The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-10-18
EVENING STORY
Love and Breakfast.
BY SHIRLEY MONROE.

and the sun not,yet full-orbed over
the eastern hills. there came down the
steep, narrow path which led, between
thicllets of sweet fern and bayberry, to
the pebbly shore below, maiden fair
as any queen of fairy tale fame. Her
slim little frock seemed to have Dor
rowed it's color from the rosy dawn.
4 wandering ray of sunshine found
her hair and transformed it into
crown of fine-spun. virgin gold: her
daintiIy shod feet appeared TO barely
touch the ground yet they brought
ther Quickly down to the beach. There
she threw wide her sun Drowned arms
and took long breaths, of the sea-
washed air.
Everything is perfect this morn
| ing-yes. everything" She spoke
aloud. kingfisher successfully
camouflaEed against the rain bleached
limb of a dead tree near by, turned
startled eye in her direction for the
] thousandth part of an instant, perhaps,
4 then concentrated again on the spark
/ ling water beneath him.
] The girl looked at the tiny Jeweled
/ disk bound to her wrist. She seated
| herself carefully smoothing out her
| frock that it might not be wrinkled.
/ and, picking up handfu1s of the shin
ing pebbles, let them trickle slowly
back TO the ground, talking to them
meanwhile.
! Her happiness was of. the sort that
{ demanded expression, and at first
glance there was no animate thing
nearer than lonely osprey which cir
cIed high over the bay.
/ So the pebbles and sedge grass
heard her Wonderful news-a' tale as
old as the spectacle of the dawn yet
ever as new and marvellous to one who
/ experiences it for the first time.
| Only the evening before had it hap
pened-the miracle-when he had
! taken her in his arms and of a sudden
| it had come and she knew that she
loved him! 1t would end in marriage.
of course; but she didn't want to think
! of that now, only of the utter perfec-
ton of her prince and of the beaut-
| full. beautiful world, which was such a
| happy place to live in.
| on parting they had agreed to meet
on the secluded beach, out of sight of
| the hotel. before breakfast. She had
anticipated the time set for the night
| had been sIeepless and the glorious
morning called. But at any moment.
I now, thera might come the sound OF
| footsteps down the narrow path!
! Instead of a sudden there was q
| splash in the water a few feet from
! shore. The girl turned in time to see
a fountain of rainbow-hued drops, and
| emerging from it a gray bird with
white collar around his throat, carry
ing in his beak a small silver fish.
| The bird flew straight back to his
| perch on the rain blanched limb of
the old dead tree, swallowed his booty
and resumed the watchful waiting.
''Why-you horried thing!" ex-
claimed the girl, startled from the%ale
she was relating TO the shining peb-
bles, ito eat up that beautiful little
fish who wasn't doing you one bit of
harm-and on a glorious morning
like this, when every living creature
must be filled with joy at being alivei"
In the setge grass. a few feet away,
a lump which she had taken for a
brown stone moved cautiously for
ward, step by step. There was an in
describably quick motion of a sinu-
Gus neck, glitter of silver. then a
lump moving down the long throat as
something was hastily swallowed. It
took but an instant for the tragedy:
the murderer resolved again into a
brown stone, ceaselessly watching its
chance.
In disgust the girl turned her back
on the kingfisher and-on the marsh
hen and after a fleeing glance up the
steep path turned to the sparkling
waves breaking almost at her feet.
At least there was one creature on
that beach who could enjoy the fair
beauty of the morning without think
ing eternally and only of eating. she
soliloquized. Something grotesque
and horri1 of form was moving side
ways and with difficulty out of the
water. With one ugly claw it was
pushing before It an object almost as
big as itself. which feebly struggled.
) As the girl gazeT fascinated. the
thing took a great mouthful of its lfv-
ing prey in it's free claw and crammed
! it into it's mouth. 1t was only that
common occurrence, one crab eating,
with RELISH a disabled brother; but
to the girl looking on there came a
nauseating revulsion of feeling and
she stoned the eanniba1 till he dropped
, his victim and .scufried away.
How perfectly awful! Why. II
: never eat another crab as long as
live-they're too disgusting. Nor an.
= other fish, either! Poor things; they
: have enemies enough! Oh, why need
> such cruel things happen in such g
beautiful wor1d?''
I A loose pebble rolled down the
| path, announcing the swift approe q
OF another human to the secluded
. beach. The girl 1eaped TO her feet
e strong arms I'D her tight 1t wa
her prince, of course. and there fol
S lowed an hour of that ecstacy or1l
= new lovers experience when they tell
= each to the other. just how unutter
t able that love is Forgotten were tn;
e greedy birds and the canniba1 crab
2 Once more life was ecstatie-a gift
= of the gods!
S Then the prince announced that h,
must return to the city on the mcr
n row. why, dearie." he answered t,
n her strong protest, IT haven't tn
nerve to face your father with m,
d present bank account. Just give M
o a couple of months, tho, and oh boy
but I'll mal-9 ~@tne killing Then VI,
: can be married"
A chatin.iis, blush suffl sed- the fac
of the girl, To cover it she aske,
4 what he meant by a killing"
why, everlastingly watching m
!, rivals in business, catching them nap
:. ping and swooping down upon then
:, hke-fke that kingfisher chap owe
u there-and coming home with tn
( spoils." AS he spoke, prompted by a
instinct he didn't stop to analyze, on
hand gently detached itself from tn