The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-10-26
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BILLS HALF-H0UR
BY n. LOUIS RAYHoLD

t
his happy, care-free young heart
| picked up the letter which lay on his
I desk, unfoIded it, ana read. His
whistle stopped abruptly.
| Head propped in his two hands, he
read the letter again, spread out on
| his desk, as~if a second. perusal might
alter the situation.
1 "Dear Bill--Don't think that l have
! forgotten you, for all the long silence.
When 1 told you did not love you
| enough to marry, bu, loved youl
friend instead, / was wrong. He
never asked me again, by the way.
liz YOU still want me, I will marry
lyou. In fact, Lam taking q chance
and coming out by the next Boat.
/ which will dock at Honolulu almost
| asf soon as youFs receive this. letter.
liz you don't want me, Bill, Why. l
Can at least 60 home sagain!93 As ever,
| IL ~ gBEATRICE SHAWL
1 Beatrice Shawl, Yes, he. had once
Thought he loved her-had BEEN pref
| ty well cut up when she turned him
I down. But he, hadn't thought Of her
for months. Not since he had met
! Eileen Cary to whom he was to be
married at noon tomorrow. .s2.sssra
h But noon tomorrow! Why, that
| was when the Matsonia would dock,
Infringing Eileen's aunt to the wedding
from her home in the States, and also
Beatrice Flow could he explain to
Eileen that this girl had no claim
on him? That the old affair and it
had hardly been that-was over and
done with years ago.
How could he know that Beatrice
would revive. an affection for him
she had never shown and out of
clear sky would descend to ruin his
wedding day?
Bill rose and paced the floor of the
comfortable study he shared with his
old friend and present fellow worker
at the Inter-Island Navigation COM
pany with nervous, angry strides.
Then a strong desire surged within
him to share his trouble with some
one.
Should he tell Eileen? Instinct
urged him to wait, yet the longing to
hear her voice was overpowering.
h He. took down the receiver and
called the number of her fathers
plantation on the city's outskirts.
."That you, Eileen?"
,"Busyw
Anxious for tomorrow"
Suppose suppose you should hear
oh, nothing, dear; I don't know
what I'm saying"
"Of course 1 love you. No, there
never was any one else. On my word
of honor Eileen!"
And yet. as he hung up, Bill could
see the Matsonia steaming nearer
and nearer, bringing the girl who ap-
parently thought he still cared, as,
hang 1t, he evidently must have
seemed to care years ago, when,
spurred by moonlight night at
dance at Coronado, he had suggested
they be engaged. So long ago had 1t
been that he had even forgotten why
she had turned him down. Oh, the
letter had mentioned his friend.
What friend? To Billy the whole mat
ter was as vague as that.
Desperately Bill sat down and tried
to reason way out Of the tangle.
He would get his roommate to go
down to the Matsonia and explain to
Beatrice that he was about to be
married, that she was mistaken In
thinking he cared, that she must re-
turn on the next boat providing she
had funds. But, hang 1t, his room
mate, the only one he could trust not
to let the cat out Of the bag to
Eileen, had other duties as best man.
He was to meet Eileen's aunt, take
her to the church and return imme-
diately to accompany Bill.
Meanwhile Beatrice, wondering why
Bill had not met her, would probably
be hunting him up, and like as not
stumble on him as he entered the
church! A nice contretemps that
would bel For to Bits disordered
mind 1t seemed quite possible that
any girl capable Of chasing an old
and discarded lover to Honolulu
would be quite as capable Of break
ing up a wedding with another girl |
on the spot.
A wild thought leaped In Bill's |
brain. Suppose he bolted! Or sup
pose he dashed out to Eileen's and |
demanded she elope Yet where could
they elope to before Beatrice arrived?
The islands are circumscribed when
It comes to gossip and he was in a
position to know that not even a
tramp steamer for the South seas
would be leaving port.
Hark! Who was that coming in
downstairs? A SILVER of apprehen-
sion shook Bill; then angrily he
shrugged his shoulders The Matsonia
hadn't raised Diamond Head yet. At
worst 1t would only be his roommate.
His roommate It was, who bounded
up the stairs two steps at a time and
burst in the door.
Caught a ride back on Cramer's
yacht, 50 got here sooner. How's the
little bridegroom? You're looking
seedy. Brace up and tell me, what
you think of a double weddingl'' i
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