Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-01-24
Their First
Meeting
icoDyTiSht. 1917. western Newspaper Union,
B, PAULINE D. EDWARDS

By PAULINE D. EDWARDS II
icopyrirnt. 1917, western Newspaper Union.)
'sWhere did you and your husband
irst meetY' asked Mrs. Jones of Mrs.
Whittimore.
"Oh, heavens! Don't ask me-"
Mrs. Jones looked at Mrs. Whitt-
more, puzzled.
'Tve been trying to forget my meet
ng with Paul for ten years, and now
7ou, my dearest friend, come and rasp
ne by asking for the story. For it is
story, and if tell it must go over
It all or will appear even greater
FOOL than ! am"
81 would excuse you, but am cursed
with an excess of curiosity; come, pro-
seed"
'sYou know my fathers place is near
Warrenton, where there is the state
asylum for the insane, and our house
was not very far from it."
"Good gracious, you didn't marry q
.unatic?"
"Worse. If had should have had
some respect for myself; as it is, am
the biggest coward in the world. Fa-
Their is civil engineer, you know, and
he used to be kept in the city some
times late ut night with the young men
who made his drawings and calcula-
lions for him. But I'm getting ahead
Of my story.
zone day there was call at the tel
ephone and / answered it. 1t was q
notification from the asylum that q.
| dangerous lunatic had escaped. They
were warning everyone in the neigh
| Dorhood to look out for him. He had
| on gray overcoat with a velvet coll
! lar, striped trousers and an Alpine hat.
: II had scarcely taken the message
when the dOOrbell rang. was the only
person in the house at the time, so II
went to the door. There was the luna;
tic. recognized him by the hat and
pvercOat.
these were enough; didn't look att
MS trousers. was about to slam the,
1oor In his face when bethought my!
; self that the way to subdue crazy
/! nan was to look him square In the.
eye and pretend to think he was per-.
fectly sane. !;
"I have. come mp from the city,:
. he began, when, knowing that he had.
J. come from the asylum, / stopped him. ,
. Should try to get rid Of him? Ij
!, feared to do SO lest should anger him
!, and he would kill me. concluded to.
: dissemble. would let him come in
), and contrive, If possible, to lock himi
, up, and telephone the asylum keepers
: to send for him, SO said:
! "'Oh, yes, we're expecting you. Come!
- right in. Would you like any refresh
:. mentS?'
n 8 Oh, no. he replied, Flls wait TN,
your dinner hour 8 Z: sssSs Isl sasls
!. "Good gracious! He Eas intending
|, TO stay to dinner. - 4s
= Nevertheless in order to placate
; him. after l had asked him to take
seat in the living room, brought out
= plate of cookies and decanter of
% sherry, and setting them on the table
"a invited him to help himself / might
= have known that he would expect me
n to sit by him and share the refresh
=, ments with him, but hadn't thought
- of that. When he asked me to do so
dared not refuse. sat as far from
- him as could get on the other side Of
- the table and munched cookie. / was
ID scared nearly to death AID the lunatic
N evidently noticed that something was
70 the matter with me.
10 "He pulled his watch out Of his pocket
l. and asked me what time the up-train
re- arrived. believed that he was intend
is ing to get out of the place on it, and
Mt was nervous, fearing that any minute
IN The Keepers from the asylum might
nj come and capture him. / told him 1
didn't know about the train; ana be-
gan to form plan for lochinsg hi:s, up.
10 ! am sorry to have to ask you TO ex-
cuse me- | said but mus get a let
fer off by the evening mail. Meanwhile,
~ If YOU will go up stairs to fathers den
cd where he keeps his professional library,
ok you may smoke if you choose"
Nv 81 should very much Ike to look
wv over the books, but l don't smoke he
If replied.
he Il showed him to fathers den, he
all went in and locked the tlosr on him.
er Then went downstairs and tstephoned
of the asylum that l had the escaped
se l,lnatic under lock and key, and wished
I'd, hey would send for him Immediately.
IT'S They seemed much surprised that
re. could have secured one who had nearly
m. succeeded in killing his keeper, but
1e- said they would come over at once.
is. ''The keeper came and at the same
M lime father arrived from the city.
is "'Where is hep asked the keeper.
err II led him up to the den, father fol
cd owing wonderingly. When unlocked
ter The door the lunatic was immersed in q
gh book on engineering.
ng Thunder and guns 7 exclaimed ia
I'll Their. Do you call him lunatic? It's
MS Ernest Brooks, one of my assistants.
on told him to CONF. nm with me to heir
it -, ~, , $500