The Topeka state journal., 1919-11-15
EVENING STORY
The Wedding Special.
BY LATIMER J. WILSON.


! The wispy wreaths of pale smoke
settled into diaphanous strata in the
air of Orville's room, where he and
Harold were sitting. It was near the
| end of a day busy with preparations
| for peculiar expedition to dista MT
city The village of BaneviIIe was get
ting ready to escort Orville, as a pro-
tspective groom. and Harold. as pro-
tspective best man. to the distant old
city of romance, New Orleans, where
the bride-to-be resided. For eight
long months her friends in Baneville
had missed hef from their dances.
parties and social events. Orville had
been twice to see her there. and, now
| he was planning to take the whole
| town to bring her back.
| Thru the cigaret fog a number of
photograph could be seen on the ta-
BILE in the center of Orville's room.
| There they are-all of them"' he
| said. pointing the tip of his cigaret to-
ward the pictures. Il suppose you
know every girl 1 ever went with in
| this burg
lis friend looked casually toward
| the group. He had serious dark eyes
and waving dark hair combed loosely
| back from a white, intelligent brow.
Orvilie was no less handsome, but ne
was blonde and slightly stout and his
eyes were blue and less seriously ex-
/ pressive "A cynic,. some called him.
"a good fellow" others said. His
| jovial manner won friends easily.
Look here" he said, taking up one
of the photographs James a trick
all right. We thought a lot of each
| other one time. She was wild about
| me-
i IF were in your place. old chap"
| said Harold disapprovingly, I'D quit
/ boasting and put all those pictures
| away except one-the One
| sAh. Moon of Ny Delight!' Orville
exclaimed. holding up the large por-
Itrait of the bride-to-be. Harold did
not lift his eyes from the point in
| sl5ace at which his gaze was thought
fully fixed.
.'Rave, on was all he said.
There's the girl of girls. See here.
kold man; when it comes time to slip
me that little circle of gold don't you
forget which pocket it's in" laughed
Orville But what do you think of our
wedding party, anyway? Isn't 1T
stu1.t to take the whole burg 500 miles
be just two carloads of us; the Pull
/ mans are reserved and the train IL be
| ready at l a. m. southwark bound
| Harold looked keenly beneath his
| dark brows toward Orville.
| Don't you think it's rather neryy to
take along all the ashes of your past
romances to pave the way for welded
>bliss?" he asked.
| "Ofs course it's all right said Or
Vile unabashed. EVERY girl in TINS
old burg will know within forty-eight
hours what kind of wedding can be
pulled off in metropolitan style.
There'n be nothing else to talk about
| for six generations to come. Leave it
| to me to do things right
| you've got the bank account be-
hind you," commented Harold, "and
life of happiness with a fine girl
ahead" he added. Orville began to
gather up. the photographs, dumping
thenf into an open drawer of his desk
For an instant one of the pictures lin
gered upon the Persian pattern of the
table cover. Harold's eyes fastened
sharply upon it, then he reached for
ward and took 1t up.
Say. old chap-this girl doesn't be-
long to your collection. I'm going to
cop this and he put the picture into
| his own pocket.
Certainly you cap have it," said Or
Vile willingly. You're right. She's
only mine and Mabers friend. and I
guess she thinks more of you than ever
she thought of me- Then he added,
What stunning maid of honor, she'll
make. You and she will make a fine
looking pair
| A noisy, fun-filled crowd of young
men and women with elderly guests
gathered at the town depot at mid
| night. They piled into the reserved
| Pullmans when the train arrived fif-
| teen minutes late in -Baneville Sleep
| ing passengers were aroused by the
| clamor. Thruout the<next day smiling
faces greeted the passage of the train
bearing in large letters on two of its
| Pullmans the large sign, The We'd
| ding Special"
OrvilIe did not reserve much time
| to himself en- route. generously shar-
ing it withs the originals of his photo
,I,so DfI DIT
there came asf interval when every
| body was tired and when Orville found
himself with his feet stretched ac: oss
the arm of an empty seat in the smok-
/ ing car. Darkness was framed out
side the windows and smoky, dim-lit
| reflections were framed within. In the
| tobacco haze of the room came an
image of the past, refreshing Orville's $
memory of a cherished scene.
/ He remembered how the moonlight
siIvered gables and treetops, and how
patches of its pale sheen fell at his
feet when he and Mabel sat on the
front steps of her old home in Bane-
vile. IE the depths of her eyes he
had seemed to see the response which
he had craved SO long. But Mabel
| had always been more or less of Il
sphynx-like mystery to him. She then
had surprised him by saying, NO,
there is no one else. / like You as
well as any one.
| But he wanted far more than that
from her. He had determined that If
she would not promise him that night
to be his wife the blame of failure
would be his alone. He remembe' ed
how with the ardor of sudden impulse
he had swept her bodily into his arms.
| holding her so firmly that she could
not struggle
"Oh, Orvillet Dont-please don't'
! she had whispered while tears came
into the corners of her eyes. But his
| arms were locked and he had thrown
| away the key.
you must promise me now-to-
night. 1t is our last night together.
| You must say that you will let me
come for you and bring you back as
my wife"
Under the spell of his arms and