Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-04

ready for the battle.
One day, Just before the date set for the
fight Denning brought JEFF a copy Of a LOUIS
vile evening paper whose sporting editor had
spent the proceeding afternoon at the gym
Half Of the sporting page was taken up WITH
an interview with Kid Kwasind and with var
ious carefully posed snapshots Of him. The story
itself was bristling with superlatives.
left MARSHALL studied the pictures Then
- with painful siowness and care he read
and re-read the sporting editors exuberant
story about himself and his proves and his
undoubted future of world supremacy and for.
tune. For the first time in six months -
laughed aloud
Then as soon as he was alone, he cut Out
from the page two pictures which limned him
stripped to the waist. These he tore up. He
folded the rest of the glowing eulogy and stuck
it into an envelope and addressed and stamped
and mailed 1t.
MAYBE she thought was four1ushing when
I told her might some day be rich and big"
he muttered, under his breath. But print
can't lie Neither can pictures. I'll show her
- . And I'd give it all for just one nice
word from her" he ended miserably.
The Kwasind-Toccato fight was scheduled
for 10 O'Clock on the evening of March "a.
Before o'clock JEFF was in his dressing room.
Obsequiously the handlers helped him undress
and to get into his tights and his fighting shoes.
length on the rubbing table; the most uncon.
cerned man in the stuffy little room.
III get me a snooze for half an hour" no
told Denning. IT always have more snap 70
me if can sleep just before fight. Chase on,
If you want to, and the lightweight prelim
you was telling me about So long,
He shut his eyes-no more excited over the
coming battle than if it were gymnasium
training bout Denning and the handlers shut
the door behind them and went up to the ring
side. They were accustomed to this habit q
Jeffs to precede a fight with refreshing
half-hour doze.
As peacefully as drowsy child JEFF Man
shall slipped into dreamless Sleep But almost
instantly he was aroused by some one coming
into the dressing room. 1t was the boy who
did odd jobs around the training quarters.
Telegram for MT. Denning," announced the
boy. II thought he'd want to have it quick,
so brought 1t over brought along the eve-
ming mail, too"
Hes up in a ringside box" said JEFF. Take
it to him. You can leave the mail here"
The boy set down the small sheaf Of Letters
on a corner Of the rubbing table and departed
with the telegram. JEFF rolled laziy ON his
face to continue his nap. His elbow touched
the little pile of letters. They slithered to the
floor. Grumbling, he leaned over and scooped
them up, glancing unconcernedly at the adj
dresses
Half an hour later Denning and the handlers
hustled back to the dressing room. Not 70
wake Marshall too suddenly from his nap, Dem
ming pushed open the door softly and peered In
The dressing room was empty.
Nor could Historically frenzied search and
barrage of telephone calls discover the where.
abouts of the man who that evening was to
have fought the deciding bout of his golden
career. JEFF Marshall, alias Kid Kwasind, had
vanished
THE papers full of the mystery The
police were set to work Denning was On
the verge Of a nervous smash The city was
combed There we're wild tales of kdnapefS
who had crept into the unguarded dressing
room and had stolen the peerless. fighter IN
order to cash in on bets on the bout. Every
one had theory. Nobody knew anything
This until, week after, the soul-crushe0
Heber Denn1ng received letter at the trairle
ing quarters. With wabbling fingers he grippeA
the single sheet of foolscap and read:
Friend Denning:
Maybe you haze been wondering ,oh0t be-
came OF me that night. Danny Warren brouoNA
the mail and there iDas q letter for me and C
1uGS from the lady named Apis Kent left VOL
bridge on account of and she had been trying
for pretty near a year to find iohere aDas GN6
she neDer knetD till she got a newspaper pieces
sent her. Then she tCTote to right of.
Her letter said hoU she had been terr;bas
sorry for the things she said to me that d0S
and she said she really pds my girl all the time
only she did not knoiD she ,ods my girl till
toent a,pGy and she sotr HON unhappy it made
her to haze me 90 dtpay. And the letter SAID
she icas still my girl il ,Uursted to come bacA
home and marry her and that she had not epeg
! cared for any boy but only me and could 90
right on being a fighter If ipdnted to but she
tpould be million 1000 o00) times happier u
ioould be a gentleman again and it and she
could just hpe together on my farm instead al
me being fighter.
did not haze but only barely time enough
to dress and to hop the 1902 train for was
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