Gilpin observer. (Central City, Colo.) 1897-1921, 1918-11-28
ThePatriotisrn
of Susan
o0
BY JANE OSBORN
Copyright. 1918. by Mcclure Newspaper
Syndicate.)
BY JANE OSBORN

Copyright. 1918. by Mcclure Newspaper
Syndicate.)
Ever since fifteen years before, when
the Yagers had the quaint old Dutch
porch of their house on High street, in
Tilton, turned into Il full-fledged front
piazza." Horace Siocum had entertain
ed passion for Susan-hopeless. but
none the less absorbing. For Horace
was at that time simply Il carpenter by
the day for the builder who built that
piazza, and though he had no mean
idea of his own calling and had no very
definite notion of the social superior
ity of the Yagers over the Slocums.
still 1t was obviously impossible. Moth
ing could come of 1t. "Old Man Yager"
had made what for that town was n
fortune in the leading dry goods store,
and Susan was his only heir. More
over. she possessed radiant red hair.
defiant tip-tilted nose, fair. rose
colored skin only the more dazzling for
the contrast of n few freckles-and
thus embodied Horace Slocum's ideal
Of all that was femininely lovely.
During those days that he sawed
and nailed the boards of the wager
piazza the twenty-yenr-ol Susan had
worn heliotrope Bingham dress as
she puttered about the garden, and as
Slocum caught gllmpses of her through
the windows; and since then there
had been an associational thrill about
that particular hue that had remained
still vibrant, showing that the thirty
eight-year-old boss carpenter" was as
bewitched by Susan as ever. But II
was more hopeless. She was regard
ed as one of the best fixed' spinsters
in town. She belonged to the Country
club and had a center-aisle pew In the
church attended only by the old aris-
tocracy Of Tilton.
History moved slowly in Tlton dur
ing most of those Is years, and though
Horace fed on despair, he had little
cause for jealousy. for there really
were no eligible bachelors In Tilton
nor any reason why they should come
that Is. until TiltOn awOke one day
and found itself war industries CEN
ter. Then for the first time since
there had been winter barracks in
old TiltOn in the days of the Revolu
ton the male population far Outnum-
bered that of the women. Only the
males in this case were workmen. me-
chanics, foremen. directors and pro-
mOters of half dozen war-develop-
ing Industries.
One morning in the first weeks of
this new regime Horace was feeling
particularly down mt heart. The house
where he had boarded gloomily for
these Is years had been bought up
mt good price as an extension TO one
Of the plants. and he faced the prOpO-
sition of being homeless within II week.
1t was the morning he was putting
side porch on Widow Smiths house
next to Susan's-for by this time front
porches had gone out and side porches
were in demand In Tilton,
TOO bad about Miss Susan" the
widow remarked. She had brought
her pea Smelling to the side window,
for she was nothing loath to converse
with the comedy carpenter, who stop
ped saving as II suddenly paralyzed
and gazed back blankly at the widow.
What's wrOng?" he managed. to
ask.
"Oh. she would manage her own af-
fsirs-did her banking all in an out
Of-town bank, wouldn't have Il lawyer.
and now" the widow Smith here
spoke with slow emphasis as she fold
ed her hands over the dish Of peas
and looked hard Mt Horace. "NOw
she's keeping boarders."
Excepting boarders !" Horace gasped.
Eyes, and you can believe me that
when any one as proud rs Susan VA
ger would keep borders, she's pretty
well reduced. But she would have her
own way and now-now she's reaping
the results"
The fact really was that Susan had
n houseful of boarders; and ms every
one said-and all the nclghbors were
gossiping about it-she couldn't have
there were hundreds of out-Of-town
war workers only too eager TO snap Mt
n chance to become part OF that house.
hold.
Horace had so long been accustomed
to a mood Of calm despair that the pal
pitation he experienced on actually
seeking admission for himself in su-
sans boarding house was immensely
disturbing. Perhaps he would not have
been so reckless. but now for the first
time the element of Jealousy entered.
There were some 80 or go apparently
eligible bachelors in Tilton. and Of
these Susan had undertaken to accom-
modnte under her spacious roof six.
Horace was the seventh.
Apparently Susan was n great mana
ger. for soon the excellence of the fare
of her board became proverbial
through Tilton. She retained her old
Southern cook. got a couple of young
girls in to wash dishes, and wait on