Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-03-09
Myself When Young
BY VIM. AlmOn Wolff

Champion. 1t looked like his year, If his
year was ever coming. And, knowing
what I knew, what Elizabeth had told
me, was pretty confident that Tommy
would come through. We all felt pretty
much that way at Renclair. for that
matter; Tommy played absolutely un-
beatable golf for two weeks before the
tournament. He even had the one bad
day the superstitious demanded-a day
when everything went wrong.
happened to be following him around
that afternoon, and 1T cheered me a lot
to see the way he took things. He didn't
play bad golf at any time, and he didn't
start with any temperamental handicap.
He Just had rotten luck. And, for the
first time since I'd known him. 1t didn't
throw him off, didn't anger or upset him.
Perfect shots fell into bad lies; time and
again his ball was just in the rough, or
had Just legs enough to dribble into a
trap, his putting touch was gone. He
didn't seem to care. He took things as
they came; recovered superbly from
trouble; fought on steadily. And he
finished with three holes under par
completely the master of his game again.
Elizabeth was with me, and her eyes
shone as the ball dropped into the cup
on the eighteenth green for an eagle
three.
"He did It'll" she said. HE never lost
his temper oncel Wasn't he maryelous2
Isn't he the darling?"
Hes got you," 1 said. THAT may have
had something to do with It,"
Il ~wonder?" she said. And, Just for a
second, the old, doubtful look was in her
eyes again. She didn't want to have any,
thing to do with It'll
l don't believe you could have found
q private motor in Renclair during that
amateur tournament. The town simply
moved over to Champion in a body. Any
misgivings about Tommy's game, any
traces of dislike, were forgotten. We
were all pulling for him, men, women.
children. We'd never had a champion;
never come close to having one, before.
and we wanted one badly.
BY about two o'clock on Friday after
noon we were sure we were going to have
one, too. That was when Tommy won
his semi-flnal match on the twenty-fifth
~green-tWelve up and eleven to playl 1t
hadn't been a match; just a massacre.
And his opponent was good, too-a former
champion. He'd been playing unbeat-
able golf all week. He hadn't won the
qualifying medal, though he'd been we'll
up, he'd taken those two rounds easily,
content to get in. But he'd beaten the
medallist in the first round. and there
after he'd simply moved Town his men.
Good men, too. all Of them; he'd fallen
into the hard half Of the draw. but 1t
hadn't bothered him at all; his closest
match had been with last years winner,
which he'd taken four n three.
I don't know who gave it away; ]
hadn't said a word. But Tommy's en-
gagement to Elizabeth was an open Sc
cret even before the tournament began.
/ think every one knew how things were,
I4t-+ fwAx1 ~1r4 - Af-.~~ IAx& IitxAIA%L
probably confided In some girl friend,
too-she was human. At any rate, every
one knew about it and was talking about
1t, and, as the week wore on. Bill seemed
resigned.
Il suppose she was bound to marry
some bozo," he said, "and that boy GER
tainly can play golf! Do you suppose
they'll ask me to the wedding2"
1 didn't know, and said so.
That was on Friday afternoon, as We
were struggling back to the clubhouse
In the other match Bourne, a first class
player, was winning easily. / WASH
worried about Tommy's match with hin
next day, though. Bourne was q good
machinelike player, but he couldn't bear
Tommy, in anything like his real form
the best day he ever saw. Tommy nigh
conceivably beat himself in a match will
Bourne. but Bourne would never do it
And I'd have bet anything / had tina
minute that Tommy's days of beating
himself were over, once for all.
That was all I knew. For even ther
Tommy and Elizabeth as / found oui
later were in the middle OF a blazing
tearing row-the first real one, / think
they'd ever had, in all the long. queer
time they'd known one another.
1t was the ~silliest Imaginable row-bu'
rows usually are silly, and the product o.
trivial causes-occasions, rather-so IA
as I've seen. And 1t was mostly Tommyi
fault, though / suppose Elizabeth coult
have smothered 1t easily enough in thu
beginning, If she hadn't lost her temper
She told me all about 1t. Tommy'd beer
driving her home every evening, but sh'
came to me that day and asked me II
take her In my car n told me h
had happened.
II couldn't stand the familyi" she said
And, having told me hat there wa
trouble, she kept on talking. half laugh
ing, half crying. Tit was SO absurd!
she said. do you know Ted Shannon
Well, for some reason, Tommy's Away
been insanely jealous of him. ! wouldn'
marry Ted If he were the last man OF
earth, and asked me to-and he Wouln'
anyway. He doesn't care about me tina
way, at all. But I've always liked him
he's great fur to talk to, n quite mad
and he's a marvellous dancer-much bet
ter than Tommy.
but Tommy's been perfectly devilisl
any time Ted's looked at me. He trie'
to make me promise not to dance witt
him when he asked me-can you imag
Inc? Well, today it just happened tina
Ted and I walked along together for tn
last few holes. And Tommy saw us. ant
he was-oh, 1 can't tell you the thing
he saidl"
1t didn't sound tragically serious to me
But, as q matter Of fact. it was. and
ought to have known 1t. 1t didn't max
any difference that the occasion of thi
quarrel was trivial and ridiculous; tina
never does matter in a quarrel. It's wha
lies behind the trouble of the momen
that counts; the smothered resentment
that flame up, the old distrusts an
fears. And / realized before / got Eliza
beth home that all the doubt that ha
mad her hold Tommy of we're aliv
again, and with q new strength; the
must. of course, just have lain dorman
through the brief period of their actua
engagement.
81 don't knowl" Elizabeth said, whe,
| asked her what she was going to de
what was going to happen. Il don
knowI"
1 was a good deal worried about Tom
my. but there was nothing / could d.
/ dropped around to the club that nigh
with some idea Of bridge. And he wa
/ there, sitting by himself on the porcl
black as thunder. He scarcely answere
3 when / spoke to him. But / didn't carr
I told him I'd driven Elizabeth hon
and knew all about 1t, and that he ws