The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-03-21
LEAVE OF ABSENCE

RY MELVlM STEVENS.

AUS fair, they say, in love and war /;
which accounts for the fret that Lieut.
David Ashley and Private John Robe
son were in love with the same girl.
Tess than Il year ago, before the war
cloud ovcrshadowcd all other consid.
erations, they had both been promising
young business men Of Glendale n. j.
4 Every morning they took the 500
train for New York, and every evening
they caught the 100 back TO Glendale,
hoping that Margery Smith would be
free to entertain them after supper
So things stood when President
Wilson declared state of war ex-
listed between this country and Ger
many.
1T means that Wen 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 disparagingly.
III tloesn't mean any such thing, he
answered, "All we'll do will be 10
patrol our coast more carefully and
to make more munitions for the al
les
And so, according TO their lights,
Dave applied for entrance to the First
Officers Training camp at Fort Myer,
va, and John continued his duties MS
assistant manager for James NGcCul-
lum & Sons. In the course Of a few
months Dave was commissioned first
| lieutenant and John, his skepticism
suddenly dissolved, found himself
drafted into the National army. A
short time later he was ordered to re-
port to Camp Dix. n. j.. where he
found Lieut.. David Ashley MS one OF
his company officers.
Meanwhile, the contest FOR Margery's
hand had progressed memlly. 1aking
advantage Of the axiom that all is fair
in love and war, Jehn had had rath-
cr glorious time Of it during Dawes
three months at The training camp
Margery was rather lonesome; and al
though she wrote at least twice week
to Dave, she welcomed Johns visits
So, when November found both Dave
ana join at Camp Dix, the latter had
drawn almost on even terms with his
rival.
But as an officer Dave had the
easier time of it, Occasionally he
found ii 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
20 fix up things so that he and John
alternatcd on their visits to Glendale.
Things might have gone along with
out change until the end of the war,
but one evening Dawes division COM
mander told him that within three
weeks 1t was expected that the young
officer would be ordered to report at
Camp Mcclellan, down in Admission,
Ala.
1t was Friday when he received word
Of his probable transfer and on the
following Sunday it was his turn to
visit Glendale. He told Margery then
that it was probably his last VISIT
and something in her eyes filled him
with sudden hope. But although his
brain urged him to ask her the ques-
tion which quivered on his lips, his
heart failed him in a most unsoldier-
like manner; 50 he went back to Camp
Dix feeling very much as if the bot {
tom had fallen out Of the world. /
But when his last Sunday in the
Northern cantonment approached, and
he pictured John Robeson sitting be- /
fore the big gratc fire in Margery's /
library. he hurried to company head /
quarters and talked long and enrnest- I
iy TO Margery over the telephone.
"Of course I'll be glad to visit camp" /
she said. II was wondering If you
were going South without seeing me
again"
Dave wondered, too, how he could .
ever have thought Of such thing, and I
when he met Margery at the station
the next morning, he told her So
They had lunch together in way
side inn which was really a converted
farmhouse, and after they had finished I
eating, they sat still for a long time (
and just looked at each other across
the table.
'Why didn't you plan to come to
Glendale this SunGay?" Margery asked .
fsally.
Il did" Dave answered, "but knew |!
that with John there, l couldn't say L
what l wanted to. 1t wouldn't have
been fair to cancel Johns leave Of alb
sence, because / had promised him not L
TO early in the fall; so the only thing i
could do was to have YOU here"
Margery nodded.
"What did you want to say to me?"
she asked.
The room was deserted, the waitress
had miraculousy disappeared and SO
Dave told her what he had wanted to
say for ages. And when he had fin,
shed she reached her hand across
he table and told him, so softly that
ne hardly heard, that she had always
been very much in love with him.
And back in Glendale John Robesen
ramped disconsolately to the railroad
station and wondered what in the
world had happened to take Margery
20 suddenly away from home.
D