The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-06-25
THE CALL OF DUTY
BY NAOMI H. ANDERSON

When Uncle Sam began sending his
telegraphic messages to every city and
hamlet Of the country that stenogra-
| piers and typlsts were needed In Wash
ington, Ann Rogers saw them printed
In the daily news, read them, won
dered If she ought to offer her serv-
ices, and then forgot them, for her
daily tasks at Burr & EIarchant's
seemed quite sufficient for the sum
total of her existence, and for three
months she ignored Uncle Sans CON
slant and urgent appeals. But one day.
when one of the stenographers came In
and calmly announced that she was
going to Washington, Ann Rogers took
up the newspapers again, read and re-
read Uncle Sans appeals, and finally
decided to follow In the footsteps Of
the former stenographer.
Two months later, having followed
the call of ''The Great Adventure" Gas
she called iD, she was happily en-
sconced In one of the offices of the war
department buslly checking names Of
applicants for one of the branches Of
the war service, despite the fact that
Burr & Marchants had offered her
larger salary If she would have re-
mained, and quite unaware that be-
side her an officer, whom she had
hardly noticed would be a great par
ticlpator in her "Great Adventure"
and forthwith treated him with de-
liberate unconcern. But the days
stretched on to weeks, and each day
the officer by her side began to loom
up of greater and greater interest on
the horizon of her happy existence.
Finally she admitted even to her CO.
workers that she thought he was aw-
fully nice and the days slipped by.
Three months later an order came
from the adjutant generals office, or
dering First Lieutenant Downs to go
to camp and there he would be as
signed to some company for early
overseas duty, Ann had known for
some weeks that the order was coming
through, but the days chased each
other so sublmely that she did not
her until 1t came. But when she read
the order that within three days he
was to report to his commanding of
flcer, she knew. The three days
dragged by-they no longer flew-and
the nights were an eternity of tears
and prayers; but on the morning of |
the last day when the first lieutenant |
said good-by, Ann was smiling, and for |
all the world none would have guessed |
at the tears and prayers. The week |
following his departure dragged |
through its course, but the brightness
and novelty of the throbbing, crowded
city had died for Ann.
One afternoon when letter arrived
from Mr.. Marchant asking If Ann
would not come back to her old posi-
ton, she dispatched an immediate re-
ply to the effect that she would be
back In three weeks. The next day
she handed in her resignation.
"Oh. she's got the blues on account
Of sweetheart back home," confided
the sergeant to the corporal, but Cap
tain Downs knew, and accepted her
On the morning that she presented
herself at the Office of Burr & Mar
chant she found beautiful bunch of
red roses in a vase on her desk, and
attached to them was a card bearing
Mr.. Marchant's name. 1t occurred to
her then he was a bachelor, and she
asked herself, "Is 1t possible?" but
soon forgot the question in the busy
of her old desk and type
writer. Later when Mr. Marchant
,ame In she shook hands with him and
banked him for the roses.
"Are you glad to be back In this
smoky city?" he teased.
ITS the best city in the world" she
ejoined, laughing.
Again the weeks began slipping by,
'ut Mr.. Marchant was quick to notice
hat the happy laughter in AIMS eyes
vas gone.
"You ought to take a vacation" he
old her one day. you seem so tired"
ooh, I'm not tired" she quietly re-
lied
"Then. have a doctor"
"Why?" and her eyes widened.
you'll be having nervous break
own before you know it." he said
"Why, there's nothing the matter
nth me, or perhaps it's just a little
ouch of the blues" she smiled. But
he did not go to a doctor.
A few days later when Marchant
Zas watching her he saw q soft light