Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-02-12
THEM WAS THE DAYS.
JnJ ,EwJJ,D

Remember the time you TOOK fter
down the river TO Tdlewild7 That
was the summer She was visiting
the Horizons, so. Of course, you had
to get somebody to ask Mamie Hor-
ton, too. Andy Hampton, wasn't it?
No-must have been Brick Slater.
Doesn't make any difference, any
way. They didn't count. She was
the One.
Can't you Just smell the old wharf
and the tar and rosin and the sweet.
woodsey breeze from Hunters Is
land? And there was the General
Slocum. all proud and painted up
white for the summer excursion
trade. with gold spokes dartins out
from a rising sun on the paddle
boxes. She gave your arm a sort OF
little hug as you went aboard flour
ishing the tickets and you felt pretty
good. too, knowing you still had
that dollar eighty-five In your
pocket you made picking berries for
Elmer Harris father and drowning
old Miss Proutys pups.
or course 1t wasn't so good on the
way down. Brick and Mamie SEEM
ed to think they had to stick around
and Bricks mother gave him the
money to come largely because his
hay fever was better on the water.
But you managed to lose 'em at
Idlewild all right. Brick and Mamie
had brought their lunches anyway
boiled eggs and things-but you
were fer, far above that. Up In the
north wing Of the old mansion they
ran a restaurant and you took Her
right into that--ordered the regular
fifty-cent dinner, fried chicken and
corn fritters and everything. And on
TOP of that you carelessly tossed
two nickels on the napkin to kind OF
cover UP the fact you'd forgotten to
use 1t, pulled out cigaret you'd
been saving up and asked the waiter
right out for q match. She Just
looked at you and said, "Oh. Char
Iey!" But you didn't oare--it only
made you feel sood-till you smoked
the darn thing.
Then afterward. to show you
weren't just merely cigaret fiend
and really had higher thoughts. you
took Her out to the graveyard and
read her inscriptions on the head
| stones. And you told her, too you'd
heard Judge Spencer telling your
father about it) that Alvah Petit
| grew, who used to own Idlewild, had
been to congress with Daniel Web
ster and Henry Clay. And She look
| ed at you again that funny way
| and said, ooh, Charley-you GER
tainly do know about United States
history" And you did. too.
BY and by the General Slocum
blew q couple of blasts and She
thought it was the supper horn and
started back to the restaurant until
she saw everybody running down ia
the pier. Mamie and Brick stuck
with the crowd up in front Of the
boat to hear old slack Jasper play
his fiddle. But you took Her Out
on the back deck where you could
sse the sun set. And 1t did, and the
moon came up like a big silver dol
lar and the river looked brighter
than any chrome you ever saw IN
4 your life.
There wasn't anybody LOOKING
around back thsre and your arm
sort Of stole UP on the railing -.
hind Fer and sllpped and slipped
Then she whispsrsd. "Oh. Charley
and thsp-
Funny you can remember 20 muof
about yourself. isn't IL? What wal
Her name now, anyway She Ger.
tainly was an awful nice girl.
| EDNA SAYS that she doesn't or,
at weddings any more-the mel
aren't worth II.
/ MOTHER 0OOSELESs.
Why little drops Of water
And little grains Of sand
| Haven't yet gone up In price
can not understand, 3
The trouble with most aftor-din
4 ner speakers II that they are D
poorly, equipped with terminal faoili
INaa n n W.