swerved to the left, out
through the leaves of an oak tree and
hit a young lady who had stepped out
of her cottage to gather g%oldenrod.
Gary Osworth didn't see the ball hit
Eldred, but he went n search of it and
found her lying unconscious on the
ground, her arm still around a huge
mass of yellow g%oldenrod. The ball
that had done the damage was lying
lei His heart stood still!
He carried her inside, laid her upon
a couch and hunted for water. But
she started to breathe, which was all
that was necessary to start his own
heart to pumping again. He turned
and his eye caught the open page of a
sketch book-a cartoon of himself
playing golf! And Eldred opened her
eyes to see her enemy gazing blankly
at it. How petty her revenge was!
What a mean thing she had done to
this big, wholesome man!
She sat up instantly. I'm sorry"
she said simply.
He turned and smiled. "You needn't
be. I'm glad you did it. l feel better
some a | ought to be shot for saw.