The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-10-10
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.
Lillian p. Leonard.
Copyright, 1921, by The Wheeler
Syndicate, Inc)

Copyright, 1921, by The Wheeler
Syndicate, Inc-)
Looks like James wedding an
nouncement," cbuckled the mail man
as he handed Jake TOmlin a square
white envelope THE missus and
I got one this morning. too"
Jake almost snatched the letter,
while an ugly scoWl gathered be-
tween his close set, yellow eyes.
It was a common bit of gossip in
this rural Wonder what
Jake Tomlin will think up next to
make jamie turn him down" But
the mail man was not prepared to
see such maleyolent CLEAN as
flashed into Jake's eyes.
Those young folks had gone to
school and grown up together. Jake
had, with others, constantly laid
siege to Janie's heart, and, with the
others, been refused, but Jake still
persisted.
Even in school days Jake had
been considered mean. He seemed
to find his only pleasure in torment
ing, torturing and killing whatever
he wished to make his own, in the
pug, repLlle or DlFQ line.
He was constantly being punish
ed as result OF snakes being found
costly coiled in desks, toads flatten-
ed in the girls ink wells, mice sent
scampering around the school room
floor, and although these are but
expressions of every red-blooded
human boys excess vitality; though
almost every boy has chased some
screaming little girl, pigtails flying,
long legs east and west, with a
green, sleepy little garter snake.
held by the tip of the tail, yet nor
NAL boys usually outgrow these
development exercises"
Not so with Jake; in fact, these
traits seemed to be deepened and
strengthened in his contact with
manhood's problems.
AS a boy watching a fairy-Iike
butterfly fitting from flower to
flower, or poised on cleaning wing
to rise as light as a smoke puff, so
he caught and pinioned as his own
stilled bits of beauty, SO as a man
watching his fairy-like sehooImate
and next door neighbor as she
fitted from flower to flower in her
beautiful garden, his desire now
also was to still forever the fairy
like joyousness of this elfin child.
pinioned by the blight of his own
selfshness.
He had read the announcement of
Janie's coming marriage with DR..
Prang, the young medical student,
who had taken over his uncie's tDr.
Reeyes0 practice during this ply
sician's vacation, and now TomIin
sat in his big library, scowling and
gloWer1ng at the huge bulldog
crouched on the rug.
Jake Tonlin was wealthy, had
inherited quite q fortune from his
parents, who had died two years
previous. He lived alone in the old
homestead, with an elderly village
woman as his housekeeper.
ObsesSed by the idea that he
would possess jamie at whatever
cost, he had resorted to many acts
to bring her to consent The deep
est he had gone was to have a
promoting concern, sailing under
the false name of Real Estate and
Insurance, inveigle JAMES, father
into ruinous speculation, causing
him to mortgage all his property
and to borrow heavily from Tomlin.
All was ready now, to foreclose
the mortgages and seize everything
possessed. 1t was to be the
price of jamie. No daughter would
see her parents cast out penniless
in middle life.
This new turn affairs had taken
only made Tomlin more ruthless.
Even engaged. jamie would never
marry this penniless medical stu
dent and leave her parents to their
fate.
So this was Torlln's moment 70
strickland he struck.
'Oh, hello, INK. you back7"