The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-06-01
EVENING STORY
The New Call.
BY r. RAY BAKER.


BY r. RAY BAKER.
Earl'worden was not a gyspy. His
hair was too near the shade of hemp
an dthe color Of his eyes too closely
resembled that of the ocean. Again.
he had three freckles. one ON the left
side of his neck, one on his chin and
the other near the tip of his nose They
were faint freckles, but they and
the hair and the eyes would belle any
assumption that he belonged to the
tribes of swarthy nomads.
Nevertheless, Earl and gypsies had
one pronounced trait in common. 1t
was the vanderbilt. He had travelled
on five of the seven seas. he had killed
crocodies on the Amazon, kangaroos
in Australia and mosquitoes in New
Jersey He had eaten salmon in Port
! land, Oregon, rice in Toxic and prunes
in France, as well as in Brooklyn. He
was a nomad.
| After seeing all the sights offered by
fourteen countries some strange within
of fate guided him to Gemport, town
| in the state of Washington that the
map makers forgot, and he took a job
in the first, second, third and only ma
tional or any other kind of bank to
be found there. A whole year he
spent at the desk. and he actually had
| begun to have that settled sensation,
| when along came a letter from Ell
4
marked Dawson, Alaska. and it had to
do with nuggets and a sure-pay VEN
ture. If it had been from any one
else, Earl would have been exceeding
| ly skeptical, but Stevens had been his
companion in various ADVENTUROUS
| rambles into strange chimes. and his
good intentions and veracity were not
to be questioned.
i The letter revived the longing to
roam. 1t caused the old call of adven-
~, NJ h@ thrYI a p
mind. 1t was an irresistible call.
which had only been lying dormant
| during the last year and was not ST.
fenced forever as he had come to sup
pose. So he prepared to respond.
| There was only one drawback. The
| drawback was Elsie Webb, a diminu-
tive, dark-eyed, attractive piece of
humanity employed in the bank. Until
the receipt of the letter Earl had con-
sidered her an inspiration; but now
| she was in the way to his answering
the call of adventure. He was fond
of her to such an extent that he had
asked her to marry him only two
| weeks previously-and she had con-
sented: but that was before this let
ter came offering him riches and red
dawned on him that he had made a
mistake. He could see now that he
was in no financial condition to be
married. The money he had saved
was scarcely enough for the proYer-
bal rainy day; while this letter from
Stevens offered an opportunity to OBJ
tain a fortune and pave the way to
luxury.
So he told her his intentions the
night after he received the summons
subject as carefully as possible and
with as much consideration for her
feelings as he could muster-which
wasn't saying much. She merely Bit
her lip and flickered her eye-lashes
and said:
/ 'An right, Earl You know best. ]
i would not stand in the way of your
success for the world. We will con-
slider the engagement at an end"
He left her home in a rather dazed
/ condition. She had taken the matter
very sensibly, he told himself, and yet
he felt sure that she cared more than
she showed. He could have felt pretty
downcast himself, only he dared not
permit it. The old call was sounding
and he must answer
1t was early in. the evening and
some late workers were just journey
ing homeward. One of them, sturdy
steadfast eyes, carrying a dinner-pail,
stopped Earl and asked for a match to
light his briar pipe.
Thanks" said the laborer. as he
puffed contentedly after Earl had fur
nished the article sought. Mice even
ing"
i The laborer walked off briskly
/ Hurrying home to his family
unused Earl. "ItN must seem rather
nice"
Il But he must not let such thoughts
| intrude- They might deter him from
his chosen course. So he thrust them
aside and the next day drew all his
savings from the bank and resigned
his job.
Il hA n ~
his old pal. robust, weather-beaten
man of thirty. clad in ur-fringed
clothes. Earl was escorted to a hotel
where he was outfitted in apparel ap-
propriate to a journey inland.
Its regular bonanza sure
thing" said Stevens. as they sat in
the LOBBY discussing the proposed ven
ture. "All We gotta do is to get the
coin. There's another young fellow in
town that I'd have taken If 1 couldn't
"a landed you. His name is John
Pierce, an he's a regular scout. but O
course I'd rather take my old chum
an two besides myself in the crowd
is one unnecessary. It's goin' to be a
got twelve huskies but doubt il six
Of them will live to reach the end O.
the trip. Real adventure, OF top. right
out in the wilds. an new kind to
you. Better'n workin' in any little oil
bank, eh, OIL man?'
While they were talking Earl no.
ticed a tall man carrying a cane and
dressed in exceptionally good clothes
for this city of non-pretending, rough
going, big-hearted folk. The stranger
walked up to the desk and asked the
clerk for a key. When he turned
around to mount the stairs his face
was in plain view and Earl saw that
it was sallow, with fixed expression
of cynicism and lines of dissipation
We'll start for the mainland day
after tomorrow" announced Stevens
discarding his half-smoked cigar. AN
we've got a whole lot to attend to to-
morrow, so we'd better get to bed"
THEY climbed the stairs to their
room, which contained two beds
Earl was tired and he lost no time
about getting under the covers. There
was little conversation. but before
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