The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-07-14
BY DORA NOLAN.

L
down the ages. just relating the con-
sequences of that one little If"
But we will ignore for the present
the fact that Mabel lost her job for
sassing back when she received the
Inevitable call down, and that the
foor walker went home cross that
night, for it's hard to get competent
girls to work in five-and-tens these
days-and instead follow Lois Barker
as she makes her car and arrives
home just in time for dinner.
Mrs. Barker is on hand, but the
| head of the family reaches home late
and, in a fearful hurry. He explains
as he eats that there's meeting at mis-
club: some high-up man is scheduled
I to speak. If he can only manage to
get there a little early and meet that
man right. why, perhaps he can place
an order with him some time.
Lois hurries, too, for it takes some
time to do ones hair in the latest
mode, and if she gets it just right it's
so becoming to her. Then Mrs. Barker
| is worried about her new gown; it
doesn't just please her, but she can't
| think what it lacks to make it stun
ming So the Barkers' dinner is fin
| ished in record-breaking time that
night.
| Lois and her father flew upstairs to
their respective toilets and Mrs. Bar
ker settled down to the latest copy of
| her favorite woman's magazine. Ev-
| erything went we'll until the electric
| lights went out. Then affairs began
| to move.
Mrs Barker looked up from the
black page into the blackness SUE
rounding her. Mr.. Barker stumbled
somehow to the top of the stairs,
when he demanded that his wife call
up the electric light company i'm
| mediately and ask them what the
| happy days was the matter.
| Mrs. Barker fastened to do his bid
ding, finding the number by the aid
| of a match, meanwhile demanding in
turn of Lois in crescendo tones where
| she had put the lamp wicks she had
bought that afternoon.
Lois tried to explain at long range
why she hadn't bought them-'those
| gabby girls etc. Central reported
| Lime busy" and Mrs. Barker so re-
ported to her husband, who de-
| manded some sort of a light, anyhow;
also that she try again. The fact that
she had ordered the maid to clean
emergencies that very morning and
/ threw out the wicks was fresh in her
mind; also that the rubbish had been
/ collected that day.
There was a pair of little candles in
the brass candlesticks in the dining
| room. It had been considerable
| trouble to find them in just the>right
| shade of blue to match the curtains.
1t took some time to find another
match.
Meantime, DR.. Barker was blaming
the electric company for blank rotten
| management, his wife for lack of
foresight and Lois for her failure to
get the only useful thing she went up
| town for. Lois. shifting blame from
Mabel, was blaming it on the star-car
company for running their cars so
seldom.
The candles finally pacified the
| man of the house for a while. Mrs.
/ Barker, between unsuccessful attempts
! at the phone, hustled her daughter
into a long coat and sent her over to
Mrs. Smiths next door. to borrow a
| lamp. Just as she had succeeded in
worming out of the light company
the interesting information that two
| dynamos had burned out. at once, but
that they hoped to have the current
on agai9 by midnight, Lois returned.
Mrs. Smith was giving a dinner party
and needed the only two lamps they
owned. Mr.. Barker called, down
stairs and wanted to know how in
blazes he was ever going to tie an
evening tie by the light of two measly
Christmas dips.
Mrs. Barker sent Lois over to the
! house on the other side, though she
detested that Mrs. Brooks and never
spoke to her when she could help it.
Then it occurred to her to wonder
and she felt her way to the kitchen
to find out.
The opening of the door revealed
the kitchen flooded in light. Katy
had remembered what Mrs. Barker
had quite forgotten, the one gas jet
over the gas range.
| Scolding Katy for not calling her
attention to it, Mrs. Barker called her
lord and master, and in the kitchen,
with her assistance, he finished ar
raying himself and departed-too late
for his particular car and so, also, toe
late to receive the coveted introduce
ton. the ''high-up man" leaving i'm
mediately after his address, to catch
a train.
Lois returned with a lamp that
proved to be a. dim. iIl-smelling thing
Cross at everybody and everything in
general she also completed her unsat-
isfactory toilet in the kitchen. Their
demanded the lamp-and the living
room-for her own and Harold
Sterns's exclusive use.
The lamp proved so very smelly a:
to be unbearable, so she blew it ou
and returned to the kitchen in dis
gust.
Harold Storms came up the street
On the front steps the fact was borne
in on him that the Barker house wal
entirely dark; he couldn't see th'
kitchen window So he retraced hi.
steps. rejecting with the bitterness o.
youth on the unreliability of woman
kind and suffering the well-knowI
chagrin of a "standup." So ruminat
ing. he almost ran into George Stew
art.
George hailed him gladly He hat
a cousin visiting him. She was
dandy girl" an all around goot
sport Why didn't Harold come alonl
and go skating with them that eve
ming. Harold went. And he asked
the cousin to a dance. He had intend
ed to invite Lois.
Space does not permit me to tel
how the friendship with the cousin
grew, and ripened into something
else; only to state the fact that tn
catch Of the town fell to an out-of
town girl instead of to Lois Barker, Il
whom. BY common consent, he hat
been destined.
This isn't tract, SO we won't EN-