The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-01-12
EVENING STORY

(By Napoleon S. zarick)


tractive view from Albany and Mag
ara Falls to Ancona. His rolls of
film would have made a fairly COM
plete panorama of his picturesque
journey. with occasional lapses, of
course. when night had interfered with
his labors. From the back platform,
from the steps of his own car. and
from the observation smoker, he had
shot the flying landscape. From
early dawn until the last faint light
of the lingering northern twilight had
faded away he had labored.
At Ancona he was standing on the
last platform of the side-trac ked train,
! and had jotted down his Photographic
Mountains, with distant glimpse of
the beautiful hotel nesting on the
mountain side. He was feeling we'll
| pleased with his work for these last
views were superb. and if they could.
| be successfully developed would
| doubtless prove a source of pride to
! him
A shrill whistle. an oncoming roar,
and the express Numbered past on the
| main track. AS it slowed up at the
| station Carrnan's train moved on, but
not before he had indelibly fixed on
| the film of his kodak a glimpse of the
| back platform of the passing train.
| He raised his head and saw, vaguely,
a girl penang over KODAK focused,
| apparently, on him, but before she
looked up his car had rounded a curve
and she was lost to view.
Carman returned to New York after
| several weeks, and one of his first acts
| was to develop his views. With the
| luck of the ordinary amateur, a few
| of them were good, but most of them
/ were bad. Many views of the beau
tiful Catskill mountains had dimin-
ished themselves into the eye of the
10 II % Ak ~
were hardly distinguishable from the
low-lying hills that border Lake Su-
perior. while glaciers. lakes and rivers,
redwoods and farm lands. were hope
lessly confused. Only one view was
sharp and clear. Framed by the door
way of a sleeper. a beautiful young
girl looked straight from the film into
Carman's eyes
by Jove!" he exclaimed, what a
beauty. She must be the Ancona
girl
The Ancona girl she was and the
Ancona girl she remained for days,
weeks. and even months. Carman
printed the picture off and she was
beautiful. and blue prints are crucial
tests of beauty; on carbon paper she
was exquisite. and with each expert
mental printing her image penetrated
deeper and deeper into Carman's
heart At last he enlarged her; or, not
quite at last, for the browning point
of his folly was to frame her in silver
and install her on his dressing table
as mistress of his heart and posses
sions There she stood for several
weeks. returning his glances-not in
kind. perhaps. but in number-and
known to him only by the prosaic
name of the 'Ancona girl" Then. one
evening, she was christened, and it
was in this way:
Jack Brennon ran up to Carman's
rooms to communicate some bit of
personal information; wandering idly
about the room, he saw the photo
graph, picked it up. glanced at it care,
lessly, then put it down Good
photograph he said; amateur, of
course. I didn't know you knew Edith
so well. She's jolly girl. isn't she p
"N-no-y-yes, sta mmered Carman
Edith! and here was man who knew
heri But what a fool he would be to
ask the name of a girl whose photo
graph was enshrined in the privacy
of his dressing table. In a moment
more Brennon was gone. Carman fell
a mad impulse to rush after him and
ask who. what. and where Edith
was. but pride held him back. and the
) very next day Brennon sailed for Eu.
rope with an ambulance corps.
By this time Edith's Photographic
presentnent filled Bruce Carman's life
/ and the entire world was merely g
dense veil hiding her from him. He
went to every dance and dinner. he
even haunted teas, hoping that he
might find her. Once he was invited
/ cambridge of Toronto" His hear
! beat with an overwhelming joy as ht
t heard the words. At last she would be
| his! He entirely ignored all interme-
proposal. and acceptance He gazed
at his photograph with rapt alteration
Mine. mine, Inine"' he cried. and the
; sweet eyes smiled back at him from
under the wind-swept hair.
When he stood before his hostess
{ that night his face was white and his
voice hoarse with emotion.
Edith, Mr.. Carman; Miss Balm
bridge, Mr.. Carman." The words were
spoken and Carman turned to meet
her. Alasi this Edith was not his
Edith, but only elderly Scotch
spinster. Carman never knew how he
lived thru that evening. but when he
returned to his room and his Edith
he was more hopelessly her slave than
8 ever. Il will find you some time" he
| cried, passionately. in spite of the
world and fatei" The world and fate
be it understood, were represented by
his hostess and her innocent cousin.
The winter drew to close, and Car
man was growing hopeless. Should he
. start out in quest of her, he asked
, himself? But what hopeless quest:
incidentally as possible, his Edith's
name? But to brand himself an idiot
, in Brennons eyes was distasteful in
, | the extreme.
: 1t was Friday, and Carman was on
his way to an afternoon reception. Nc
hope of finding her led him there, but
. one of his girl friends had asked him
to help her to entertain her guests
He waited for a moment in the ante
chamber. realizing from the voices
, that only girls were in the adjoining
:. room. Then he heard a name that
made his heart stand still.
Don't tell me, Edith Brennon, that
! you have worn his picture ever since. "
Yes, I have. You can call ii silly
if you like, but of all the snapshots
that 1 took from Denver to New
York, his was the only one that came
out. OF course, there was a fate in