The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-10-10
EVENING STORY
Susie in the City.
BY Dorothy Douglas.)

I
lem of their further ascent The ten
der. green ends strained vainly for
I.something to which to cling. When
Susie had planned her tiny war gar
den of giant peas and beans in her
window boxes she had not dreamed
they would reach such a sturdy and
tremendous height as they now
showed.
1t was too late to wish that she
had bought dwarf peas and beans,
but Susie realized that if another
summer saw her in the city she
would know what kind of vegetables
! to buy and plant in her window gar
den. The tiny rows of radishes and
onions and heads of lettuce were a
credit to her knowledge OF utilizing
each inca of space. She had not more
than eight square feet of well fertil-
lied earth, but in that Susie had not
only her healthy vegetable garden,
but a little riot OF blooming flowers
i that kept her studio supplied with
dainty bit of color.
But still the climbing vines wor-
ried her and each night when She
returned from her ottlce and each
morning when the early sun awoke
her she pondered on a way to get
her strings further up on the outside
of the house.
Susie did not know who lived in
| the studio above. She often heard
| footsteps and fancied some writer
! was there. The footsteps had at first
puzzled Susie because of their queer
mufiied sound, which, however. had
gradually become more decisive. Had
| she known who was up there she
could easily have gone up with her
string and tied it to the rusty nails
! which she had seen from her own
window. But Susie neither knew nor
wanted to know anyone in the same
building as herself. She feared for
her quiet, restful evening should she
become acquainted with near neigh
bors
However, she did want her string
wound over those rusty nails in the
window ledge above and as her vines
began to plead desperately for sup
port Susie determined to find a way
| of giving it to them.
1t was on one Sunday morning af-
ter she had thoroly read the papersI
and had her morning cup of tea that
she decided to tie a string to the pole
She had taken from her flags when
she hung them periodically in the
window and hoist it to the window
above. She realized that her act was
a trifle unconventional, but her vines
were perfectly conventional vines and
needed support just as any vines need
it.
Susie first picked a few fresh mas
turtiums from her tiny garden, to-
gether with spray of rose geranium.
Then she scrubbed a few lines on a
bit of paper and tied the note and
flowers to the end of her flagpoIe.
| When she heard the footsteps near
the window above she put her pole
outside and hoisted it, after having
tied a ball of twine to the note.
There was but a moments interval
between the hosting and a tug at
the pole which proclaimed its safe
ascent and the reading of the request.
Susie called up soft Thank you,
I TycaF=x h
string had been tied and the ball
came tumbling down to her. She
knew no more about the person above
her than she did before.
1t was man, however and that
man was much amused at the request
to tie the string for the tiny garden
to climb on and surreptitiousIy
watched the white hand below tying
cross bars of cord to the two uprights
he had made for her. The hands
looked all too white and Irail for a
girl who was spending the hot wealth.
er in the city
Captain McGil1 of the Gordon High
landers, returned to his adopted
field, felt that the possessor of those
hands should be at the seaside in a
soft satin frock with a huge sunshade.
Had he seen more than the hands
| he would have been even more firmly
| convinced. But Susie's frock was of
most serviceable bingham, destined to
| defy constant scrubbings at the steam
| laundry. Captain McGi1l missed much
in seeing only Susie's hands for she
was decidedly fair to look upon and
| more than a snare for the big Scotch
mans heart His writings for the mag
| azineS and newspapers would either
| have Jagged hopelessly or spurted
ahead with new inspiration according
to the way of a battle-scarred hero's
| brain if-if he had but seen Susie of
| the window-boX garden. He treasured
the flowers on his writing table and
hoped one day to bump into the girl
herself in the hall.
Vacation time arrived for Susie. A
sadly needed two weeks in the noun
tains was planned with Joyful antic-
ipation. She worried about the care
of her little garuen and realized that
she would have to be at the mercy of
Gods good rain just like all farmers
| if her garden was to remain green.
! Without rain it would wilt and die
long before she would return. Even
so, she could not remain at home TO
/ care for her garden. Her mirror told
her frankly that her cheeks were more
than pale and her eyes listless. She
packed a small wardrobe quickly and
made all arrangements for her trip.
Capt. McGill, the man in the studio
above. happened by lucky chance to
see Susie descend the steps with her
suit case and in flash realized that
| he wanted very, very much to know
her
He didn't know for a second wheth-
err or rot to make most perfec. |
idiot OF himself and rush /out. fol- |
lew her, purchase ticket to the same |
place to which she went and track her
to the very hotel in which she ex-
Pected to spend her vacation. But Nc |
Gill decided to keep his head on his |
shoulders and just trust to fate. Con- |
sequently he remained at the window |
while Susie disa ppeared toward the |
stage that carries her ts the railway |
station.
McGin felt decidedly lonesome |
when Susie had gone from the studio |
building, even though he had never |
spoken with her. Her presence SEEM |
cd tO Ia into