Cleveland County herald., 1918-09-26
BLOWN I'M BY DRAFT
By JACK LAYTON.



Private Vance Donnette was
Southern lad by birth. AS are many
of our gallant young lads he was
called into the service by the draft.
He entered Southern encampment
in the latter part of March and in
early May, with many others, was
transferred to a camp farther North.
1t was the 18th of May that Vance
was assigned the duty of q switch
board operator at the camp. His
hours at the switchboard were q. IN.
to II H., and p. IN. 10 / a. IN.
One bright Tuesday morning, while
on his duty at the switchboard, Won
dering how to spend the four-hour re-
lief that afternoon, he at last decided
i to take stroll through the village
of Riverside. The village church, the
store and the central office were the
important buildings. One o'clock that
Tuesday found Vance Strolling the
streets of a strange town. Several of
the village lads were in the service,
so q lad in khaki was not an uncom-
mon occurrence. 81 don't see many
lassies in this vicinity. l guess they
are few and far between" said Vance.
Arriving at the store he entered and
bought cigar, then gayly passed on
his way. He had not gone far when
he approached the central office.
CHANGING into the open windows, and
Stacking his pace as he did so, he saw
the little operator at her post. "Num-
Der, please" Lime busy" did you
get him?" "Riverside," he heard the
sweet little voice saying. "Who is the
proud owner of that sweet voiee?'
"How beautiful she was with that
dark hair. Wish that l might meet
her." said Vance.
AS he continued his stroll the OPP
orator was still i'll his mind. He
walked on nearly mile, then began
his journey homeward. Taking a slip
of paper from his pocket he wrote:
"Vance Donnette, operator at local
camp. Ring up" On his return by
the central Office he walked more
slowly than before. Just at the en-
trance to the office he let the slip
of paper drop out of his hand. "8ope
that she is lucky enough to find it, J"
said he.
At five O'Clock Emita Dell, the Riv-
erside operator, was preparing to
leave the office. Just as she opened
the door to depart slip of paper was
''blown in by the draft (draughD and
dropped at her feet. Picking it up
she placed it in her ticket book and
started on her way home.
Wednesday morning as Emita was
recording her tickets she found the
paper which she picked up the pre-
vious night. Unfolding it she read :
"yance Donnette. Operator at local
camp. Ring up" "Where did it
Guess I'll ring him up shortly" At
eleven o'clock Emita rang up the
local camp. "Is this Vance Don
nette?'' eyes," was the reply. "This
is Emita Dell, the Riverside operator.
I found your paper in the office. 1t
was blown in by the draft (draught),
so l rang you up" "Blown in by the
draft (draught). and you found it.
I, too, was blown in by the draft
Thank heaven that you found it." On
Emitas inquiry in regard to the
origin of the paper Vance related the
tale of his stroll through Riverside.
During their conversation Emita in
vited him to call at the office on the
day of his next relief.
The next Tuesday afternoon Vance
went to the Central office. AS he
neared the office, instead of slacken-
ing, he FASTENED his pace he was so
/ anxious to meet Emita. Entering the
office, Emita greeted him with hand
shake, as though they had known
each other for years. That afternoon
as he sat there talking to her, the
only thought in his mind was: "She
/ is the most beautiful of all girls" He
was obliged to leave the office at
three o'clock, that he might not be
late in reporting at the camp.
AS usual at five o'clock, Vance was
going on duty and Emita was coming
off. "She's a wonder!" Dark hair,
steel gray eyes, cheeks as pink as
roses, and just about as tall as ].
OF all the beauties, she is it" said he.
"He certainly is nice looking
| youth. So gentlemanly in his ways.
And so refined in his language" she
was saying.
The friendship between Emita and
! Vance grew more intimate as the
/ days passed by. Each visit helped to
make their friendship more sincere,
until finally Dan Cupid accompanied
Vance on his visits. Apparently Dan
Cupid knows how to do ''his BIZ"
exceptionally well. One Tuesday
afternoon instead of Vance taking his
trip TO Emita's, she went to the city
with him. The next morning when
/ Emita came to work she wore
sparkling ring on her finger. Conse-
quently Dan Cupid had not failed to
"do his Bit