Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1923-11-16
The Girl From Wyoming

The Girl FROM wyoming
CONSCIOUS that something had
~ disturbed him, Wallie Macpherson
raised himself on his elbow in bed
to listen. For a full minute he heard
nothing unusual; the Atlantic break
ing against the sea-wall at the foot
of the sloping lawn of The Colonial,
the clock striking the hour in the
tower of the courthouse, and the rip
ping, tearing, slashing noises like
those of a sash-and- blind factory,
produced through the long, thin nose
of old Mr.. Penrose, two doors down
the hotel corridor, all sounds to
which he was too accustomed to be
awakened by them.
While Wallie remained in this
posture conjecturing, the door be-
tween the room next to him. and
that of Mr.. Penroe was struck smart
ly several times, and with vigor
to denote that there was temper be-
hind the blows which fell upon it.
He had not known that the room
was occupied; being considered un-
desirable on account of the audible
slumbers of the old gentleman, it
was often vacant.
The raps finally awakened even
Mr.. Penrose, who demanded sharply:
What are you doing?"
"Hammering with the heel of my
slipper" feminine voice answered.
What do you want?'
ga chance to Sleep"
Who's stopping you?" crabbedly.
You're snoring" Indignation gave
an edge to the accusation.
You're impertinent!
you're a nuisance'!" the voice re-
torted
@ Wallie covered his mouth with his
hand and hunched his shoulders.
There was moments silence
while Mr.. Penrose seemed to be
thinking of suitable answer Then:
TITS my privilege to snore if
want to. This is my room-I pay
for it,"
Then this side Of the door is
mine and I can pound on it, for the
same reason"
Mr.. Penrose sneered in the dark
ness: II suppose you're some sour
old maid-you sound like it."
"And no doubt you're Melthuse-
lah with dyspepsia"
Wallie smote the pillow gleefully
old Mr.. Penrose's collection of bot
ties and boxes and tablets for indi-
gestion were a byword
1--WE will see about this in the
morning" said Mr.. Penrose, signif-
cantly. II have been coming to this
hotel for % years"
Its nothing to boast Of" the voice
interrupted. II shouldn't, if 1 had
so little originality"
Mr. Penrose, seeming to realize
the woman would have the last word
if the dialogue lasted until morning,
ended it with a loud snort of deri-
sion.
He was so wrought up by the con.
troversy that he was unable to com
pose himself Immediately, but lay
awake for an hour framing a speech
for Mr.. Cone, the proprietor, which
was in the nature of an ultimatum
Either the woman must move, or he
would-but the latter he considered
remote possibility, since he real.
lied fully that multi-millionaire So
cially we'll connected is an asset
which no hotel will dispense with
lightly.
The frequency with which Mr.
Penrose had presumed upon this
knowledge had much to do with
Wallies delight as he had listened
to the encounter.
Dropping back upon his pillow, the
young man mildly wondered about
the woman next door to him. She
must have come in on the evening
train while he was at the moving
pictures, and retired Immediately
Very likely she was, as Mr.. Penrose
asserted, some acrimonious spinster
but at any rate she has temporarily
silenced the rich old tyrant of whom
all the hotel stood in awe.
A second time the ripping sound
of yard after yard of calico being
viciously torn broke the nights still
ness, and, grinning, Wallie waited to
hear what the woman next door was
going to do about it. But only a
stranger would have hoped to do any
thing about it, since to prevent Mr.
Penrose from snoring was task
only little less hopeless than that
of stopping the roar Of the ocean
Guests whom it annoyed had either
to move or get used to it. Some
times they did the one and some
times the other, but always Mr.. Pen