The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-26
EVENING STORY
It Is the Law.
BY r. RAY BAKER.

It was Monday. Fifteen minutes
more and the office force of John |
Hamlin, attorney-at-law. would cease |
operations until the round, red mon |
arch of day had dived below the west |
ern horizon and stuck it's nose up out
Of the east again.
There was still considerable work
piled up before the office force. but
John Hamlin was young Ind had a
bIood-pumping device inside him that
puIsated rapidly and kept time to
tune of sympathy for the human race
in general. Consequently, he could
not bring himself to driving tacti IS in
his role of employer, even when
neglect of duties was apparent. More
over, this same office force had been
with Hamlin four and one-haf years,
and that alone spoke for considerable
leniency.
Neglect was evident The office
force was gazing steadily at nothings
that linger in the space outside the
window. Her hands were resting on
the typewriter keyboard but the deft
fingers were inactive. A puzzled little
frown wrinkled her forehead.
John Hamlin ckewed meditatively
on the rubber of his pencil, watched a
fly negotiate journey across the CELL
ing, wondered why it didn't fall and
break it's back, and wished it would,
jet-black hair. He succeeded in chew
ing the pencil eraser in two, spat the
aEputated portion into the waste
basket and resumed perusal of the
brief that argued for attention against
the bright August day.
Poor Priscilla he sighed inaudibly
pas he ruffleG his red hair and rustled
the document into a position where it
shut off the view of the stenographer's
back. II work that girl to death. but
10 lot oh hnf ,r-c
Priscilla had a right to be de
tached." 1t is not often that girl in
4 little town like Pellston receives two
proposals from two very nice young
| men in one day. Then. again. one of
| the very nice young men was bank
er's son.
Let's turn the clock back twenty
| four hours and twenty-seven minutes
| and see how it happned. The pro-
| posal program opened at 1913 p. M,
| exact time, because she was looking
! at her wrist watch while she sat under
| the big oak tree in the woods and lis
tened to Cecil Melville say: You
| could make me the happiest man in
| the world if you would only say,
| etc, etc.
| It had been one of those $50 sud-
den" affairs. Priscilla had been
| courted more or less consistently by
Melville for the last six months. He
| had been e&treT ly nice to her, send
| ing her flowers, bringing her confec-
tionery, taking her to theaters and for
motor car rides and paying her other
| attentions; but he never had appeared
to nourish any deep affection.
Like many girls, Priscilla had cher
ished visions of marrying wealth; but
as she grew older-especially since
| working in j. Hamlin's office-she had
abandoned all such ideas. In the at
| torney's files were too many histories
| of unhappiness in which money played
leading part. There were the writ
i denly become prosperous thru some
quirk Of fortune then-too much
6Gxury, dissat:sfa ction with each other
AS a result-and alimony.
| At twenty-three. working to sup
port herself and mother, Priscilla,
I, despite her proximity to the more
sordid side of life which constantly
thrust itself into L Hamlin's office,
was far from becoming cynical She
| appraised money at its real worth, but
| was not dazzIed by it's glitter. She be-
lieved in love, and that is why she did
not accept Cecil Mellville's proposal.
| Neither did she refuse his offer of
marriage. Instead, she simply said:
IT cannot tell you now. I must have
| time to think it over, Give me week.
1 must not act hastily; it would not be
best for either of us
Priscilla knew that Jerry Hart cared
for her. He had shown it more
strongly each time they were together
during the year that they had been
friends. But Hart lacked the funds
with which to finance a wooing contest
against a person of Cecil Melville S
! means. Also he did not have as many
opportunities of seeing Priscilla for his
duties as passenger brakeman on the
railroad frequently kept him away
from Pellston for a week or more at a
tina
II However. Hart had reached that
:. stage where something was bound to
happen; and it did Sunday evening.
Melville had insisted on calling on
Priscilla in the evening as well as af-
ternoon but she had declined, because
she knew Jerry would be home then
|. after weeks absence.
Jerry led up to the subject with
little skill. He would rather have
, fought four members of the section
gang and taken a sound beating al
their hands than to be obliged to &c
thru the ordeal of popping the ques-
tion.i However, after much crossing
and increasing of his legs and adjust
ing his tie and running his finger:
along the inside of his uncomfortable
collar. he finally managed to stammer
Priscilla, I-I-wonder. wonder
if-if-you-that is, do you-do yor
care very much for me-"
They were seated on the lounge di
1 IeCtly beneath one VI luOSc psiiHtet
fireside scenes in which a beautiful
II young woman and a handsome mar
are enveloped in a home4ike glow
from a crate and in each others arm.
while they exchange dove-like glance!
of tenderness.
Jerry kept his eyes fixed on the pic
, ture and it inspired him so that HI
succeeded in getting thru the rest o.
the proposal in fairly creditable fash
ion. He didn't even neglect the "Yo,
!, could make me the happiest man ii
the world if you would only say
etc, etc.
:, This proposal had been expected b.
: Priscilla, but she was no more pre-
!. pared for definite answer than sh'
had been when Melville asked thu
same question. She was very fond o
both Melville. tall and dark, had 1
> very prepossessing appearance ant