The Oskaloosa herald., 1918-07-25

lRx +. d. Masson.l

ished this story you will have formed
"a pretty good opinion of them; will
have marveled at their bravery and
probably wish you could congratulate
them in person on their accomplish
ment
These two young women, just for
a little exercise, took jaunt of al
most goo miles from Beacon, near
Oskaloosa, TO Cedar Rapids. wnere
they are spending the summer
Through mud and rain, during one of
the worst spells of weather Iowa had
this spring, these young women
swung determinedly ON, making the
journey on foot until, for conventions
sake, they took the train little ways
out of Cedar Rapids.
Just word as to who they are and
then to the rest of the story.
They are school teachers in the
little town of Beacon. They are
well educated; sprightly, good con.
versationalists; not brawny but well
able to take care of themselves; not
afraid of man or the devil and just
adore walking.
Now for the story. Early last
June, or to be exact, on June 3, after
their country school was dismissed
for the summer vacation, they de-
cided they wanted a real vacation,
| one that would invigorate them in
| body and mind, harden the tissues
| and develop lung power.
What shall we do?" asked Miss
| Lytle of Miss HORT.
You are good at conundrums, my
dear, suppose you answer the question
yourself" retorted Miss Lyle.
Walk" replied Miss Hort.
Walk, we WILL retorted Miss
Lytlc.
They told their friends. Their
friends laughed at them at first, but
when they saw they were in earnest
| they tried to dissuade them from
what they termed foolhardy under
taking.
| 1T can't be DONE" was the consen-
| sus of opinions expressed by their
friends when the young women in
| formed them they were going to walk
l kIbIu DNdCOn W ICES AOlHbS.
The can't interested the young
| women. They had never found the
word in their dictionary, and besides
they considered the word a dare"
and dare" also was not in their lex
| icon.
| Started Under Cloudy Skies.
Once they decided to walk they
were quick to carry that decision in
to action, so at 10:45 a. IN. on June
3, when the sky was overcast and
| threatening winds blew from the
east they set out from Beacon with
| their faces turned toward OskaloOsa.
| Clad in khaki uniforms, walking shoes
| and walking hats and with brave
| hearts they set out, determined that
nothing should stop them until they
| were in some comfortable hotel in
Des Moines.
At 1870 O'Clock that afternoon they
were in the town of Pella, eighteen
miles from their starting point, hap
| py. but oh, so tired. The clouds con-
| tinued to look Ominous and just as
| they got to the outskirts of the tow
! rain began to fall. When they ar
| rived in the town they were wet and
muddy, but not the least bit cha
| grined. They had had delightful
| afternoon: had seen nature in all her
| beauty, and thought whole lot more
about living than probably they ever
| had before
A hearty supper entertained and
| refreshed them wonderfully, and they
| say a bed never felt so good to them
in their lives as it did that night. I'VE
| were almost too tired to sleep" Miss
| Lytle said in speaking of her trip,
but we managed TO get to sleep af.
| ter all. and the next morning we felt
| as fresh as daisies and more deter
| mined than ever to stick ii out to
| Des Moines"
| The second days journey began at
| Pella at II a. m, June 4. The first
stop was at Otley, some eight miles
distant. at p. m, and the stop for
the day was at Monroe, fourteen miles
| from Pella, which they reached at 6
p. m, still wet and dirty, again tired,
but still determined. Bed felt
mighty good to them that night, but
youth RECEIVERS quickly and the next
morning they looked the journey in
the face without the slightest doubt
but that they were masters of the
situation.
Lets made record today. said
Miss Hort.
What do you call record?" Miss
Lytle queried.
Say twenty-five miles," her friend
replied
II Miss Lyle had it in mind that
IL could not be done she did not say
SO, but gritted her teeth. replied
come on" and the third leg of the
Journey began. 99t
And twenty-five miles twas before
they were tucked away beneath clean
sheets that night. They arrived at
Altoona at SIS r. m. having walked
from Monroe since 10 a. m.
On the fourth day they left Al
toona at 1890 a. m and were at the
city limits of Des Moines at 1880
r. m. Thesy had covered sixty.four
miles In a trifie more than twenty
six hours, which is not bad for two