The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-10-24
EVENING STORY
SunhOwer Proposes.
BY INES MACDONALD.

BY INES MACDONALD.
Out of his window Barclay had
seen many things across the court, but
that Sunday morning on the fire es-
cape of the window which had been
dark for many nights he saw some
thing new. The three pairs of stock
ings, champagne gray, several collar
cites and a dozen or SO handkerchiefs
that dansled from an impromptu line,
indicated beyond a doubt the sex of
the new tenant.
Bannerman, the talented, cynical
young cad who had been the last ten
ant in that room, was now down in the
West Indies on his honeymoon. He
had wearied of starving and striving,
so had married him a wife with money
"a woman some ten years his senior
hence the honeymoon and the new
tenant whose fiuttering belongings
beckoned to Barclay across the court
~ But Barclay turned from his win
dow and went to his work relentlessly,
as was his way, until restlesspess
drove him to the window again and
he discovered that the fire escape
across the way had bloomed again.
This time a slim-bodied girl with a
great mop of flaming hair, stood with
the stiff breeze f1uttering her light
garments and Haunting her marvellous
hair like a blazing torch in the sun
light. She had a white towel in her
hand and every now and then she
shook her head this way and that or
thrust her free hand with long sweeps
thru her shining name unconcernedly.
For a moment their eyes met and
then as she peered across for an in
slant curiously, Il do believe it's Sid
new Barclayi" she exclaimed with a
pleased smile.
"How did you guess?" asked Bar
clay.
ban wrote me all about you." she
nodded wisely.
Zimmerman Are you his sister?'
-No-nor his wife either" she said
pertly. "I-if you must know-Was
the sweet young thing he left waiting
for him at his home town back in In
diana. Hence my broken heart!"
She made dauntless figure there,
little defiant perhaps, for. her pride
had been hurt, but her heart-Barclay
somehow felt sure that her heart
hadn't been touched.
And why did you come to New
York; he asked curiously.
Come on over when I've arranged
my hair and I'll tell you all about il"
she said blithely. backing into the win
dow and out of sight.
So within three minutes Barclay was
knocking on her door-the door that
had once been Bannerman's.
she was an drL1St-yOu liioi AAO
had first thought-and she had come
to New York to succeed where Ban
herman had so far failed.
THAT will be my revenge" she
laughed gayly. II shall make a grand
success and perhaps" she added with
daring dancing eyes, perhaps Snail
marry some perfectly wonderful man
and make Ban furious because I forgot
him SO quickly. He was always such
vain thing!'
Barclay looked at her sketches and
felt sorry for her. She had talent per
haps, but little training. New YORK Is
full of then,-eager young things with
little or nothing to back them but the
spirit of youth.
:1Have YOU any money back of you
at all ?" he demanded.
"Oh. YES" she said brightly. rye
s2s. Which will be great plenty uh-
til I begin to sell my sketcn tar. +hose
Youthful valiant things. He had seen
Them come forth in all the spienoor
of their dream then: droop ana Ia1i
and turn backward in their fneneLor
sometimes worse. they fell with nr"hsn
wings. and stayed to suffer and pre-
tand thew were not hurt. And ne
locked on the loveliness of this sun
flower with a sullen anger in his neart;
..Yo,, are a lovely little fool. sara
Barclay, gently brutal Take my az
vice and go home. while you've go
money enough to go on. Marry !ne
Nv across the street who has a job
in the First National bank-ano ioi-
get this art bug you've got"
s.whv-why-'sh she said, her blue
ewes wide with perplexed wonderment'
, isn't my stuff good! Haven t-haVe-
MT IL any talent?
| Talent" snarled Barclay ne"
York is full of talent. It's the cheap
iS
haven't even that! Your stuff is rot7
ten. simply rotten. You've no train
ing whatsoever 1t would take you
three. maybe ten. years to begin TO
get a start in this town. Go home ana
| forget It" And he banged the
| door on a very doubtful young woman !;
| But with the morning all DOUBT nao
| va nished. and the next weeks were
feyerish ones for the SunT1ower iran
| ticalIY she worked at her drawing
| board in the afternoons and some
times far into the night. Gallantiv
| in the morning she took her portIono
| of drawings and trudged from place
| r. nIace irving to interest art editors
| in her things On the day she was
down to her last dollar she battered
! I'M the stairs as she frequently did
| and raped on Barclays door. am as
she entered he inspected her keeniS
as he looked up impatiently from MS
| typewriter.
ANY 1uck?" he asked.
| mo" she laughed bravery.
| "You look tired" -.
my body does get tired sometimes
| she admitted, and then she lifted ner
dropping head on her slim white neck
but my heart-never!
| He ran thru her sketches absently,
and finally picked one at random
which he promised to show that after
noon to an editor of his acquainta ice
The next day he brought her twenty
dollars, which brought such shining
| ioyousness to her eyes that he as
ashamed, He had wanted to break
her spirit and send her home safely
and he didn't have the courage.
ut was all he'd pay" he told her
And she went back to her work with
q new vigor added to the unquencn-
| a ble snirit of her Youth. Three times