The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-07
THE BEAST.
By Adelaide FOIlett Brown.

By Adelaide FOIlett Brown.
Copyright, 1921, by Wheeler Syn
dictate, Inc.)
Dusk softened the outlines of the
sordid mill town; vague lights
pricked the darkness here and
there like dim fireflies. The dreary,
dusty little city become, for the
moment, austerly beautiful. Dusk
deepened also in the 'third-floor-
back" OF Mrs. Gammage's third-rate
roomi.g house. In the room girl
sat crouching in broken chair and
shivering in spite of the heat. The
SILVER came because for the first
time in her IS sheltered, coddled
years, Betty Martin sensed the ap-
proach of the Beast. The name of
the Beast was Fear.
It all came about because John
Martin had flaSh-in-the-pan tenn
Ter, because Betty had inherited
the same-and most OF all because
a quiet mother rested in a quiet
clumps of pale harebells for com
pany. Had she~been with them it
never would have happened.
Seventeen years and II months of
having ones own petted, pampered
way, does not, somehow, prepare
one for fathers apoplectic rage
and harsh sundering of loves
young dream. To Betty, the young
man in question seemed passing
fair, but not to be taken seriously
oh, no, not yet!-until that same
fathers foot was put down with
thunderous emphasis. Then-welI
then, daddy had ordered her, mind
you, and Betty's quivering lips
Strengthened in the darkness as she
lived it over Tor the 200th time to
choose between Billy Devine and
getting out to earn her own living.
or being nice Sand obedient little
girl. Betty got out. Betty also
left behind the check for $500 which
her father had deposited steaIthily
on her dresser.
With the change she had on hand,
Betty started out for the nearest
city, head held high and courage in
her heart. Two week later, as she
sat in her stuffy little room, her
courage had eyapofated, her heart
(she thought) was broken, but her
pride still held. Sixty-seven cents
and her landlady had ordered her
out of the house with one weeks
rent unpaid. For Betty had not yet
learned a single move in the grand
game of bluff. After all, she was
only a child.
She did not know how to get
work. She did not know of ''un-
Gle" who would have cheerfuIIy ad-
vanced her $50 on her rings. She
did not know why Mrs. Gammage
eyed those same rings and her
beautiful clothing so queerly; she
did not know that this same girlish
finery had already "queered" sew
eraI jobs for her; she did not know
where to go TO find kind hearts, in
fact, the only Thing she knew how
to do well was to make delicious
fudge and wheedle checks out OF
daddy. But go back to him? Not
she. She'd spend the night on the
park bench first-which she pro-
ceeded to do.
Policemen were few and far be-
tween in this little town, SO no one
said her nay when She dragged her
self and her suitcase to a bench in a
dark corner OF the park She had
decided to go without supper The
town clock struck 8. The town
clock struck 10, and with each sue
ceeding hour it seemed to boom
mere solemniy. She crouched clos
er to the friendly shadow. Fear,
the Beast, crouched beside her.
would-would Daddy find her
starved body hid away in some park
corner? How long did one live
without eating? Was it very pain
full to die that way? Eleven O'Clock
and how tired and-hun-g-r-y she
vast Footsteps sounded on the
nearest path and she held her
breath. A man. alone walked past.
She could not know that he was
the kindhearted father of four girls.
So the Beast. snariing a bit nov.