The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-03-23
The Evening Story
Weeds.
(Ry Louise oliver

would Indicate The flush on her
cheeks, although very becoming, was
q signal of considerable disturbance
within. Retrospection of certain oc-
currences during the preceding year
was generating indignation to a Ce-
gree best described as boiling"
Garry Osworth, fifty feet or so
away on the links, seemingly intent
upon addressing a minute sphere of
! hard rubber with silly looking
stick having an iron end. may have
been just as absorbed as he looked.
/ but then it is just likely that he
wasn't, because he was keenly con-
scious of Eldred's proximity. Besides
! that, he knew as well as she knew
mer vacation, but his sensation was
one of remorse instead of indignation.
! Crack! The ball went far-and-
wide of the green, landing in q. bunker
which spelled disaster. Gary stood
and watched its descent, compressed
his lips and picked up his bag.
/ Elldred, her diminutive porch,
giggled. She couldn't help it in spite
: of her "reminiscences. She had heard
so many choice expressions from over
the fence during her summers sojourn
when male enthusiasts missed, p
ped or sliced their balls that she APP
preciated the silence. 1t was obvious
that Gary knew she was there in spite
! of the elderberry bushes, an oak tree
and a green striped awning that came
pretty we'll down over the porch.
d
way up the course then went inside
to brew her cup of afternoon tea. She
was pretty, %, and drawing teacher in
enough big brick city schools to care
her to death. Gary was horaely, 80
! and superintendent of those same
schools. Moreover, it was the super
intendent, not the schools, that scared
Eldred. Not his ugliness-dear me.
no. His was the kind of strong home
illness that every woman worships and
that any one of his three hundred
teachers would marry tomorrow did
he insist.
But he ridiculed art and laughed at
Eldred'S pictures on the blackboards,
which stiff little fingers tried so hard
to reproduce. He wanted to see sums
rather than violets, maps instead or
canary birds, spelling words on a
plane with "psychotherapist'' and such
instead of intense sunset. which gave
the children a delightful chance TO
dabble in purple.
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 tele-
phones 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 breez-
ed in and asked about some crayon
supplies for the coming year. Saints
could have endured less-and Gary
went to church only every other sun
day He told her several things he
thought of things. 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 put the coy over the teapot
and 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.
some day-and somewhow, I'm going
to get even for all the tears I've shed,
silly goose that I've been!'
Through a tiny isinglass window she
could see her enemy in the distance
trying to dig his ball out of a sand
ditch. Two, three, four-he was out!
But she knew he was Tuning, and she
laughed again. The next shot landed
him in the water moat around a
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 as she watched him on
of the water with club.
Billy Hawkins, cartoonist for the
Daily News, had made this remark
before he went away on his vacation;
I'm off for two weeks. If you see
anything good, send it in, particularly
if you can get anything on anyone.
Somebody prominent, you know"
Eldred put the tea things away and
got out her sketch book.
One morning, a week later, Gary
Osworth opend his mail on the porch
of the clubhouse before going out to
play. On the front page of the Daily
News he spied six sketches, and this
legend in large type: "Our Superin-
tendent at Golf"
There he was, ridiculous in all sorts
hitting the ball, acting generally like
a duplicate Charlie Chaplin in a NOV
ing picture show.
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 savagely
zone isn't safe from those newspaper
devils anywhere. Who would have
thought they'd follow me up here? I'll
be the laughing stock of the city when
get back
Then he went out to his game and
vented his wrath 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 young lady who had stepped out
of her cottage to gather goldenrod.
Now there were five cottages all
alike, and the young lady being a GER
tain person of whom we have heard,
all goes to show that there is some
thing in the horoscope. What is to
be. is to be, whether the agent be an
arrow or golf ball. Dan Cupid gets
tired of one weapon.
Gary Osworth didn't see the ball hit
Eldred, but he went IN search of it and
found her lying unconscious on the
ground. her arm still around a huge
mass of yellow goldenrod. The ball
that had done the damage was lying
near. His heart stood still, Had he
killed her instead of seeking her and