The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-02-11
EVENING STORY
The Kitten and the Lineman.
BY barbara KERR,

MESA ge< Some one is crying and 1
can't make it out" Then to the per-
son at the other end of the line, Now,
please repeat your message"
The clerk listened and her alarm
gave way to an amused expression:
wait a moment. The superintendent |
The superintendent took the phone
and the girlish voice., now grown |
caImer, repeated: my kitten has been !
up in a big high tree all yesterday and |
all night just-cannot stand it any
longer. Won't you please send and
get him down? Mother viii pay you
whatever you ask. We're SO afraid |
he will fall and kill himself"
"All right-all right, little girl, don't |
you worry any more; We'll be right
along" Then turning to the trouble
crew waiting for orders, he said:
TON. suppose you take one of the
men and go over to the Bradford place'l
I on Bayview avenue and get that girls
kitten out of the tree and don't let
them pay for it-understand? We
don't want to start anything like that"
And Tom, logged out in a lineman
suit, took two men and fastened over
to the Bradford place.
The kitten could be seen-an i'm
| mense fellow he was, terrified white
and yellow balm the very top of a
| huge cottonwood tree and his mistress
| was Vainly trying to coax him to come
down. Tom came forward politely and
| sympathetically, expecting to find a
| little school girl. Instead it was
Christie Bradford. the young lady of
| the house. Her eyes were red, her
| beautiful brown hair was in a braid
down her back and she had slipped a
big coat over her morning dress. He
| looked his establishment; she smiled
apologetically and explained, Il
| cried SO. 1 thought 1 couldn't stand it
another minutes; 1 was SO afraid he'd
| get cold that he could not hold on
| longer and would fall-poor old Dom
| inie."
! The ladder was soon in place and
| Tom, talking reassuringly to Dominic,
was just ready to pick him up when
| the kitten, encouraged by his presence,
| turned and walked down the tree by
himself and was snuggled in Christie's
| arms He was truly a beautiful kit
| ten, and of course Tom had to stop a
moment and talk about pets and as
| sure Miss Bradford that he could not
accept pay for getting Dominic out of
| trouble
Soon after this Miss Bradford was
| returning on the train to college, and
as she sat glancing thru her maya
| zines young man stopped by her seat
| and spoke to her. She didn't recog-
| nize him as he was not in lineman
gsrb. and he had to remind her about
| the kitten. asking if it had given up
| exploring big trees.
Miss Bradford politely answered
him, thanking him for his interest,
but she was not friendly; so he moved
on. She was much surprised that a
| telephone lineman could look so hand
some and so dressed up in a business
suit, but she did not want to encour-
age any intimacy, so she pretended an
: absorbing interest in her reading when
he was near.
Tom guessed that she did not know
! him, but was piqued that she did not
! give him a chance to tell her who he
| was But when they changed cars at
Buffalo she saw. that his luggage was
| marked I. Carruthers. He was the
son of the president of the telephone
company.
OF course, on arriving at school she
wrote to her chum and casually re-
marked that Mr.. L. Carruthers had
gone east on the same train with her,
and Immediately received a reply laud-
ing Tom and wishing that she, the
| chum, could have the opportunity to
travel in his company. So Christie
| was quite prepared to be much more
sociable when on entering a crowded
Pullman on her way home for Christ
mas holidays she was asked to share
the seat with Mr.. Carruthers, who was
returning from New York, where he
had been placing some telephone
bonds. She dimpled with pleasure
and held out her hand saying: 1T is
good of YOU to let me sit with you and
1 will share my magazines and bon
bons with you in return
An ocean-going voyage speeds up
acquaintance as does nothing else I'M
der the sun, but IA long ride in a Pull
man is quite next so before the end of
, the Journey Tom was asking her to at
tend the Christmas hop with him.
Thank you SO much" Christie replied
cord ally, but my big brother Jim is
to be home and I've promised to de-
| vote the party to him. He'll have my
program
, ooh. Jim is an old friend of mine
and I'll ask him to waive his rights
mo. no. you mustn't do that!" de-
cIared Christie seriously. Jim and 1
| are long-time pals. 1 couldn't let him
bought the kind of dress he likes and
we ere planning to have Il gay ola
: tire"
: Tom was secretly pleased that a
girl like Christie Bradford should put
loyalty to her brother first I'll bet
: they are great pals he thought envi-
2 ous1y:. TN have to cultivate old Jim
myself
: delight in a filmy, ruffly dancing
frock, talking animatedly to Jim, who
was proudly filling out her program in
q crowd of persistent youths. he hur-
RED forward and Joined the throne: to
pre-empt a few dances for himself.
''Oh. I say. Jim. don't leave an old
friend out-anyway, I've been prom
: ised-''
Christie was pleased at the way
r Jim received him. "Get a move. get
a move, Tommy. boy. But here; you
: can't take all that's left. Do you
think I'm going to drop out of this long
5 about the middle? % And after much
S argument Tom had to be content with
three dances.
: After the first dance with Christie
he had no desire to dance with any
I other girl telling her that three
L dances with the right one were more
| to be desired than a dozen merely to
I be dancing
and finished Tom soberIy. I'm
coming tomorrow to call on you and
Dominic and tell you why-may =?