The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-26
EVENING STORY
The Flower Surplus.
RY JANE OSBORN.

uc lOWCk ouA PA4os
BY JANE OSBORN.
To send a dozen American beauty
roses to a young woman might be IN
terpreted merely as marx OF aomlr-
ssibly growing admiration.
But to send three cozen American
beauty roses when every one knows
that ey cost at Yeast four dollars
dozeR-well, to be perfectly exact, as
Mrs. Dawson explained over her lde
porch railing to Mrs. Huested. rock
ing on her side porch, to be exact,
that amounted to twelve dollars. Ind
with liberty loan drives
and income taxes and BED Cross con-
tributioins and the rest, even bache-
lors didn't have twelve dollars to
throw away. The conclusion was,
therefore, that Doctor Weston hadn't
thrown away the money involved in
tho purchase of the roses. He had
bought them with deep purpose and
as far as Mrs. Dawson was
concerned, the invitations for Sally
Perkins's wedding might just as well
be out. Surely the doctor meant
something serious this time and surely
Sally wasn't such a fool as to turn the
doctor down.
Meantime Doctor Weston was at
home, entirely at his ease in his own
cool living room, reading a medical
journal, no more disturbed or elated
with the idea of marriage than he
had been on any day during the past
dozen years that he had been engaged
in medical practice-in fact, marriage
did not occur 70 him at all.
However, Sally. with pretty blush
on her cheek, and her most becoming
white frock, sat in her shaded sum
parlor with the wonderful roses be-
fore her while, with pen in hand and
note pi per on a table before her. she
cast about for Jus the right words to
a. Iyyh ch say Iror lte n W h
the greatest tact and grace.
Doctor Weston, possibly, in the back
of his mind had feelil of content
ment, for he could reflect, if he chose.
that he had done a good turn that
day. It was this way. The doctor was
q country patients when he perceived
that his radiator was in need of wa
ter, and naturally enough he stopped
at florist shop planted along the
edge of the college campus. 1t
seemed the most natural thing in the
world thai florist should have water
and something to carry it in.
The floris shop looked especially
lovely, but the florist was decidedly
detected.
Fine showing of roses" comments
ed the doctor as the'florist went TO fill
a large pail of water.
Fine, indeed" commented the flor
list. And I'm out about a weeks
R hnEng P po@e Of ff these SO p atsden m
would think about somebody but
themselves sometime they would be
doing as much good as in any other
way. Unbeknownst to me or any of
the other florists they up and passed
a resolution not to allow any flowers
to be given on commencement day, on
account of the war, and today's COM
mencefnent, ald here are the flowers
L thought they would want. Pretty
economy. 1 call it. I ordered my flow
ers Just the same as other years.
They might have told me, I'm think
ing"
With few pals of water the radia-
tor was filled ana then just as he got
back into his car. the doctor stopped
as if something had suddenly occurred
to him.
SAY. I call it downright luck. To-
days the day 1 wanted to send some
flowers around. It's a sort Of ami
versary of mine, and as luck would
have 1t it's a day when you've got a
specially nice collection. You might
send a dozen to old Judge Blake, and
four or five dozen to the children's
home, and-oh, four dozen OF one
sort or another to the hospital chill
dren's ward-and a few to the district
nurses and there's a nice young wo-
man lives down my street-don't be-
lieve she often has roses-just send a
few around to her-Miss Sally Per-
kins it is. You don't need to send
any name with those. And send UP
some nice ones to my house and a
couple of dozel. to the rectory.
Thanks a lot for the water. and be
in a day or So
By this time the florists face was
beaming. He knew that the doctor
could really well afford this extrava-
ganee, and he knew that the loss of
the sale of the flowers would have
gone hard with him. Now as ne ON
puted thu order he discovered that
there would be nc loss to himself The
doctor had bought enough to pay for
his original outlay. He decided that
he wouldn't make anything on them.
s. sent two dozen whe; e one doz-
en- had been ordered. and when it
came to Sally Perkins's order he sent
three dozen. 1t was a matter of
neighborhood history. that almost ev-
eryone had forgotten. that this very
same florist. a good many years be-
fore, when Sally Perkins had been the
daughter of the richest man in town,
had been the gardener of that self
same Mr.. Perkins. Sally was little
girl in crisp white lawn and pink lib
bons then and the simple hearted
like nothing in all the world so much
as one of the fresh pink summer roses
that he loved to nurse.
The florist was not in the least a
romantic man; in fact, it was the most
practical iiea in the world that sug-
gested to his mind the possibility OF
his forwarding the friendship of the
good doctor and Sally who was NJ
| longer a girl, but who was by nc
means beyond the years of youth So
the florist carefully and deliberately
selected three dozen of the very best
roses he Nad in his store-placed
against the doctor a charge of one
| dozen for them-and then with his
| best Spencerian hand wrote on card
tha name of the sander. He rnuId