The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-30
EVENING STORY
Up in 24S.
BY r. RAY BAKER

tinized it, then jabbed it thru the air
a couple of times to send the mercury
back to zero. wrote some figures on
pad. fixed the pillow at a more COM
Portable angle, replenished the hot
water bottle and rearranged the
flowers in the vase, smiling the while.
Feeling better tonight?" she in
CURED, the bright smile broadening
and being reflected in the wan face of
the young woman in the bed and also
on the countenance of the elderly
lady in the nearby chair.
The patient nodded in answer to the
query and said:
yes, considerably better, thank
you
That's just fine; I hope you con-
tinue to improve" said the nurse, as
she opened the door and stepped into
the hall. Goodnight" The door
| closed.
Always happy, isn't she?" observed
| tho elderly lady.
| Always" echoed the patient ''She
srHiles every minute, and it certainly
| does help one to get WE'LL
But once she was in the hall, Agatha
| Moore's smile vanished and was re-
| placed by a worried frown. She hur-
ried down the hall and knocked at
| door bearing the number 24s. OF the
nurse who opened it she said:
How is he''
The other nurse shook her head
| gravely.
1T is question" she said. He has
| a chance, but I'm afraid
! Agatha peered into the room, and
| her eyes glistened. Then she with
/ drew and walked briskly to the nurses
| lodge, adjoining the hospital. In her
room she hastily donned coat and
| went down to the parlor, where she
| took a chair and rocked easily to and
| fro.
| Agatha was confronted with a prob
| lem on which hinged her happiness.
| In ten minutes she expected Glen Will
! son to enter the parlor in quest of
| her answer to his marriage proposal.
Agatha was very fond of Glen. Not
| only was he a very attractive young
/ man, both as regarded appearances
and personality, but he had a promis-
| ing real estate business that was rapid
| ly becoming more promising. She had
| formed his acquaintance at dance
| in the lodge soon after she entered
| training, and a warm friendship had
| developed during the ensuing auto ex-
! cursions and theater parties. Finally
| Glen had asked her to be his wife, and
| she had told him she must take a
| week to decide.
| The reason for postponing the an
! swer was Stuart Franklin, who had
| been her sweetheart back in Hender-
| sonville before she entered the hos
pital. There was no engagement, but
there was an understanding between
| them.
| on two vacations. while visiting at
home, Agatha and Stuart had renewed
| their friendship and had discussed the
| future at some length; but still she
| had refused to listen to an "official
and binding engagement" as she ex-
| pressed it,
They had written regularly until re-
| Gently, when Agatha had let the cor
| respondence lapse. Then, when vaca-
| ton time came, she accepted the in
| of fritz ~
| instead of going home, as customary.
Thus things stood when a letter
| from Stuart announced his intention
] to come to the city in search of sue
cess. Agatha had not answered that
| letter.
Then came this proposal of Glen,s.
1t brought to Agathas mind recollec-
tons of events long past-hayride eX-
| curs1ons, skating parties, Sunday pic
| tnre-snappinS expeditions and other
| incidents in which Stuart and she had
| participated She had really cared
| for her home town sweetheart, she
| could not deny that. She cared for
| him yet, she also admitted, and she
| had neglected his letters not because
| she wanted to, but because she felt
| she must
| Glen offered more as a husband. 1t
was one thing to be the wife of a sue
| cessful business man and another to
become united for life with a plodding
| snall-town hoy, no matter how much
one might care for the latter
| Only yesterday Agatha had come to
| the conclusion that her only course
was to accept Glen's offer of marriage,
and she had planned the way in which
| she would break the news to Stuart
when he appeared.
| But that was before the events of
| today. Agatha was on duty on fourth
| nail, but was unexpectedly summoned
to scrub" and report in the operating
| room to help in an emergency case SO
! she "scrubbed''; that is, she sterilized
| her hands by an energetic scrubbing
with soap and a brush, and went to
| the operating room. A young man
had just been brought in. suffering
serious injuries received in a street
car accident. His recovery was doubt
| full.
Now she was waiting for Glen, and
! she was supposed to have her answer
ready. He came promptly on time,
and asked her to take a short ride
with him. $50 I can learn my fate in
detail.'' he said.
The hospital was at the edge of the
city, and two blocks ride took them
into the country.
well. how about ft?" Glen asked,
/ as he slowed down in a tree-trimmed
road. do you become Mrs Glen
/ Wilson or does Glen Wilson continue
! to batch it?'
She cleared her throat and began
! with counter question:
Did you ever think you cared a
| lot for some one and then have some
| thing happen to prove your affection
| beyond a vestige of a doubt -
! He drove carefully across a railroad
/ track
NO. not that I remember"
| Then this is the way of it, she
continued. Had this been yesterday
| my answer to you would have been
| yes However. it appears to have
| been fated otherwise. for today some
| thing happened to convince me that
! I would have made a fatal mistake by
! accepting your proposal
| This morning a young man. seri-
| ously injured in a street car accident,
was brought into the operating room
! and I was detailed to assist in an oper-