The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-05-06
EVENING STORY
"When" and eff"

BY r. RAY BAKER.
Arthur Calkins had dark gray eyes;
job as day clerk in the Winton hotel.
wavy. light brown hair, no parents.
care-free nature. two hundred thou
sand dollars--lmost-an two pros
pective brides.
The gray eyes he acquired from his
mother, the brown hair from his
father. the sunny disposition from
both.
He obtained the hotel job when
grief over the death of Mrs. Calkins
cIaimeI her husband three months
after her demise That was when
Arthur was twenty-four.
The two hundred thousand dollars
was bequeathed to Arthur by his
father-'when" and eff"
The young man was to receive the
small fortune on his twenty-seventh
birthday anniversary. if by that time
he was married to Winifred Sheldon,
daughter of Herbert Sheldon, who had
found some half million profit in ium-
Der. Mr.. Calkins stipulated in the will
that his son was not to get the inheri-
tahce unless he had lived on his own
resources up to his twenty-seventh
birthday and unless Miss Sheldon had
become his bride, provided. it was
stated in the document-Miss C.leldon
herself did not break the engagement.
Arthur had become betrothed to her
On the day he cast his first vote. and
his parents had approved so heartily
that the 'if' clause was put in the
will in an attempt to seal the bargain.
To what extent Arthur considered the
clause as sealing was shown when. in
his twenty-sixth year. be asked Miss
Geraldine Fox. a cafeteria cashier, to
become his bride.
Now, Arthur was by no means
-
at least not Intentionally. He felt that
he was sincere in both cases. He be-
Ilieved in the doctrine that no man can
love more than one woman at time,
besides his mother, but he was having
difficulties in deciding which of these
particular two-both of them de-
cidedly attractive girls-.was the one.
Tuesdays and Thursdays he called
on Miss Sheldon and on Wednesdays
and Fridays he paid visits at the home
of Miss Fox. All of his wooing was
done in the evening, of course, for he
was Obliged to sit behind the hotel
desk seven days a week. As the two
ladies lived in different cities. about
sixty miles apart, and as they moved
in distinctly different social circles.
neither became aware of the existence
of rival.
Nor was Miss Fox or her widowed
mother cognizant of that marriage
clause in the Calkins will. Arthur felt
that he would find means to get rid"
of Miss Sheldon IL he finally decided
in favor of Miss Fox. There was some
| way, he told himself. to arrange 1t so
Miss Sheldon would break the engage
ment.
Arthur lived in Lansing, while the
Sheldons' home was in St. Johns, a
small city about twenty miles north.
fairly good sized municipality some
what smaller than Lansing. and ap-
proximately forty miles south of the
latter place.
At the time this story opens Arthur
was getting worried. One reason was
must marry Miss Sheldon or else the
two hundred thousand, held in trust
by Benjamin Trueman. lifelong
friend of Mr.. Calkins, would go to
charity. Another reason was that the
subject of announcing engagements
had been limited several times of late
by both the Sheldons and Foxes
Thus matters stood one morning
when Arthur walked into the hotel.
| went behind the desk. hung up his
| ear. glared at the bellboy doing on a
bench and received the greatest shock
he had ever experienced before or
after the death of his parents
AS he bent over the register his
glance swept overland then went
on the desk. A headline in the obit-
uary column rose right up and smote
MIN between the eyes. The top lines
of the head were:
BENJAMIN TRUEMAN,
LAWYER, DIES SUDDENLY.
Arthur stared DULY at the paper
without seeing a word for the space of
several moments. then came to himself
and perused the story which informed
him that the aged attorney had been
found dead in his office late the preyi-
Gus evening by a cleaning woman
The doctor, who was summoned, said
heart failure had caused his death, and
letter, written the day before and
left on the desk, showed that he had
Known Of his condition and had had
premonitions of his death. The letter
said that he (Mr. Trueman) had lost
every cent he possessed by speculation
and that worry over this had caused
the trouble that he felt would soon end
his life.
Arthur felt genuinely sorry. because
Mr. Trueman had been such close
friend of his father and also because
he himself had been fond of the old
man. 1t was not until later in he day,
however, that he became apprehensive
that his own destiny might be affected
by Trueman's losses. 1t was sug-
gested to him by the proprietor of the
hotel.
It's too bad. boy" said the latter
"Old Trueman must have used up all
that coin of yours. But don't worry
about the future; you can have this
job as long as you want it"
Thanks" Arthur responded, more
dryly than gratefully. and went out to
investigate. He learned that not a
single valuable paper or a cent of cur
rency had been found in Mr.. True
mans office or in the adjoining apart
ments where the lawyer had led his
lonely life. Arthur spent a restless
night. He had been counting on that
money, particularly as he anticipated
becoming someone's husband-just
whose was not Yet to be determined.
In the afternoon he went walking
in hopes of inhaling courage and hope
along with fresh air. A short distance
from the hotel he all but collided with
fashionably dressed girl, who was
irQ oil yxrifh h. 4