Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1919-07-25

AID the runabout arrived, and she
announced her intention of taking a
long ride at once. Miss Plaster
groaned and told more tales Of luna
tics. James groaned and predicted
death by strangulation. Nevertheless
the girl went.
She started out in a cloud Of dust
and had gone two miles when there
was a bur-r-r-r-r and the vehicle
came to a stop. She worked away at
the levers without avail. She got
down and peeked and peered. but it
was no use. She was stamping her
foot in anger when a man came out
Of the woods close at hand. He was
a young man of twenty-five good
looking young man, and he had a
professional air about him.
Something wrong?" he pleasantly
queried as he looked from the girl to
the runabout.
ayes; it won't 60"
In three minutes he had discovered
the cause of the trouble, and after
running the vehicle up and down he
halted and asked if she were going
over to Sherlockville. When he re-
ceived an affirmative reply he said:
$50 am 1. If you have no objections
1 will ride with you and see that all
goes well. The machine is new and
must be coaxed a bit"
To her surprise Miss Bessie found
herself seated beside the stranger and
bowling along at a merry gait. They
had gone a mile when she suddenly
remembered that the young nan had
not introduced himself. Then she re-
membered the escaped lunatic and
the words of warning. For half a
minute her heart was in her mouth.
Then she took a sly peep and failed
to see anything murderous in the
mans looks. They were a bit gloomy
and ~preoccupied, but not savage.
Excuse me-" he finally said as he
turned to her. 81 am from the asylum,
but 1 haven't a card with me. My
name is Ashley, and if I mistake not
you ere the young lady at Miss Pilas-
ter's."
Miss Bessie bowed in acknowledge
ment and her heart jumped again.
This man must be the escaped luna
ticl She developed her plan in a
moment. She became very commune
cative. In fact, she gushed to throw
him off his guard. If he was on an
errand to the village she would wait
and take MIN back, and to this he
readily agreed. There was a wait of
ten minutes and then he r~eappeared.
Little was said on the return trip.
The young man was moody, and Miss
Bessie was wondering how to land
him at the asylum without pro-
voking a desperate resistance. Aunt
Plaster and James were waiting at
the gate, and to her establishment the
vehicle came to a halt and the luna
tic raised his hat to the woman and
nodded to James.
"Why, Bessie, where did you find
the doctor?' asked the Aunt as she
came forward.
"Doctor?" repeated the girl.
"Why, yes-Doctor Ashley of the
asylum"
bOOQ ASdNCHSgN UuI 1911 nC lAuI
escaped l%unatic, and are all my plans
for his capture to be knocked in the
head?'
"Sorry for you," replied the doctor
with a smile. II am from the asylum,
but not exactly a %lunatic. You have
just kindly taken me to the village to
have an aching tooth drawn"
But II have captured you. you
know"
IT won't dispute it."
When it is said that from that day
on for two months the doctor was a
frequent caller at Miss Pilaster's, and
that he and Miss Bessie have been
writing twice a week to each other
since her return to the city. the read
er can drawn his own conclusions. He
will at any rate feel a bit Of sympa-
thy for Miss Plaster, who turned to
James the day her niece went home,
and with her apron to her eyes tear
fully exclaimed:
"Oh James, things have so changed
about since I was a g-gurl that 1 can't
make 'em QUIT We told Bessie to
look out for lunatics. and now she's
going to marry a whole asylum full
of emp