The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1918-05-01
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY
"When and IT,"
~ &. RAY eANER.
iCopyr;eht. 1918. By the Mcclure
Newspaper Syrdicate.)

ton Hotel. wayy light brown
parents. a ca.c.free nature, two /
~ thousand do!larG-almost-
two prospective brides.
The grey eyes he acquired from his .
otlor, the brown hair from his faith
the sunny disposition from both (
ne obtained the hotel job when GRIEF
er the death Of Mrs, CalIiins CLAIMED
husband three months after her
mise. That was when Arthur was
gehty.four.
The two hundred thousand dollars |
rs bequeathed to Arthur by his faith.
when" and If"
Tile young man was to receive the |
mall fortune on his twenty.seyenth |!
ffthday anniversary. if b. that time
g pas married to Winfred Sheldon. I
ughter oil Herbert Sheldon. who had
und some half million profit in lilm.
a Mr.. Calkins stipulated in the will
~ his son was not to get the inhcf'
lice unless he had lived on bis own
ources up to his twentg-severth
birthday and unless Miss Sheldon had
become his wife, provided. it was stat
II "A the document-Miss Sheldon her
eif did not break the engagement. I
Arthur had become hetrothed 10 her
IA the day he cast his first vote, and
IFS parents had approved so heartily
lliat the az clause was put in the
viii IN an atternpt to seal the bargain.
10 what extent Arthur considered the
clause as sealing was shown when in
his twenty sixth year he asked Miss
Geraldine Fox. a cafeteria cashier to
become his bride.
Now, Arthur was by no means a
fifier or a crusher Of maidens' hearts.
{ least not Intentionally. He few tN7t
q was sincere in both cases. He be.
,eyed in the doctrine that no mT CAL
love more than one woman at time
aiSes h'a mother. but he was having
Act1ties in deciding Which Of these
particular two-both of them decided.
N attractive girls-was the one.
Tuesdays and THURSDAYS he called
81 Miss Sheldon and on Wednesdays
and FRIDAYS he paid visits at the home
Sc Mics Fox. All of his wooing was
done in the evening, of course, for he
mas obliged - sit behind Tho ho'el
desk seven days a week. AS the two
ladies lived in different cities, about
sixty miles apart. and as they moved
b distinctively different social circles,
neither became aware Of the existence
pf q rival:
Nor was Miss Fox or her widowed
mother cogniGant Of that marriage
clause in the Calkins will. Arthur felt
that he would find means to get rid"
Be Miss Sheldon IL he finally decided in
aVor of Miss Fox. There was some
Way, he told himself, to arrange it so
Hiss Sheldon would break the enage-
nent.
Arthur lived In Lansing, while the
sheldons' home was in st. Johns, a
mall city about twenty miles north,
Aiid the Foxes resided in Jackson, a
airiy good.sized municipality somewhat
malief than Lansing and approx
nately forty miles south Of the latter
Al the time this story opens Arthur
VAS getting worried. One reason was
hat Is was nearing the time when he
must marry Miss Sheldon or else tho
wo hundred thousand, held in trust
81 Benjamin Trueman, lifelong
.end Of Mr.. CallIins, would so to
hartSy. Another Jason was that the
ubject Of announcing engagements
ad been limited several times Of late
y both the Sheldons and Foxes.
Thus matters stood one morning
hen Arthur walked into the hotel,
bent behind the desk hung up his coat
nd hat, stuck pencil behind his ear,
laretl at the bellboy doing on bench
nd received the greatest shock he had
yer experienced before Of after the
cath Of his parents,
AS he bent over the register his
lance swept over, and then vent back
q folded newspaper that lay on the
esk. A headline in the obituary col.
mn rose right up and smotc him be.
geen the eyes. The top lines Of the
cad were:
BENJAMIN TRUEMAN.
LAWYER, DIES SUDDENLY.
Arthur stared duly at the paper
ithout seeing word for the space of
syeral moments, then came to himself
nd perused the story which informed
in that the aged attorney had been
Iind dead in his office late the prev
rs evening by cleaning woman.
he doctor, who was summoned. said
art failure had caused his death, and
letter. written the day before and
q on the desk, showed that he had
iown OF his condition and had had
.emonitions of his death, The letter
ia that he (Mr. Trueman) had lost
Ferry cent he possessed by specula.
81 and that worry over this had
used the trouble that he felt would
on end his life.
Arthur felt genuinely sorry, because
Truman had been such close
end Of his father and also because
himself had been fond Of the old
d. Il was not until later in the day,
yever, that he became apprehensive
his own destiny mlnght be affect.
NY Truemans losses. 1t was sug-
to him by the proprietor Of the
SIS too bad, boy" said the latter.
"a Trueman must have used up all
coin OF yours. But don't worry
5lit tlie future; you can have this
as long as you want it."
Tlianks.H Arthur responded, more
III than gratefully, and went out to |
ate He learned that not a !
igle valuable paper or cent OF cur
~ had been found in Mr.. True
rl.s office or in the adjoining apart
nts where the laWYer had led his