The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-05-29
EVENING STORY
With All My Worldly Goods.
BY S. 3. HACKLEY.

BY 5. 3. HACkLEY-
| The snow fell. heavy. continuous;
as the soul of Bluebeard. but it was
no mere somber than the spirits of
i the two young women who occupied,
respectively, the neutrality-suspicious.
sitting room and the vanilla-scented
kitchen of David and Eloise HoIlings-
worth's bungalow.
David and Eloise were gone to
their work as newspaper editor and
| city librarian. Theresa, David's dainty
young sister. crocheted and wept al
| ternately, and Ishta Matilda Quinn
\ swart hands expressed the feeling of
| her suffering soul in the long-con-
tinued beating that made her egg
kisses things to call forth stomachic
| paeans.
| "Thump do love me-" Ishty muir
! INJURED; but dat lump O. taller inside
! his skull is dat money crazy is feered
he's gwine ask dat yaller Anna to
marry him, whilst he's dazzelt wild
de accounts she givin' him O. de PUNK
| she makes! oh, Lawd, eff 1 jest had
some property Thump could see
nowi'
Greed for gain was the dynamic
force of the soul of the widowered
teamster. Thumpus C1eaves. He owned
his home and a bit Of ground at its
| rear; he kept hens, fed them from
garbage scraps (this was in the good
! old days" when the American garbage
lean was not lean and ill-favoredD-
and sold eggs at so cents the dozen
all winter. In the afternoons he did
! janitor work, and at odd times toiled
at anything that brought him money.
Two weeks before, however. outside
of property, Ishty Matildy had appar-
emily been all in all to, Thump, but
| now she believed he had'"his eye' on
Anna Justice. 4 maid in the fashion,
able High Street school, a permanent
| position with wages largely in excess
| of Ishty's.
Money, too. was making Theresa
miserable. Two years before, Great
| Aunt Theresa Cass Bossler had sue
ceeded in getting payment from the
government for a parcel of land Great
! Uncle John had sold in civil vsef times.
There was $4,000 of it, and Great
Aunt Theresa had died a month ago
and left Theresa every penny of it.
Only two persons outside of her
family, in the town In which she lived
with her brother. had as yet heard of
| her inheritance. and one was Ishty
| Matildy, the other was Park Collins,
whose property. outside of his slender
law practice. was less than nothing.
Tessie had told him. She had wanted
to hear his joyous exclamation over
! her good fortune; but wanting to hear
| had been all. Park had congratulated
her with all dignity, then had. gone
home and hadn't been back since. And
Theresa loved him until the stars in
| the evening sky were not stars at all,
but his blue eyes.
When she finally wiped her eyes and
went out to the kitchen, Ishty sat with
a newspaper propped in front of her.
| 'Lawdy- why couldn't dis fool
niggah a been white jes fun dis oc-
casion ?" she heard her mutter. Then
the newspaper fell to the floor, and
Ishty wept aloud. EFF 1 vas jest white
now 1 could get de man I wants!"
az am WHITE thought Theresa,
land cannot get the man 1 want"
Ishty mopped her eyes with her
first page. You kin read good
read DAFT"
Leap Year Opportunity! Don't Be
Shy, Girls-Pop the Question Now!"
ran the headlines of the article. THAT
Free Marriage Licerse Offered Yes
First Proposal. More Offers Are
Made! Minister and Justice VIII Make
No Charge for Tying the Knot"
| Beneath these lines were the ma
terial offers to the first bride who
popped" the question: The photo
grapher offered to make free one
dozen wedding photos. and to frame
| lin fumed oak or imitation mahogany
the marriage certificate; the horse and
mule dealer offered a free mule Gage
| not new; the coal man a ton of coal
| (actual weight; the furniture man,
a bed Guaranteed first HANDY.
EFF 1 was q white woman I'd go
out and tell dem folks I'd deposed
marriage and been accepted by de
man 1 love" commented Ishty. EFF
Thump could jest see I had a whole
lot o. thengs fun housekeepin.' he's
run after me like a hongry hound do
de gut-waggin, but 1 amt! oh, Miss
| Tessie 1 jes knows Anna Justice II
git himi''
Possessionsi oh. possessions! The
resa resolved that II she could not be
happy because of them, she would see
that Ishty was not unhappy because
of a lack of them.
'Ishty"-she touched the shaking
| mountain of misery-'ff you'll prom
Use me you won't she'd another tear
III have you married>to Thumpus be-
fore tomorrow evening"
Ishty's face dried like a lime kiln. ,
Every business man of Ashton to
whom pretty Theresa confided the
fact that friend (color not specified)
had proposed marriage, willingly, nay
eagerly, promised something toward
the setting up of the friends" house
hold. Andithat same afternoon. with
the mayors heartily given permission.
she hired Thumpus Cleaves to haul
the gifts, haulable to the mayors big,
newly finished barn.
By night the barn held a varied col
lection of physical necessities and
some luxuries. The unused appear
ance of some of the articles was due
to camouflage, but in the main every
thing was new and first-class.
| Besides the fulfillment of the pa
per's printed offers. there were one
five-pound stick of peppermint candy,
twenty pounds of sugar. six sacks of
flour (whea2. three pals of lard
| (geruine hog), two boxes face powder
| (pink), one box face paint, and one
hair-curling iron. one washing ma
chine and tubs, three fat hens and
one rooster (age uncertainty, one tur-
key (stunted), one cook-stove. used
| (camouflaged by high coat of polish) l.,
donated by secondhand goods man;
one copy How to Be Happy Tho
Married" Gold edition). a bridal bou-
quet of red roses stored in a crock of