The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1919-12-13
THE DAILY
SHORT. STORY
Copyright, 1919, BY the Mcclure News
naner Syndicate.
The Mysterious Bungalow.
Az BARBARA KERR.
~ ca baok. from the stTeet,. So q.

WIN M.lA9 eSSl
md cacti. She counted the different
Kinds, four varieties crowded around
The steps leading up to the front door,
10 II they wanted to come in out or
the arid loneliness.
Though dignified by the name bum
,Ealore, It looked more like a farmer 8
granary with the windows covered
With old pieces of tarpauIin,- cleated
last so no one could get glimpse OF
the inside.
Some one else, evidently had been
as curious as was Mary Minthorn, for
tagged hole was cut nj one taFp
shade, but try as she might her eyes
could not penetrate the darkness Tar
enough to see more than the meager
outlines Of furniture. She had too
much regard for the property OF 9TH
ers to make the hole bigger, so she
would bring her hook and hook OH a
bit Of handfwark, and perched upon
the top step amusing herself specu-
'lating upon the owner OF the myster-
lous and lonely bungalow.
"A lunger like me, no doubt" she
unused pIty1ngly, who has perhaps
gone away cured or been gathered
to his fathers. / wonder" she sald'
half aloud, why / always think 1t
mans house? It's set on high BLOCKS
as il the owner was afraid the rattle
snakes might crawl into it; maybe It's
a woman lunger's house. We'll, II It is,
/ wish she'd let me live in It," And
she arose and tried 10 get peep at
the interior.
She had asked many people around
The scattered village about the owner
but no one seemed to know and the
nearest ueighbors were Me1icans who
merely shook their heads with mo
savyy' when INTERCEPTED.
The bungalow still held romantic
interest for Miss Mary Minthors, "A.
NJ, but her visits grew less frequent
though now and then she would GrlVe
by from work. and slowing up, look
sreculatlvaly at the lonesome shack
I 1t seemed to have ;siuship to her
She had come t2 LlanO Estacado to re-
gain her health and she felt so ter
r.bIy isolated and lost IN her incon-
gruous surroun Engs. To keep busy
and whipuo her spirits she created tor
herself q unique business.
In her runabout. with shovel, pair
of lawn shears-rather old sheep
Eh4ars-knife and minor tools, she
drove incessantly over the plains gath
crjng botanical specimens for class an
(. .Iysis.
These she sent to schools and col
Iegas where enterpTising botany teach
crs fairly snapped up her boxes of
plants labeled with interesting and
droll comments. She did not go into
scientific nomenclature, for that was
the province of the student, but she
would make sketchy notes that ex-
cited curiosity and lead toward' anal
ss's.
"This is commonly called Catsclaw,
or KitterscIaw, but the nearest 1t com
IS to feline Is that its next door
reighhor was a perky little prairie
dog. And oh, how the honey bees OF
the valley love it, mean the cats
claw, not the doggie."
" "Now here are Mr.. and Mrs. Cactus
and their offspring, you may hunt up
the given names OF the family"
II couldn't send you specimens OF
This Giant Beargrass, but pluckered
some OF his beard and send his pic
ture." And the classes were always
as eager to find these little notes
t,twisted around stems as they were
to classify and to tabulate the strange
plants.
lgLorn to blush unseen, for rattler
rather contended with me as to my
right, but my watchful bulldog Tau
tomatic) barked at him and Mr.. R.
Yielded up the ghost and his rattles
to science. I send rattles TO prove
1.-THE tale. Don't anybody dare to pun
ON that, it's not allowed.
81 AS business increased and orders
multiplied her notes were Of merrier
and contents Of boxes were more va
t.ried. Mary even sang snatches Of old
4 college songs to the unrhythmic bump
ing of her Mary Liz as she called
! her car. AFTER it's mother and faith
iier," she explained whimSically. Her
eyes grew bright, her cheeks a Tuddy-
brown and her body strong, plant and
steady OF nerve. She who had a nat
tdral antipathy for firearms, leaned>
to handle them with ease and accurate
~ and she was looking forward with
pleasure to the opening Of the wild
.duck season.
i Then one Sunday she decided it
should be a day. Of utter indolence so
taking book she departed for the
NEGLECTED bungalow. Hummtng to her
self, she sat down: In the accustomed
place and wrote little note, signed
and pushed It under the door.
In the lonely days she had written
many notes to the mythical occupant.
some were pathetic In their attempt
to be merry and philosophical, some
,chided the hunger for not being a good
sport. ''Why look at me! Here am a
(; million miles away from my kind, and
I'm going to see it through. I'm goine
TO be an example for some other poor
suffering soul or die in the attempt"
But today sl1e felt good, 50 thorough
" 6t, that she merely wrote: who
told you that Itwas lunger anyway?
SM. M" and slipped 1t under the door.
with a smile she Tipped her book
t,open to. place and settled down to
reading.
L Had she noticed that the tnrps we're
removed from the back windows, she
would not have been 80 shocked when
the door opened gently behind her.
She sprang from jSer seat, almost top
pling from the steps in her fright