The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-06-28
Eoening Story
For Love of a Clown.
BY JANE OSBORN,

store. There was an occasional giggle,
sometimes a burst of laughter and
such comments as: isn't he too i'm
PERTINENT" Hes looking right at me
now he's beckoningl" such a
thing for an able-bodied man to be
doing!"
Sarah Taylor made it a principle
never to stop to look in store windows
Moreover, she never fingered with the
crowd. When she came by trolley to
Centertown every Saturday morning
from her farm, six miles out, it was
with a list-of needed articles to buy.
She was never induced to buy any
thing that was not on that list
She kept on walking as she turned
to see what the loiterers were gazing
at in Dugan's window. There she saw
long, lank clown in the usual vol
luminous clown suit, in wide red and
white stripes. His face was chalked
white and he had a triangular patch
of red to define his nose. He was
pushing a vacuum cleaner with one
hand over a small piece of carpet on
which he had sprinkled sand. With
| the other he was reckoning to the
| loiterers outside, reckoning and grin
ming invitingly, now looking straight
this one and now at that.
AS Miss Taylor turned to look. the
clown looked right at her, grinned and
| beckoned.
'The ideal" exclaimed Miss Taylor.
still turning and apparently unable to
| take her eyes from the eyes on the
other side of the glass that fixed her
so intently. She colored with some
thing akin to anger as she saw that
| the antics of the clown were directing
| the gaze of the loiterers on her.
well, won't go in and buy one
of his sweepers," she told whoever
wished to listen, as she made for the
entrance of Dugan's store, but III
| just go in and see Mr.. Dugan and tell
standing in his window there making
fools out people passing by"
The clown met her at the door,
eagerly.
1T want to let Mr.. Dugan know what
I think of letting a fool like you,
began the irate Miss Taylor. Then the
color suddenly left her cheeks and she
felt limp all over. SAM" she whis-
pered, 1T never dreamed it was you"
| Samuel Warren, who had not recog-
nized Sarah Taylor until she entered
the store, felt almost as unnerved as
she, but he had presence of mind to
lead her into a corner of the store set
| aside for his use in receiving pros
pective customers.
1T always thought" said Sarah,
that might meet you again, but !
never thought 1t would be like this.
nm sorry you've had such bad luck.
When I heard that your uncle had
taken you into business with him ]
thought maybe you'd have the chance
Iyou needed"
But Sam didn't want to talk abo1t
himself. He wanted first to hear OF
/ Sarah Taylor. Eagerly he seized upon
the facts she divulged. She had not
married, she had gone to 1--we on a
farm left her by an uncle. She had
an old farmer and his wife who helped
= u %E1a cIr n MN ~1
of mans work in making meager
living out OF the worn-out land
1T was ten years ago. too" she said
with embarrassment. IT was twenty
and you were twenty-two-I didn't
think we would be like this when we
coat and gave a little tus-at her hat
which was not of a recent vintage.
''And that night when you sent me
off-do you remember what you told
I could go and stay until made good
You told me was clown-and it is
as a clown that you find me-" Sam
laughed with genuine amusement.
81 was SO young" Sarah defended
you were ali the time reading. and
thought you ought to be getting out
and making money. I didn't know
: how hard it is to succeed then, Sam
H."
Then you wouldn't be so hard or
4
leaning SO close to Miss Sarah Taylor
: that the sales folk at Dugan's whs
CHANGED to be looking on thought hi
had surely landed another order
One of them approached and San
: changed the tone of his voice. He
! stood up and extended the cleaner tt
Miss Taylor.
J, so you think this medium size will
be satisfactory" he said briskly: lie
| me see-what was the address?
''Barlow's lane, the first place OF
| the right as you turn from the mali
voice, and then, ''but I'll take 1t OIL
, the one condition-that you deliver i
personally and give demonstration
at my own house. Come tomorrow
sometime. II you CAM"
I'll come tonight, say at o'clock,
announced the clown. who appeared t
be entirely the eager salesman AM
as the salespeopIe at Dugan's wer
/, still within hearing, Miss Sarah Tay
|. lor went away without any furthe
had once been engaged and from
, whom she had now been separated 70
: ten years.
"Weli. I'm blessed. exclaimed on
: OF the saleswomen who had looked or
''That was Miss Sarah Taylor, live
out in the country five miles from an
: electric connection. What's she do
ing ordering an electric cleaner? Be
l;eve me, its some salesmanship tha
can make folks do thing like that.
Samuel Warren carried a heav
! vacuum cleaner when he walked int
1 the unkempt driveway at the first plac
= on the right as you turn from the, mai
> turnpike on Barlow's lane. But he di
so only as q matter Of form. He ha
carried 1t from his roadster, which h
I left locked q few hundred feet back 1
the lane.
you had TO carry that all the wa
= from the trolley" queried Miss Sara
n Taylor And 1 don't know as I'm &c
ing to buy it after all. I haven't an
d electricity. I just said I wanted yo
e to bring IL so you would come out.
: wanted to talk to you"
What did you want to say" Quer
Q led Sam in a tone that made Sara
3 feel very young again. 1t was onl
Z after many false starts on the part c
a | civ on