The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-02-27
EVENING STORY
Opium and Olivia.
(By Dorothy Douglas

in the bright morning sunshine. He
stopped and picked it up. He thrust
| it in his pocket. He was far too in
tent on catching the next train in at
the 10th street elevated station to
examine the bauble he had found.
Having caught the train and seated
| himself he unfolded the morning pa
per. This quarter hour on the train
was the only time during the day
| that the doctor allowed himself for
the perusal of the war-filled papers.
! But this morning he dropped his
paper before he had read five min
utes. He had remembered his glitter
ing find and an unusual feeling of
curiosity impelled m to examine
| the pencant.
He whistled softly as he looked at
it. In the bright light from the read
ing lamp the bauble assumed decided
value. Even to his eyes, ignorant as
to the price of feminine adornment,
the locket fairly screamed aloud its
worth from the costly mass of jewels
in the gold frame.
Hump. I'd like to get the value
of that locket for every appendix 1
expect to cut OUT he ruminated. 81
would soon have my, own single
hanging out wherever WANTED it,"
There was a mysterious catch that
gave the doctor no little amusement
and trouble before he could open the
| tightly closed locket. When his fin
gers discovered the secret and the
| locket flew open his eyes expanded,
then contracted, in professional scru-
| tiny.
opium pills,
'Dopei" muttered the doctor In
voluntarily he sighed. There was so
much wreckage floating about the
world Here was startling evidence
of human tragedy. Some wretched
/ he
| tortures of the condemned because
she had lost her opium. The doctor
| longed for means whereby he could
| drag that bit of social wreckage back
to power and control and self-respect.
His inner conviction was that the
woman. whoever she might be, would
never claim the locket for fear her
CHASTITY skeleton should become public
property. She would shrink from see
ing it stalk about in the set to which
she belonged.
The doctor slept little that night
The personality of the opium fiend
| kept rising wildly before him. In his
mind she was a pitiable bit of woman
hood trying desperately to escape the
degradation of vice and resorting to
every form of deception in order to
secure the means of forgetfulness. He
felt her tragedy keenly, for he was a
sympathetic man.
| Skeptical tho he was as to results
he inserted a wellworded advertise
ment in the daily papers. He felt
reasonably certain that no one would
claim the te1l-tale locket. There was
| the chance, however, that the owner.
in abject need of the opium, would
| immerse her pride or employ an elab-
crate fabric of lies in order I'd redeem
the drug-filled bauble
Rylance smiled dryly as he pictured
himself being fooled in his profess
sional capacity.
He had, in his advertisement, hint
ed at secrecy. He wanted to protect
the woman from needless suffering
following fear of exposure and strict
est confidence was promised.
When Olivia Westin found the adj
vertisement she had been seeking. her
eyes lighted in triumph until they
twitched with excitement. She glanced
with tender expression at the tvpe-
writer standing forlornly on the ia BILE
beside the window. Its white keys
had not known the touch of Olivia's
that Olivia's brain was tagged. Con-
sequently her typewriter suffered a
4 neglect that, had it been of masculine
gender, would have troubled it great
ly, for Olivia's fingers were wonder
fully soft and gentle.
She aros.. and took up the tele-
phone. The number she called was
the one given in the advertisement
DIR. Rylance was in his office. When
he took up the telephone receiver a
little snatch of song was waited along
the wire. After that delightful sound
Olivia's voice reached him.
4 am most anxious about my lock-
et,' she said.
Il am sorry 1 opened it," Rylance
said to her. But as you may know,
a mans /curiosity is a thing quite be-
yond his power to control" He ap-
tod =,
ed along the wires. when can you
call for the locket?" He was con-
scious of keen desire to study this
opium fiend at close range. He de-
sired to determine the exact amount
of damage already accomplished by
the habit
4 There is always hope" He did not
know that his family voiced thought
would travel along the wire.
The noise at the other end was
more like the twittering of birds than
the haunting wall of a lost soul. The
doctor marveled.
Il will call this afternoon" Olivia
said eagerly.
The glowing tone in her voice
caused the doctor to sigh as he hung
up the receiver. 1t was evident that
she was joyous over the prospect OF
regaining her lost property.
During the afternoon it was diff
cult for Doctor Rylance to give full
attention to the suffering humanity
that trooped into his office. If the
girl coming in the late afternoon
proved to be the victim of opium then
she would be the young doctors first
experience with the drug fiend in
feminine form. He shuddered uncon-
sciously. To him there seemed moth
ing SO pitiable as feminine flotsan
drifting helplessly in world of vice
When the neat little nurse who act
ed as office attendant ushered in
win
lhour. The doctor was forced swiftly