The Topeka state journal., 1919-06-27
EVENING STORY
Uncle Jakes' Best Joke.
BY JANE OSBORN.

lnQulSe IN now tnaL Sne was really
truly married to the embodiment. in
her eyes. of all masculine charms and
| virtues-Rodney Blaine.
II think you are mean old thing"
she announced with some heat. ITO
! have to have him along with US. He'll
! just spoil everything. 1t isn't that I
don't like him, but he is such a dread
full toker!"
The joker referred to was none 9TH
er than Rodney's uncle, Jacob Blaine,
| a slightly built but erect old gentle
| man, who at three score and five had
given UP business and determined to
lead the rest of his days in the open.
If he had none of the crechets which
are sometimes ascribed to those of ad-
vanciHg years he had some of the
foibles that had been characteristic of
| his boyhood. Nothing pleased him
better than practical joke, tho his
jokes were always of a kindly nature
and, so far as any one knew, they had
never caused any one real discomfort.
| But Maud took herself. and above
all she took Rodney. amazingly seri-
| ously. Now that summer had come,
the Rodney Blaines had made arrange
ments to depart from the city for the
woods, where Rodney owned small
mountain cabin.
| He had just announced his inten-
ton of encouraging Uncle Jake to oc-
\ cupy a smaller cabin not many rods
from theirs which he would make the
| headquarters for his fishing and out
ing trips; and he would share the
company of his nephew and niece in
| many of his hours of inactivity
| We'll, my dear" Rodney assured
| his wife sit isn't at all as if he were
critical or intended to interfere with
he likes SO we'll as you-and me. He's
the best sport in the world and what
II he does pull off a practical joke
oncs 9GS;, in a while?-I rather like his
Like his jokingr" echoed Maud. and
her eyes snapped fire as much as eyes
as blue as hers ever could snap fire.
| And besides" said Rodney, as he
went on inspecting the fishing para
pheFnalia that he had recently pur-
chased as preliminary to the vacation
in the woods besides, uncle has
wiiled everything he has to us. That
shows that he is devoted to u.s."
Maud at this accused her husband
or being mercenary, tho had any one
else made this accusation she would
have ragged indeed
The result was that Uncle Jake went
with the Rodney Blaines, and this was
not because Rodney acted contrary to
his wife's pleadings, but because after
having protested and pouted she AZ
sured her husband that he was righS
as in all other cases and that she was
i sorry that she had shown such preju-
dice and would try to feel as strong at
tachment for Uncle Jake as did her
husband.
Then she regretted her good nature.
First he disguised as possible game
warden and called at the cabin one
and informed Maud that her husband
had been violating the game law and
would have to serve a life imprison-
ment Maud, in spite of her ardent
suffrage principles, was quite ignorant
of the law and before she recognized
Uncle Jake in the heavily false-beard-
ed person, she had offered him her
entire worldly wealth if he would go
away and say nothing to the authori-
ties concerning Rodney's guilt.
Then on the day that she went fish
ing with him he contrived to have her
hook attach itself to little package
that he had brought with him to the
brook and which proved, after Maud
had excitedly angled for five minutes,
to contain a can of sardines-a deli
cacy for which she had decided
aversion and of which Rodney and
Uncle Jake, not knowing this. had set
in a large supply.
Mild and even stupid Jokes both of
these-Yet Maud allowed herself to
be annoyed by them.
Hes a dear in many ways" she
told Rodney, the evening after the sar-
dine episode, but SO long as he jokes
1 cannot stand him"
!, 81 wasn't going to tell you." Rodney
replied, but you see it is just because
Uncle Jake does joke that I'm SO at
tached to him. If he hadn't been a
joker, you'd now be Mrs. Somebody
else and I'd be disconsolate old
bachelor
1t was in midsummer and Maud
: the eighteen-year-old Maud who
pouted very archly then and still wore
her curls merely tied in the back of
| he. o01y 4R ~,
> style-was four or five hundred miles
away from Rodney, who was working
in the city in the office of the Uncle
Jake who had not yet found occasion
l to retire.
, Rodney had danced with Maud and
sent flowers to Maud on occasions, just
as a dozen others had done, and as he
had done to a dozen or so besides. OF
course he thought she was pretty. and
when there were other men trying to
! put their names on her dance order
Rodney was always as eager as the
others.
But it had never occurred to him
= that ne might want to marry her. In
fact. Rodney-in spite of twenty-five
years-had never thought very much
l about wanting to marry anybody.
= But Maud at eighteen had definitely
\ made up her mind, that lurked some
where beneath those soft brown curls
that she did want to marry, and that
5 she wanted to marry Rodney Blaine
i though she would have died rather
than to let any one suspect this.
She had convinced herself-and al
eighteen one convinces oneself of such
i matters quite easily-that there was
0 no hope. She had smiled and poute6
as archly for Rodney as she had fol-
Tom and Bill and Walter. and Tom
and Bill and Walter had all in theil
own way let Maud know that they
t found her distracting and that they
= dreamed of no greater happiness thar
to be her slaves for life.
But Rodney had made no such pro
: testations and, though he always asked
f for dances when he was about, hs
g., managed to dance with other pretty
girls If she refused him.
t Maud had thought 1t ali out in hel
Z eighteen-year-old mind. She was quite
= sure that the case was hopeless and
: that q harsalf had arri1reA a thf