The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-11-05
EVENING STORY
The Patriotism of Susan.
BY JANE OSBORN.

For Horace was at That time SIMPLY
carpenter by the day for the builder
who built that piazza, and tho he had
no mean idea of his own calling and
had no very definite notion of the So
cial superiority of the Yagers over the
Slocums. still it was obviously impos-
sible. Nothing could come of it. "Old
Man Yager" had made what for that
town was a fortune in the leading dry
goods store. and Susan was his only
heir. Moreover, she possessed radiant
red hair, adefiants tip-tilted nose.
fair, rose-co1ored skin only the more
dazzling for the contrast Of a few
freckles-and thus embodied Horace
Slocum's ideal of all that was femi-
ninety lovely.
During those days that he sawed
and nailed the boards of the wager
piazza the 20-year-old Susan had worn
a heliotrope Bingham dress as she putt
tered about the garden. and as Slocum
caught glimpses of her thru the win
dows; and since then there had been
an associational thrill about that par
ticular hue that had Remained still vi
brant, showing that the 3S-year-Old
boss carpenter" was as bewitched by
Susan as ever. But was more hope
less. She was regarded as one of the
best fixed" spinsters in town. She
belonged to the Country club and had
a center-aisle pew in the church at
tended only by the old aristocracy of
Tilton.
History moved slowly in Tilton dur
ing most of these fifteen years, and
tho Horace fed on despair, he had lit
tie cause for jealousy, for there really
We're no eligible bachelors in Tilton
nor any reason why they should come
that is, until Tilton awoke ons day
n ND md ~ ri
! ter Then for the first time since there
| had been q winter barracks In old Til
ton in the days of the Revolution the
| male population far outnumbered that
of the women. Only the males in this
case were workmen, mechanics. fore
dozen war-developed industries.
One morning in the first weeks of
this new regime Horace was feeling
particularly down of heart The house
where he had boarded gloemiiy for
these fifteen years had been bought
up at a good price as IN extension to
che of the plants and he faced the
proposition Of being homeless within q
week
1t was tho morning he was putting a
side porch or Widow Smiths ,ouse
! next to Susan's-for by this time front
porches had gone out and side porches
were in demand in Tilton.
| W bdu dDOul NINE souSdn. the
widow remarked. She had brought
her pea Smelling to the side window.
for she was nothing loath TO converse
with the comedy carpenter. who
stopped saving as il suddenly par
alyzed and gazed back blaukly at the
window.
AN sWA't'' vr'"s'" he managed II, to
oh. she would manage her own at
fairs-did her banking all in an out
of-town bank, wouldn't have a lawyer,
and now" the widow Smith here
spoke with slow emphasis as she fold
ed her tat hands over the dish of peas
and looked hard at Horace. Now
she's keeping boarders."
keeping boarders!" Horace gasped
Eyes. and you can believe me that
when any one as proud as Susan
i wager would keep boarders, she's
pretty well reduced But she would
have her own way and now-now
she's reaping the results"
The fact really was that Susan had
a houseful of boarders: and as every
one said-and all the neighbours were
gossiping about it-she couldn't have
"become reduced" at a better time
for there wsre hundreds of out-of-
town war workers only too eager tt
snap at a chance to become part Of
any household.
Horace had so long been accus
TONED to n mood of calm despair thai
the palpitation he experienced on &C
tually seeking admission for himsel.
in Susan's boarding house was i'm
mensely disturbing. Perhaps he would
not have been so reckless but now fol
the first time the element of Jealousy
entered. There were some fifty oil
sixty apparently eligible bachelors II
Tilton, and Of these Susan ha under
taken to accommodate under her spa
| cinuS rnnf Sjr Horace the sew.
enth.
Apparently Susan was a great 4nan
ager, for soon the excellence of thu
fare at her board became proverbia
thru Tilton She retained her ole
southern cook got a couple of young
girls in to wash dishes and wait or
table and still managed to make a &
of tor apparently she did, for PEG
I pie soon observed that a coat of pain
was being applied and other signs O
a full purse were in evidence. The1
she drew Horace aside one evenin:
after the other boarders were leaving
the dining room and asked hin
whether he would und ertake the jol
of putting on a side porch like tina
OF Mrs. Smiths. and. tho Horace hao
an opportunity of waking some con
tract work for one of the new indus
tries at a really stupen1ous figure, h
assured her that he could begin a
once.
: 1t was the first time he had worked
on the Yagers' house since that tim
, fifteen years before when he had frs
thrilled under the near presence Of hi
ideal And her figure was still as he
witching. tho possibly little plump
? or. her skin as fair-were there a few
,, more freckles ?-and to make the &C
stacy complete, she again wore a frocl
of heliotrope muslin.
I Still people pitied poor Susan Wager
To be sure, she apparently was max
ing money, having all those improve
ments. but that was probably only an
other evidence of her extreme lack o
business sense. That is the way Mrs
: Smith looked at the matter. as sh
assured Horace she had every reason
to believe Susan was frightfully in
volved in debt.
: 1t was one night after that maj
Migglesworth. vice president Of on
of the big industries, had been show