Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-01-11
CHAPTER I.
Which Introduces a Lady and Two
Gentlemen.

Which Introduces a Lady and Two
Gentlemen.
Dressed in q plain white shirtwaist
and an equally plain black cloth skirt
Miss Hazel Weir, on weekdays, was
merely a unit in the office of Harring-
ton & Bush, implement manufacturers.
Neither In personality nor In garb
would a casual glance have differenh-
ated her from the other female units,
occupied at various desks. A business
Office is no place for n woman to pa
rndc her personal charms. The meas
ure Of her worth there is simply the
measure of her efficiency at her ma
chine or ledgers. So that If any mem
Der Of the firm had been asked what
sort of a girl Miss Hazel Weir might
be, he would probably have replied
and with utmost truth-that Miss Weir
was capable stenographer.
But when Saturday evening released
Miss Hazel Weir from the plain brick
Office building, she became, until she
dOnned her working clothes at a. IN,
Monday morning quite different sort
Of person. In other words, she
chucked the plain shlrtwaist and the
plain skirt into the discard. got into
such a dress as a normal girl of
twenty-five delights to put on, and de-
voted half an hour or so to doing"
her hair. Miss Weir then became an
entity at which fe persons of either
sex failed to take a second glance.
Upon certain Saturday night Miss
Weir came home from an informal
little party escorted by a young man.
They stopped at the front gate.
'I'll be here at ten sharp" said he.
"And you get good beauty sleep
tonight, Hazel. That confounded Of
ficei hate to think Of you drudging
away at it. wish we were ready
to-"
''Oh. bother the office" she replied
lightly. Anyway, don't mind. 1t
doesn't tire me. will be ready at
ten this time. Good night, dear"
"Good night, Hazie," he whispered.
"Here's a kiss to dream on"
Miss Weir broke away from him
laughingly. ran along the path. and
up the steps, kissed her finger tips to
the lingering figure by the gate, and
went in.
Bed" she soliloquized. ''is the place
for me right quickly II I'm going to be
up and dressed and have that lunch
ready by ten o'clock. wish weren't
such sleepyhead-or else that
weren't a pore wurrxin' gurl.'"
At which last conceit she laughed
softly. Because, for pore wurrkin'
gurl," Miss Weir was fairly well con-
tent with her lot. She had no one de-
pendent on her-a state of affairs
which, IL it occasionally leads to lone
liness, has its compensations. Her
salary as a stenographer amply COW
cred her living expenses, and even per-
mitted her to put by a few dollars
monthly. She had grown up in Gran
Vile. She had her own circle of
friends. SO that she was comfortable,
even happy, in the present-and Jack
Barrow proposed to settle the prob
lem of her future; with youths op-
timlsm, they two considered it already
settled. Six months more, and there
wns to be wedding Il three-weeks
honeymoon, and a final settling down
in little cottage on the West side
everybody in Granville who amounted
to anything lived on the West side
Then she would have nothing to dc
hut make the home nest cozy, while
Jack kept pace with real-estate bust
ness that was growing beyond his mos
sanguine expectations.
She kissed her finger tips to hin
again across the rooftops all grimeC
with a winters SCOT. and within fif
teen minutes Miss Weir was sount
asleep.
She guve the lie. for once, to the say
ing that woman is never ready at tn
appointed time, by being on the step
a full ten minutes before Jack BarroV
appeared. They walked to the corne
and cnught car, and in the span o
half an hour got off at Granville parl
The city fathers, hampered in day
gone by with lack of municipal fund!
had left the two-hundred-acre squar
OF the park pretty much as natur
made 1t; that is to say, there was n
ornate parking no attempt at lanC
scape gardening. Granville park wa
bit Of the old Ontario woodland, an
MS such afforded a pleasant place
loaf in the summer months.
When Jack Barrow and Hazel ha
finished their lunch under the tree
in company with a little group of the
acauaintances. Hazel gathered scraT
OF bread and cake into a paper bag.
Barrow whispered to her: Let's 8
down and feed the swans. I'd just {
soon be away from the crowd"
She nodded assent, and they depar
ed hastily lest some Of the Othel
should volunteer their company.
took but short time to reach II
pond They found a log close to Il
waters edge. and, taking a seat ther
tossed morsels to the birds and cha
tered to each other.
Look" she said suddenly; "hert
one of my esteemed employers, If "
please. You'll notice that he's waikiki
and looking at things just like us {
binary, everyday mortals."
Barrow glanced past her, and saw
rather tall, middle-aged man, his he
tinged with gray. fine-looking ma
dressed with exceeding nicely, even
n flower in his coat lapel, waikiki
slowly along the path that border
the pond.
His gaze wandered to them, and
cool. well-bred stare gradually ga
way to a slightly puzzled expressi'
He moved step or two and seat
himself on a bench. Miss Weir becal
aware that he was looking at her m'
of the time as she sat casting the b
OF bread to the swans and ducks.
made her self-conscious. She did l