The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-09-15
EDening Story
Toms Occult Love.
BY JANE OSBORN

in Mrs. Clayerly's tone as she looked
first at the small photograph print
and then at her nephew, Thomas
; Claverly. seated opposite her at the
| reading table in the Ciaverly living
room.
pretty girl?" quired Tom. 81
didn't meet any girls. much less
pretty ones"
why in one of tAesel pictures that
you gave me to look at-here in this
views of your shack. It's rather
queer. There's a girl. big as life and
twice as natural standing beside the
cabin-that's perfectly clear, too, only
the girl seems to be bigger than-the
cabin. Tom, what does it mean?"
Lets see,' said Tam, stretching a
much tanned hand across the table.
ITO tell the truth, hadn't seen the
| prints. I got them from the photo
didn't look at them. But the only
| pictures I took were of the shack,
with enc or two of Bob. There
weren't any girls there. Good Lord;
How the deuce
tom Claverly, who is she?"
| blessed if know. Yet seems as
If IA seen her somewhere. She looks
familiar and yet"
Toni" Mrs. CIaverly looked in
tently into her nephew's face. tits
I-it's-Tom, never thought you were
psychic enough to have anything
that medium had some pictdres-
| Now, aunt, you haven't been go
ing to any more of those fool seances,
have you?"
That's neither here nor there:
But clearly this picture is one of
| exposures.
Tom, did you ever know a girl that
looked like that-who died?"
"Died? Goodness no! I have a
sort of an idea that I saw a girl
that locked like that once, but she
isn't dead"
<sHave you. been thinking of her?
Has her face been haunting your
dreams? Tom, she's your soul
mate. She may be alive. but her
spirit is lowering near yours"
He did not admit that on carefully
studying the face of the girl in the
picture he recalled. having seen her
and having watched her at the hotel
where he stopped on his way to his
| mountain retreat where he had just
passed his vacation. He had taken
no photographs on the way. The
weather was unfavorable. He didn't
even know the girls name, yet he had
to admit that he had thought of that
face. that once even he had dreamed
of her. However, he did not con-
fide this fact to his aunt.
| And that was all there was to II
for several days as far as Tom was
concerned. He did not know that
the next night, when he was work
ing at the office, his aunt, Mrs
Claverly, went to another of those
fool seances," and that she carried
with her, carefully wrapped in It's
sue paper. the picture of Toms
mountain shack and his soulmate-
his occult love, as she called it. She
showed it proudly to the medium
who insgthes course of the evening
had q communication from a de-
parted Indian princess, who made
it perfectly clear that the girl in
question was still among the living
But she was the soulmate of the mar
who lived in the shack. Her spirit
was haunting him
The medium asked for the pic.
ture, and Mrs. Claverly compro-
missed by promising her a photo
graph of it. This she delivered tc
the medium within a day or so and
then replaced the photograph il
the little packet of photographs
room table. Fortunately Tom had
not asked for the photographs in
the time that elapsed and had ap-
parently not discovered the tenn.
porary absence of the spook picture
that so interested his credulous
aunt.
A Sunday came and went, and
then on Tuesday night Tom came
home from his office in apparent
excitement. He hurriediy fumble6
through the pictures in the envelope
on the living room table until he
found the "spook picture" He studied
it carefully, and then looked as care
fully at a newspaper clipping thai
he took from his pocket and ther
opened and read-or reread-a letter
also taken from his pocket.
At dinner he was a little abrup
: prints?" he demanded, and the poor
J aunt hedged, but had to admit tn,
truth.
"Did you know the fool medium
gave the print to the newspapers, and
also gave my name and my bushes.
; connection? The whole thing cam,
out in a Sunday supplement day before
yesterday. Lucky no one at the office
happened to see it. But I got lettel
from the girl"
1.-The girl in the picture-your soul
mate? oh, do let me have the letter
: must show it to the medium"
: Show it to nobody" said Tom
y you've messed things up enough al
ready.
And that was all the satisfactio,
: that Mrs Claverly got from Tom
s The next morning Tom announced
=, that he would not be home for dinner
No. he was not going to work, h
was going to make a call out o
town: he might not be back tina
a night. Still no satisfaction, and tn
next weekend he was away-"visitin
I friends" said Tom, and that was still
o all the satisfaction that Mrs. Claverl
@ got.
Monday at dinner she was frank
Iy repentant-
: you have been SO cool to m
: lately" she said little tearfuIly
81 am sure it was all because o
that snapshot of yours. Honestly
= / didn't know what the medium wa
: going TO do with it and I think
was real mean of her to go and Civ
your name and everything. But, Q
l. course, it is interesting-it's one o
e the best pieces of evidence of tn
d occult that there has been
long time. You've got to admit thai
But honestly, Tom, I'm sorry If