Omaha daily bee., 1922-06-04

woman isn't looking forward to Q life Of thrift
when she takes q bald-headed man unto herself
az husband. On the contrary. she thinks she
II feathering her nest.
So Twitchcomb. Notwithstanding his righteous
desire to be q married man. continued to live
IN solitary confinement In the same coy little
room in the same cozy little boarding house
that had been his stronghold since he was
graduated from a business college in Chicago
and came to Rumley to be bookkeeper in the
savings bank. II years ago.
Rumley is a town Of 5000 inhabitants, not
withstanding the meager 1911 allotted to 1t by
the most pernicious and altogether pusanimous
census bureau in the history Of the country.
Twttchcomb lived little over two blocks from
the public square. where the bank was located.
His boarding house had been recommended to
him by Mr.. Tuttle, one of the directors of the
savings bank, a far-sighted gentleman who pos
sessed the sagacity to see to 1t that the new
bookkeeper did not have to waste any more of
the banks time than was absolutely necessary
In walking to and from his midday meal.
It must not be assumed that Twitchcomb was
a native Of Chicago. Far from it. He was
born and brought up in Rumley. He went to
Chicago merely for the purpose of putting the
finishing touches to an education that had been
acquired in the schools Of Rumley. He was, III
fact. q graduate Of the high school and the
valedictorian Of his class. q distinction that
meant q great deal in Rumley, but did not
create tho slightest commotion in Chicago.
There were a lot of things he was obliged to
learn in Chicago that were absolutely unknown
to tho Rumley High school. proof Of which re-
mains with him to this day in the shape Of
faint but permanent scar across his right cheek
bone, the result Of not knowing how to get off
a street car while 1t was in motion.
He was a rather good-looking chap, tail and
thin, and surprisingly erect for one who wore
SO many yokes If the people Of Rumley had
n hnrnYno oo6 ia h{c HooA
every day in the year they would no doubt
have acknowledged that he was quite bit
better looking than the average. but they had
got SO everlastingly used to it that they never
thought about It at all, one way the other.
Occasionally he altered 1t to some extent BY
growing mustaches or cultivating sideburns, but
If at any time you had asked anybody in Rumley
what sort Of looking chap Twitchcomb was
you would have been told that he was q tall
skinny fellow with light hair and eyeglasses.
And now for the story. 1t was the day before
Christmas. Twitehcomb had just laid the blot
ter down upon the final ink line for the day,
and as he rubbed 1t gently with the tips Of his
second and third fingers his gaze took its Gus
tomary journey about the cagelike room to see
II everything was In order. This habit of 1t
rendered the process Of blotting the last line
a rather protracted one; 1t might even be de-
scribed as an abstracted one for his mind SEEM
ed to be completely divorced from the physical
and efficient fingers passed but once over the
surface of the blotter to obtain the desired re-
suit; but, as 1t always was with the final entry,
they now went back and forth like shuttle
for as many as 20 times.
During this period Of mechanical activity his
eyes reached over the top Of the barrier and
inspected the catch on the transom above the
door leading to the directors room; passed on
to the clock on the wall to see that it was still
gcing; swept the counter for such objects
forgotten pens, pencils and paperweights; took
in the waste paper basket below the end Of the
desk: noted the exact position of the closed
ledgers on the table beyond, and discovered
that the framed portrait Of George Washington
was again slightly out Of balance; observed by
the calender that it was still the Gath Of Decem-
Der; detected stray scrap of paper on the
floor; and then thankfully wandered down the
narrow little hall off the counting room to
where his hat and ulster always hung. the
former perched on top Of the hat rack post, the
latter suspended below it in a most orderly and
decorous manner upon a wooden coat hanger.
His overshoes. standing side by side. peeped out
from beneath tn skirt of the ulster Just as he
..'@-
His fingers suddenly stopped smoothing the
blotter and his eyes squinted lattle as he fixed
them tntently on the overshoes. 1t struck him
as odd that they should be unmistakably pigeon
toed. Never within his recollection had he fall
ed to deposit them otherwise than exactly
parallel heel to heel toe to toe He blinked and
resumed his stare
The far end Of the passage was in shadow, the
light from the outer room failing to penetrate
the full length Of the hall. Moreover. darkness
came in through the stoutly barred window
that ordinarily let daylight into the hail. for out
side the dusk Of the late and snowy December
day had settled. But even the gloom did not
deceive Twitchcomb. For years he had made q
point Of setting those overshoes down with the
most meticulous care He had reason for this.
He was quite noticeaby pigeon-toed himself,
trait he had sought vainly to correct and which
was the source Of considerable modification to
him. Back in his school days he had gained q
very obnoxious soubriquet because Of those in
fernal feet-(the term Is Twitchcomb's)-and
he was . good many years living it down.