| Show 1 f I I > t 1 00 = > I I Cupid Among the Crabs r By OLIVE ROBERTS BARTON r j ICnnhthl IHuJ by AHnuclUecl Literary Press I Sibyl was furious Hranson the city editor had nsked her to Interview tho only man In tho city who ahsolutoiy L refused to bo Interviewed There were men on tho paper for I work like thai hardened veterans grown old In tho service Why not they Hut Hrnimon know why Each j ono had had his turn matching his wits against those of the financier trying to surprise him Into a few mi t guarded words All had failed He had little hope of tho girl doing more hut It was worth a 1 try 1 1 Sibyl wont homo and cried Shot Sho-t 4I was tired and discouraged after two weeks of hard work This was the i Journalism that she had dreamed of t i I I nil her life I I Then her pluck never long daunted returned and she dried her eyes I Womanlike the wondered what she would wear when she went She decided i de-cided on blue It was her color ands and-s matched her eyes l I dont see why a newspaper woman wom-an should ho a scream who said approvingly ap-provingly to tho dainty figure In the glass I suppose though I would look more businesslike In a shirtwaist and black skirt and a sailor hat with a pencil run through my hair And + II Should wear glasses Well 1 i guess I am ready to beard tho lion In his den I hope ho doesnt eat mo But her bravery diminished as she neared tho building in which were tho ofllres of the man she sought And her spirits sank as rapidly as tho elevator ele-vator rose When the offlco boy who had taken her card returned to tho outer office with Mr 11111 Is out her frozen a Mood thawed and dyed her checks Then sho breathed n little prayer of thankfulness and left Sho had gained n days respite anyhow Once more In tho street she looked 1 u 1 at her watch It was too lato to report at the office and too early to go home i i t j a tl r I l J it v 1 m 1 t L y r A Pretty Little Creek Splashed Over Sit Stones l It was a perfect day and tho glimpse of a green hilltop between tho buildings build-ings made her long for the country She was tired and sho wanted peace and quiet She would hunt some shady nook and rest 1 I The car left her standing at the corner cor-ner of a cornfield A dusty road crossed the track here hut Sibyl had seen from the car that It ran past the F ross of corn straight to a clump of willows There must bo water nears near-s by n 1 She less right A pretty little creek splashed l over the stones as if in a hurry to get away and all along tho I banks were ferns and moss and brown evcd daisies f As she stood looking down Into theater the-ater a green crab slid from beneath a 1 stone looked for a minute at the r great blue creature bending over him l and slid under again With a cry Slby was down on her knees tugging r t at the stone She had not won honors C in the zoology class for nothing She IV i would get that lovoly crab or know 4 b why Hut she must have something y ti put him in She looked about I r A hundred feet or so down stream lay a man Hat on his stomach his head sticking out over tho water He eras in cap and knickers and seemed to be poking at something In tho water Suddenly ho made a grab and a I Hopped fcomothiug Into a rusty lard I bucket beside him He too was v catching crabs I Theres a beauty under this atone I called Sibyl excitedly Tho man looked surprised then I smiled All right < ho answered heartily Can you catch him Walt and I will help you Ho came toward J her dangling the bucket onovor mind Ill get him she Paz d answered tugging at tho stone I Dulll I just putt want your I bucket please Then tho stone came up She waited a minute for the water I ai tp clear and caught Mr Crab by thin I i t bark just UB he was backing into a J bolo under the bank She held him r if A uti for Inspection I rat i HravoJX cried tho man Isnt ho a heauty sho exclaimed I dropping him Into tho proffered bucket A perfect whopper I Heats mine all hollow I suppose there will be a light low a tempest In a tin Sibyl started to answerthen stop lied Sho realized with a gasp that she was talking to an utter stronger Sho turned a fiery red and tho harder sho tried to think of something to say tho hotter tho blushed Sho looked down at tho mud stains on her skirt then she made an effort to brush them oft and smooth out the wrinkles I get so excited she said apologetically apolo-getically when I sec a hug or crab or anything like that Wo used to catch craba In tho park andand I am afraid Ill never grow up And so did we said tho man Wasnt It fun lIe reached Into his pocket and hauled out a piece of string and Homo plnu I got these and the bucket at tho farmlOtiBO yonder I was looking for bait when I spied tho crab you saw mo go after There are a million min lows In that 1001 beyond tho log Do you want a line I am afraid though that I can offer you no better hook than a bent pin I came unprepared to fish YM Id love to fish said Sibyl They rolled away a rotten log to look for halt Tho man stuffed gruhby looking worms and bugs into his jacket pockots like a boy When they had sat for a time In silence waiting for a bite the man took out a cigarette case Do you mind If I smoke he asked No I wish you would Its restful to see a man smoke They gazed In silence again Into the clear water below them Tho bank over which they swung their feet was a straight drop to tho water I need this rest said he finally He looked at tho quiet girl beside hIm patiently holding the line over tho water wa-ter Ho was enjoying himself Itn monsely So do I answered Sibyl frankly woth a bright smile But Ill tell you a secret I ran off today Ran off Yea I am shirking my duty I ran away from trouble A cloud passed over nor face as sho thought of the hateful task ahead of her Before sheri she-ri < lIzed it sho was telling tho whole story Ho listened quietly It is not fair to send me to try to bully a fow words out of a man like Grant Hill I get frightened to death whenever I think of It 1 I have tried so I hard to get along but Mr Branson gibes mo tho hardest things he can think of to do Journalism is not what 1 thought ItOh oh oh She jerked up the line with a shining white fish on tho end andthe bank gave way They were both soaked and muddy when they stood again on terra firma They laughed as they faced each other Then Sibyl realized she was cold There was no sun in tho woods Come said tho man with authority author-ity we must get out of here There are covers in my motor car over by the road and Ill have you back In town in 15 minutes Without waiting for an answer from Sibyl ho took her hand and they ran for tho car where ho wrapped up her wet bedraggled little lit-tle figure When they reached town and Sibyl was unwinding herself preparatory to leaving the stranger slowed up the machine and spoko for the first time during the trip home Miss Morris he said you were kind enough to tell me your name Will you pardon my rudeness In not tellng mine But you will forgive mo perhaps when I tell you that it would have spoiled ono of tho happiest days of my life You cannot understand what the companionship of a fresh Innocent In-nocent girl means to a lonely man like me Ho stopped Oh thank you was all Sibyl could think of In her confusion I too ran away today ho con tinned a merry twinkle in tho gray eyes I ran away from reporters I nave been bothered to death all tho woofl but I forgot to read my horoscope horo-scope or I would have known It was ono o-no use lIe waited for her to speak She was slleut A look of terror was dawning in her eyes Ho hurried on with a smile Am I so very dreadful after all Ho handed her a card Slit took It with trembling fingers and hot tears of mortification started to her eyes She tried to think of all the I awful things she had said The mat I beslfte her was Grant Hill I Tho car stopped Sho was at home Oh to get away She slipped to tho ground not seeing the hand tho man hold out to help her Please Miss Morris forgive mo1 he begged You havent said a word about me 1 didnt deservo so pleaso do not feel badly about that And If i I I you still want that hateful interview you shall have it and I shall try to mako it as pleasant as possible I Will you do my sister and myself the honor of coming to dinner tomorrow night Sibyl extended her hand gratefully Thank you Mr 11111 I have behaved like a spoiled child I shall he 1 delighted f de-lighted to come The bluo eyes smiled radiantly again He bent over her handAnd And perhaps you will allow mo togo to-go fishing with you soon he asked Perhaps |
