Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-12-28
The Daily
Short Story
THEIR FIRST MEETING.
BY Pauline D. Edwards.

first meetg" asked Mrs. Jones of Mrs
Whittimore
''Oh, heavensi Don't ask me-"
Mrs Jones looked at Mrs. Whitti-
more, puzzled
I've been trying to forget my meet
ing with Paul for 10 years and now
you, my dearest friend, come and rasn
me by asking for the story. For II IL
a story. and if tell it must go over
IL all or | will appear even a greater
fool than am"
L would excuse you, but am cursed
with an excess of curiosity; come. pro-
ceed.r
you know my fathers place is near
Narrenton. where there is the STATE
asylum for the insane, and our house
was not very far from it"
Good gracious. you didn't marry a
lunatic?"
Worse. If had, should have had
some respect for myself; as 1t is, am
the biggest coward in TIE we-..SS, -
ther is civil engineer you know, and
be used to be kept in the city some
times late at night with the young men
who made his drawings and calcula-
tons for him. But I'm getting ahead
of my stG<y.
| "One day there was a call at The tel
| ephone and I answered It. Il was a
notification from the asylum that
dangerous lunatic had escaped. They
were warning everyone in the neigh
borhood TO look out for him. He had
/ on a gray overcoat with velvet col
lar. striped trousers and an Alpine hat.
Il had scarcely taken the message
when the doorbell rang. was the only
person in the house at the time. SO |
| went to the door. There was the luna
tic. I recognized kim by the hat and
lovercoat.
These were enough; ! didn't look at
his trousers. was about to slam the
! door in his face when bethought my
self that the way to subdue a crazy
man was to look him square in the
eye and pretend to think he was per-
| fectly sane.
81 have come up from the city
! he began, when, knowing that he had
come from the asylum, stopped him.
: Should l try to get rid Of him?
, feared to do so lest | should anger him
5 and he would kill me. l concluded TO
dissemble. / would let him come in
and contrive, i0possible, to lock him
), up. and telephone the asylum keepers
! to send for him, SO I said:
"'Oh, yes, we're expecting you. Come
Ersr sx,
ments?"
y "'0h. no. he replied. I'll wait till
your dinner hour
5 Good gracious! He was intending TO
4 stay to dinner
Nevertheless, in order to plaeaie
: him. after ! had asked him to take a
= seat IN the living room, brought out
r q. plate of cookies and decanter OF
sherry. and setting them on the table
1 invited him to help himself. ] might
{ have known that he would expect me-
i TO sit by him and share the refresh
q ments with him, but hadn't thought
& Of that When he asked me TO do 81
i dared not refuse / sat as far from
i him as / could on the other side o.
q the table and munched a cookie I va.
6 scared nearly to death and the lunatit
: evidently noticed that something wa
: the matter with me.
r He pulled his watch out Of ali
s pocket and asked me what time the up
: train arrived. l believed that he wa
intending TO get out of the place on il
and was nervous, fearing that an:
minute the keepers from the asylum
s. might come and capture him. / toll
u him ] didn't know about the train; an
:, I began TO form q plan for lockin!
7, him up. I am sorry TO have TO ask yol
y to excuse me- said, but I must &c
t. a, letter off by the evening mail. Mean
J. while if you will go up stairs to faith
a er's den where he keeps his profes
e sional library, you may smoke L yoi
n choose
d a should very much like 10 loo
d over the books, but I don't smoke h
y replied.
E Z showed him TO fathers den, h
e went in and locked the door on hin
"a Then | went downstairs and tele
L phoned the asylum that 1 had the Is
IS capped lunatic under lock and key, an
n wished they would send for him ID
IN mediately. They seemed much sGl
Z prised that I could have secured on
10 who had nearly succeeded in KILN
his keeper, but said they would COR
over at once.
as The keeper came and at The san
IS time father arrived from the city.
r. Where is he? asked the keeper.
II. Il led him up to the den, father 70
n lowing wonderingly When ullock'
the door the iunatic was immersed
a book on engineering.
Thunder and gunsl' exclaimed I
or Their. Do you call him lunatic? i
al Ernest Brooks, one of my assistants.
~ told him to come up with me TO he
C. me do some work tonight I supp0
IN he took the train that pulled out iu
H. ahead Of mine
~ Il stood for moment. the color OF
y. peony, then ran to my room and lock
ed myself in
40 How did you come to marry hi
d after that?"
It We'll. he made light of the matt
n and ! suppose it was gratitude on 4
u as part for his not treating me Ike
%, fool or coward"
10. -
would be considered at future met