New Ulm review., 1921-03-02

10. l92l. WESTERN Newspaper Union.)

the door of his apartment and ushered
his friend Wells into-an empty room.
He stared round him. We'll, of all
the gall! !" he exclaimed. Here's that
confounded landlord of mine decorated
the walls in saffron when / went over
the matter with him 4 dozen times
and he swore by all the gods to do
them in red. And the storage men
We're on their honor to have my fur
niture in today. I tell you, Billy, it
makes fellow tired"
They entered and sat down upon q
board which the painters had left
stretched out between two step-lad-
ders. Tom lit his pipe and began puff
ing savagely.
The men were old acquaintances
whom fate had driven apart for many
years. Recently Tom Bryant had been
spending his vacation with Wells in
the Adirondacks, and the latter had
accompanied him back to his home,
to be his guest for few days. Mrs.
Bryant, who had been visiting her
mother, was expected on the following
morning. 3.
'I'm going round to the storage
men the first thing in the morning.
said Tom, "and I'm going to tell them
some of the things I won't do to them
if they don't have my goods here be
fore IL o'clock. He paused and be-
gan wrinkling his brow. Billy" he
said, ''if you'll give me your word of
honor never to breathe word of it
I'll tell you of an extraordinary thing
that happened to me when got back
from my honeymoon four years ago.
Mrs. Bryant has never ceased teasing
me about it, but it was mighty serious
at the time, and this little episode re-
minds me Of it,
WORD of honor said William
Wells. go ahead, Tom"
The other struck fresh match for
his pipe and cast the burned end into
pail of half dry paint.
"We'd just got back from blissful
three weeks honeymoon in the noun
tains," he began, sending out clouds
Of smoke and leaning back against the
ladder. Previous to my marriage I
had rented little, apartment some
thing like this one in the West Fifties.
You used to know this town pretty
well, Billy; guess you remember that
section, where every house looks just
like its neighbor and every street for
blocks is exactly the same. Well, the
place was decorated for us and our
new furniture was moved in and we
were both thoroughly pleased. We
speculated how happy and cozy we
jwerep going to ], be-, and all the way
home In the train we talked about it
and .indulged in, housekeeping rhap-
SOdies.
"When, we. reached our apartment
house the janitor met me at the door
with a telegram in his hand. 1t was
from the office, asking me to come
down immedia tely after returned in
order to explain something that had
cropped up during my absence-a mat
ter of which / alone was c0gnizant.
1t wouldn't take more than a couple
Of minutes TO straighten out affairs,
and perhaps an hours absence in all.
i. '"The matter proxed more important
than I had anticipated. I called up
my wife, explained the matter, and
remained at the office until late in the
evening, unraveling the tangle. 1t was
half past nine before got home.
walked straight in, went up the three
flights of stairs and unlocked the
apartment door.
"It was absolutely bare, Billy, as
bare as this one. The smell of fresh
paint was about the only thing there
was in it. Not a stick of furniture,
not rug, not cup or saucer or, a
dish rag in the kitchen. And Eleanor
was gone.
"Well, I spent that night pacing
through the apartment, and by morn
ing T was as nearly crazy as man
could be. Somehow or other, though,
I had sense enough to call up the Of
flee to say I couldn't get down, and
when I got the answer I found could
get down after all. In fact, got down
in record time. Eleanor had been
telephoning all the evening before un-
til they closed up at eleven eve were
doing a rush business them, and that
morning she had camped on the door
step about six and waited till the day
watchman came on duty, and then she
had fit Of hysteria in his arms. And
the police had been notified and were
searching the hospitals and looking in
all the dark corners to see if 1 was
lying there sandbagged. When I got
down and Eleanor tainted in my arms
and then came to and had another
hysterical attack in the middle of the
Office floor---well, it was no joke, I tell
you. And all because had mistaken
the street and walked into the CORE
spending house on the same block in
the street above it. | tell you, Billy,
my sticks and rugs looked pretty good
to me when /. got back with Mrs.
Bryant about nine o'clock. ....,, {. II. 4.
''But for, the Lords sake don't men
ton a word about it to her when you
meet. You'll be surprised how she
has changed from the time when you
knew her four years ago.
where did you say you used to
live?" asked William Wells.
Number 465 across the street,
Billy." said the other syawninp