The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1923-12-07

i a
| all right. let her know, long ago
that she was entitled to get one 4
she wanted it--on any grounds sh,
chose. AS long as she didn't, l let 4
lay Well, there 1t is DIN 1t
Jennie, can't you see 1t at all? Yor
sit there looking like"
He broke off. perceiving that he'd
aroused her.
Eyes, l understand" she said al
last. go ahead and tell me the
whole story. What was she llkei
Where did you meet herr"
Joe turned away thoughtfully to the
smoking-table and relighted his cigar.
why, Annabel was Chicago girl"
he began presently. Lived down In
Woodlawn with her father and moth
er-Fanning, their name was.
boarded with them back In the spring
Of ninety-nine, just twenty years ago
now. I'd just passed my examination
for a licensed structural engineer.
They were the most respectable peo-
pie In the world. those Fannings. Poor
but genteel-good Lord-so you could
hardly breatheI But somehow that
sort Of thing looked good to me just
about then"
She left unbroken for q little while
the reflective silence into which he'd
fallen, before she prompted him. But
presently she got him going again by
suggesting that the reason gentility
looked good to him just then was An
mabel. "What was she like? How old
was she? What color was her hair?"
''Lightish," Joe said; mot yellow;
there wasn't much color In 1t. 1 was
fooled on her age. all right. / took
kid, barely twenty, If as old as that
When she gave her age at the license
bureau up In Milwaukee, where we'd
run Off to get married, / found she
wasn't but five or six years younger
than l was 1t would have made
quite a difference If I'd known that
sooner" he added.
Jennie remarked that twenty-five
wasn't too old for a girl to marry. |
But Joe said this wasn't what he |
meant. She was too old not to be |
more grown up than she was.
You see, she'd been having a fight
with her father and mother. She
wanted to be an artist. a sculptor
and they wouldn't let her. She'd
been going down to the Art institute
for quite while taking lessons In
and designing, ehina-painting,
don't know what-maybe a little
But now 1t was a question
Of a life class. and they wouldn't hear
Of 1t.
well, that interested me in her a
whole lot more than I'd been before.
and the line her father and mother
had taken seemed so d-n silly that
he next chance l got l tried to put
n a word for her. 1t was fool thing
% do, of course. 1t got Annabel in
wrong, worse than ever, for discuss
ng such a subject with a young man
she, herself. was furious with me
It first for not having seen that-and
hey were already suspicious that i
wasn't quite as good as l looked
"Now, here's a d-n funny thing,
ennie. Here's a question I've asked
myself thousand times: WIN you |
ell me why / didn't just pack my |
runk at that point and clear out7 l
vas tired of the old people and 1
7asn't in love with Annabel, not one {
title bit. 1 didn't even want her in
emporary sort of way. There were l
iris growing on every bush that were e
lore attractive, that way, than she 4
'as. But / didn't get out / went on q
utting myself farther and farther In. a
We had hi of a time. The old S
'lks would hardly speak to me. {
hey sat around and kept watch so g
nat l shouldn't be alone with Anna L
ell. think the only reason they n
ldn't turn me out of the house was a
ecause they figured Ii was easier to V
eep us apart as things were, having r.
line on me. than If they hadn't any a
ga where / was. d
well, the upshot of Ii was that one Il
ny, along that summer. we took the al
fy-boat-the old whaleback, 1t was Il
Milwaukee, got license and a Il
mister to marry us, and spent the b,
ght at the Plankington hotel. Came OF
me on the train the next morning. W
THE old folks wouldn't take us in al
ID II wasn't a bluff either. But tn
und a furnished fiat over In Hyde M
lrk-it was easy enough to do In tn
ose days-and we set up house
eping. I'd suggested couple of fu
oms in some family hotel so that Mt
e could have more time TO herself hi
It she didn't want that. l was be- OF
ming to wonder about that famous as
reer OF hers that the whole row had NJ
en- about. Finally l asked her one
y why she didn't go over to the Art sa
stitute and register In the life class.
remember how she looked at that TIL
d just what she said. She gave me w
stare and then a sort of laugh, fol-
ubtful whether | wasn't joking. and do
: said, Why, you silly old thing, th'
at do want to go there for nowY II
She hadn't any idea what marriage go
S about, Jennie. Apparently sup Of
;ed there was nothing to 1t beyond lik
and a little familiarity. KIN