, 1921-10-13
Violet
and the Voice
By RUBY DOUGLAS.

with a voice. She was a telephone OPP
orator in a village exchange and she
listened all day to various kinds of
voices.
ITS just spring, VII" said her chum
when Violet contided to her that she
had become enamoured of a voice.
Violet shook her head. mo, Grace;
I'm really and truly in love with him."
she confessed.
But you don't know h he is.
He may be married-or old-or
homely."
He may be-but his voice is the
most wonderful thing in the world to
me-"
Violet learned, in the course of a
few weeks, that the voice belonged
to the commissioner of finance in the
village board. 1t came continually
from that office and at last she learned
the identity of the man.
Unlike the modern girl, Violet was
shy about men. She had never been
thrown with them and she had never
cared ever slightly for any of the
boys whom she had met in business
or at school. Now she dreamed of
this man with the wonderfully rich,
gentle voice, but she dared not try to
see him.
"Oh. W." cried her chum one day,
bouncing into the exchange office and
coming close to where Violet sat at
the switchboard. 81 have seen your
Voice"
Violet blushed. "Really, Grace?
What"
He's a widower, middle aged, not
bad to look at. l had to go for my
dog license and l got into his office
by mistake. He was very kind but
well, I'm not crazy about him. His
name is Valentine, tool'
Yes, | know his name, George Val
entine. He comes of Quaker stock
and is very well thought of in the
village" said Violet.
Grace laughed. "Oh, no. so you
have been looking him upT"
"Just casually" Violet admitted.
81 wish-I wish he wouldn't use the
phone when l am on. His voice up
sets me for the whole day. II won
der If love always does that?"
Grace slipped the instrument over
her carefully-arranged hair. "Oh,
sure it does; specially in April, kid"
Violet sighed. ITS just like me to
fall in love so foolishly. My mother
calls me esthetic because | am so
much affected by tones, colors, voices"
"Nutty. I'd say" laughed Grace.
Number, %please?"
Violet went off duty hat day won
dering why it had been her fate 10
fall in lov with II widower old enough
to be her father and one whom she
had never seen. And yet in love she
knew she was.
The following Sunday she decided
to get out into the woods to look for
spring flowers. "Another sign of be-
ing in love" her chum had told her.
She walked along the highway until
she came TO a hillside where she knew
there would be an abundance Of
spring blossoms. She did not wander
far from the edge of the woods, for
she had told her mother not to worry.
why is it tina love the flowers
so much more his spring." she asked
herself as she gathered sprays of ar
butus and mere and there an anem-
one. "They are so wonderfully
sweet She buried her nose in the
dewy depths of the pink blossoms.
Suddenly she looked up. She had
heard a yoice-the Voice.
A little car had stopped at the
woods edge INT a young man had
jumped out. Yep, dad it's fiat"
Violet observed that the owner Of
the voice was young-too young TO be
n widower. She wondered If Grace
could have been deliberately playing
with her. But no, she remembered,
the commissioner of finance whose
voice she knew she was In love with
was a widower and middle aged. But
this lad had the same voice.
Violet stood still in the woods. The
trees partly hid her from the street.
"walt, I'll give you a hand said
n man in the same voice.
Violet moved so as to see the two
men who were In the little roadster.
A middle-aged mar had alighted and
was taking off his coat preparatory TO
removing the fat tire.
1.-TWO OF them said Violet TO her
self. She heard the men talking and
she knew that the son had inherited
the rich, mellow tones Of his father.
She stirred and the two working on
the tire looked NJ.
The young fellow stirred almost.
Then, In a low tone, he said some
thing to his father.
As Violet came toward them to
reach the highway again, her hands
full Of flowers. the young man raised
his cap and came toward her.
Aren't you Violet Sherwood who
used to be In my class In the Glen
Ridge schoolT' he asked.
Violet blushed plnker than the flow
ers She held. "Why-yes, I went TO
Glen Ridge school butt don't re-
member you. I'm sorry