The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-02-09
EVENING STORY
Leave of Absence.
BY MELVIN STEVENS.

Copyright, 1918. by Mcclure Newspaper
Syndicate.)
Ais fair, they say, in love and war;
which accounts for the fact that
Lieut.. David Ashley and Private John
Robson were in love with the same
girl. Less than year ago. before the
war cloud overshadowed all other
considerations. they had both been
promising young business men OF
Glendale. N. ]. Every morning they
took the 1929 train for New York.
and every evening they caught the
1850 back to Glendale, hoping that
Margery Smith would be free to en-
terrain them after supper.
And Margery generally was, in spite
of the fact that her eyes were the
her hair was Streaked with golden
sunbeams. For Dave and John were
generally admitted to have outdis-
tanced all the other young, men of the
town, and the contest for Margery's
hand had narrowed down to battle
between them. To the interested on
lockers it appeared as if Dave was
slightly more favored than his jealous
rival; Margerys smile was just a lit
tie brighter for him, and when she
looked at him there was a light in
her eyes such as no one else had ever
seen. But Dave was either too blind
or modest to know that he was the IA
state of anxiety, and tried his hard
est not to be jealous when he saw
John turn into the gate of the Smith
home.
So things stood when President
Wilson declared a state of war existed
| between this country and Germany.
Glendale was, of course, excited; and
Margery and her two suitors felt the
, thrill of a new order of things
1T means that we'll send hundreds
of thousands of soldiers over there"
Dave announced And. believe me- -
I'm going to be one of the first to co."
But John laughed disparagingIy
1t doesn't mean any such thing
ne answered. All we'll do will be to
patrol our coast more carefully ana
TO make more munitions for the
allies."s
And so, according to their lights.
Dave applied for entrance to the First
oIncers' training camp at Fort Meyer,
Va, and John continued his duties
as assistant manager for Jas. Nc
Cullum & Sons. In the course of a
| Few months, Dave was commissioned
a first lieutenant; and John, his skep-
ticism suddenly dissolved, found him
self drafted into the national army. A
snort time later he was ordered to re-
port to Camp Dix, N. J., where he
found Lieutenant David Ashley as one
of his company officers
=
gery's hand had progressed merrily.
Tak1ng advantage of the axiom that
all is fair In love and war-John had
| had a rather glorious time of it during
Dawes three months at the training
| camp. Margery was rather lonesome:
and although she wrote at least twice
a week to Dave, she welcomed Johns
visits, for even the movies" in Glen
dale weren't much of a diversion So,
when November found both Dave and
! John at Camp Dix, the latter had
| drawn almost on even terms with his
rival.
| q But as an officer. Dave had the
easier time of it. Occasionally he
{, found it necessary to give orders to his
+, rival, but when he did so, there was a
twinkle in his eye which robbed the
| situation of all bitterness. In the
matter of leaves of absence, he was
perfectly fair also. Each of the men
was permitted to visit home once every
| two weeks. and Dave managed to fix
! up things SO that he and John alter
mated on their visits to Glendale.
Things might have gone along
without change until the end of the
war, but one evening Dawes division
| commander told him that within three
weeks it was expected that the young
| officer would be ordered to report at
| Camp Mcclellan. Now. Camp Nc
; Clellan is situated down in Admission,
| Ala, and the first thing Dave thought
I of after hearing the news was that
| his semi-monthly visits to Margery
| would have to stop. And accompany
ing that thought was the realization