The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-04-11
EVENING STORY
The Ethiopian.
BY DORA III. NOLAN.

BY DORA H. NOLAN
The Ethiopian lives over the kitchen
range in the basement of 46 barrow
street, New York City. Mr.. and Mrs
Stanley Lee reside on a ranch near
Cody Wyo. Every year they journey
over the intervening space on swirl
limited and make their obelsance 10
the grinning slave.
Ebony black, with an orange smile,
ne stands ever patiently bearing aloft
on his flattened palms woven basket
of gorgeously colored tropical fruits
Quivering heat waves rise around MS
stalwart form, but to such 1empera-
ture he inherits immunity The dark
CITY kitchen with its dismal outlook
steals something of the spirit of the
Thousand and One Nights from MS
colorful presence.
For three years now have Mr.. and
Mrs. Lee made the pilgrimage to this
shrine. And just four years and two
months, ago the events took place,
grateful memory of which brings them
back.
In those days Mrs. Stanley was Eve
lyn Brooks fashion artist for the
Standardized Pattern company, and
Stanley was making his first ranch
mans business trip east. He not only
belonged to the west, but looked it.
for he was tall and broad, with the
keenly interested eyes of the plains
man, and his sartorial preferences ran
to corduroy, soft shirts and the like
So he was dressed at o'clock on this
morning as he ran down the two
flights of stairs which led from his
aunt's apartment to the basement
kitchen in the house on barrow street.
Aunt Mag was all right and good
sport, Stanley was thinking on the way
down, even if she had Mortified the
Cody folk last summer, driving to town
dressed in a queer, shapeless garment
of bright green, with standaled feet
and floppy hat embroidered with i'm
possible flowers He grinned as he
NrecaHed the commotion she had caused
in the postoffice. But all the same.
this way of living got his goat-stay-
ing up most all of the night and sleep
ing until noon, like a bat.
Four hours after his usual breakfast
time. and not a sound from his aunt's
roomi Her last words before bidding
him good night had been: "Stan, dear,
if you get hungry before I'm up in the
morning. just run down stairs and
cook yourself something. There is a
community. kitchen down in the base
ment and you'll find my things on a
shelf labeled with my name. Help
| yourself"
Stan didn't exactly like the idea of
fussing around in some one else's
! house, but he was desperately hungry;
so he tried a door that looked as if it
might open into a kitchen. 1t did, but
| the room was SO glOomily dark that
he lighted the gas. just then the
~door bell rang.
| Stanley stood still and listened, but
! there was no sound of steps along the
bare floor of the hall, and again it
| rang. So he ran up the basement
stairs and opened the door On the
steps stood a girl. She was quite good
| to look upon, dressed in an unusual
shade of blue-green; with hat to
match, trimmed with small flowers
of many colors.
/ The young woman appeared perhaps
bit surprised when this big young
man opened the door, but remarked in
| a quite ordinary tone of voice, Il came
| to paint over the kitchen stove"
! Now Stanley knew enough, from
] his short experience of this casual
/ bohemian life his aunt led. to be pre-
| pared for the unexpected, but at this
/ strange announcement his mouth hall
| opened and he looked quite idiotic, for
no words came from it. In the FIRST
place it was Sunday morning, and in
the second the girl was not only well
| but extensively dressed.
Handsome young women in costly
| clothes coming around on the Sabbath
to do a job of house painting w re ut
| terly outside his experiences.
! STAINS thoughts were becoming ever
| more hopelessly muddled when the
girl spoke again: 81 left my materials
| at the basement door and I will go and
get them if you don't mind letting me
in that way-would your" And as
Stan seemed to be still in sort OF
| trance she added: Miss Sandersor
expects me but I presume she hasn't
arisen yet And she ran down the
| steps.
Stanley recovered enough to close
] the door, make his way downstairs
again and admit this unaccountable
| visitor at Che basement entrance. She
knew the landlady, evidently, so il
must be all right. He helped, as g
matter of course with the brushes an6
pals. but still remained tongue-tied
When they gained the kitchen, the
young woman asked Stan to bring the
! stepladder from the laundry, and pro-
! ceeded to remove her hat and coat
| When he returned with the ladder the
girl stood on the far side of the room
gazing at the painted area of wall di-
rectly above the set-in range.
You see,' she said. these walls are
such a horrible, gloomy color. and the
agent just won't do another thing tC
the house. Miss Sanderson can't af-
ford to do them over herself. so 1 Of
fered to paint something colorfuI ur
there. Don't you think fruit would be
nice?
But that's rather tame" she con