The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-06-23
EVENING STORY
Nothing for Yale.


was - years old. The old man was
pretty rich, and most people called
him eccentric.
In making his will he proved that
they were right. In tact, if they had
called him half fool they would not
have been far from the truth.
Old Josiah left his ward half mil
lion dollars. He left his housekeeper,
who was also the cnaperone. Il tlftn of
that sum. He left three brothers small
fortunes each, ana then proceeded to
reveal his idiocy. He had a nephew
named Earl Wirdham. He had not
seen nor directly heard from him
in twenty years. He had heard IN
a roundabout way that Earl lived in |
Boston and was oculist and not |
married yet at the age of twenty /
three. He had been told that Mr. !
Windham was a smart and steady
young man, and that was all he had to |
go on.
The old man was not a matchmak-
er, but he proceeded to NEEDLE with |
the business. Whether his ward
wanted to marry a man with red hair
or black did not make any difference
to him. She might marry a man OIL
25 or an old man of 20, so far as ne
knew her mind. In his will he LETT
half a million dollars to be inherited
in this way If Mr.. Earl Windham
! married Miss Rose Stevens within
year the money was to come to them
as bridal gilt. If they did not mar
ry, it was to go to Yale college. That
was the up and down of it. The law.
| yer who drew the will vowed that II
| could not he broken.
| Here was eccentricity with a Ven
geance. Miss Rose had never seen Earl,
and his name had been men
! toned in her hearing but two or three
heard that Rose was the ward of his
uncle, but nothing further. He never
| felt called upon to Visit old Josiah, ana
| consequently, he had never seen the
| girl.
| The young man was in California
when he read in a newspaper that MS
uncle was dead and had left strange
sort of will. His first thought was OF
defiance. His uncle had no business TO
leave things in that manner. Mr.. Wlno-
| ham WASH t going to permit an uncle
or anybody else to bride him into
i taking a wife. He was fairly well to
do and getting along nicely in ms
profession, and he said to himself that
Yale might get the money and be
Miss Rose felt spirit of defiance as
well. She could live nicely on that half
million, and she wasn't going to marry
any man for the sake of any more. she
had some curiosity about Mr.. Wind
ham, but she didn't care much wheth-
! er she ever saw him or not She
imag ined him to have light, thin hair,
a receding chin, shiny blue eyes and
to be a sort of invalid, and her love
should not go to any man like that.
Six months of the year had gone by
and the young oculist had wrestled
many times with himself. Half a
million dollars was an enviable sum. 1t
might just happen that old Josia IS
ward was a fine girl, and that Earl
| would lose good thing if he lost her
Why not at least go East and see her.
He could do it without revealing his
identity. If he did not like the look
of her he could walk off and let the
time expire and let Yale get the mon
ely. Mr.. Windham kept saying to him.
self that he had no curiosity whatever
on the subject, but he felt it sort of
duty to the girl. She ought to know
whether that half million dollars was
going to Yale or not. She might be
fretting and stewing over it, and it was
hardly a manly thing to keep her in
that situation. Therefore, Mr.. Wind
ham packed his bag one day and
started for the east.
Miss Rose Stevens lived in a fine
! house in the city. The day of his ar
rival Mr.. Windham went and looked
at the house. The exterior pleased
his eye. but he did not muster up
courage to walk up the steps and ring
the bell He waited until the after
noon of the next day, and then be had
strong inclination to run away be-
fore the bell could be answered. 1t
|
best of houses at odd times, that the
butler had been sent on an errand,
and there was no one about to an
swer the bell except Rose herself.
When she opened the door it was to
see a fine young man standing there.
Mr. Windham had forgotten his card
case. but he introduced himself by his
proper name, and the girl. who had
forgotten about such name, smiled
and said:
"Oh, you've come to inspect the wa
ter and gas pipes, have you? They
generally ser d man here every three
months. Come right in. and L will go
over the house with you"
But I am not inspector" was
the confused reply.
Were you sent to see about the
leak in the roof? 1t ought to have
been fixed a week ago"
II don't think I was"
You didn't want to see Miss John
son, did you? Because if you do, she
has gone out for the day, and you
will have to call again. Will you
CALF"
Mr.. Win 1ham felt as if some one
had given him knockout drops. The
girl before him did not understand
He had pictured her wrongly to him
self. He was not agreeably surprised
to find her what she was. He hest
tated for a moment and then turned
and went slowly down the steps Be-
fore he reached the bottom one. she
came out and called to him:
oh, some one has left our can of
ashes right by the steps. 1t was a
careless trick and 1 shall complain
about it, Won't you please move the
can little as you go out?''
Mr.. Windham raised his hat and.
when he reached the can, he moved
it out of the way, and felt so angry
and Inundated over things in general
that he got out IF the neighborhood
as soon as possible. He walked around
for an hour, and then went back with
a card in his hand, and waI properly
announced.
| oh, it's you come back, is it"