Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 February 1910 — TAKING NO CHANCES. [ARTICLE]

TAKING NO CHANCES.

Hopkins saw a familiar face just as the revolving door threw him out of the big office building whfere he has his roll top desk. The familiar face belonging to a man carrying a dress suit case. It was old “Bun” Lawrence —good old scout —whom Hopkins had chummed with in bis “rah-rah’’ days. “Hey, there! ” he shouted. “iJun” looked around and recognized him. “Well, I’m a son of a gun,” he says, ‘if ft ain’t old ‘Hop.’ How are you, anyway?’’ “Never mind about me,” says Hopkins. “I’m finer than frog hair. But here you are as natural as. a life-size photograph, and sober, too. Well, well! I surely am glad to see you. How long’s it been? Yes, four years since that time we met in it? Gee, time does hump along. Don’t it, eh? Well, you come out to the houpe tonight and we’ll have a good session ~and talk over old times. “Out to the house?" repeated “Bun.” “You aren’t married, are you?’’ “Yep,’ says Hopkine. “I’m just that. To a peach of a girl, too. Didn’t 1 write you about it? Oh, yes, that’s right. I haven’t written to you since you didn’t answer my last letter. Well, anyway, my wife’ll be tickled to meet you. She’s heard me tell a lot of things that you and I did together when we were in college—and a lot of things we probably didn’t do —huh? You know she thinks I was the original or rather the aboriginal, Indian.” “Yes,” says “Bun,” you must have exaggerated a leetle bit if you’ve got' wifey to thinkin’ you were such an Indian. You were a good scout, of course, but then you always had a wild idea when you were iu college that a man ought to study part of the time.” Hopkins became suddenly thoughtful. “Say,’’ says he, “of course you don’t want to make any break out at the house tonight. I don’t suppose it would make any difference to my wife how decent I was when I was in college, but she might think It funuy that I would deliberately lie to her. You’ll be careful?” “Oh, sure,” agreed “Bun.” “Better let me know, though, just what line of talk you’ve been handing to your wife, so's to know just where to keep off.” They were nearing the point where Hopkins usually caught his car now, and he was looking more and more troubled. “The fact is," he began, “you’ll have to be mighty careful. You se'e I’ve been giving the little girl to understand that besides being right smart of an Indian, I was pretty heavy with all the co-eds in college—with all the ladies, in fact. I’ve got a lot of sofa cushions and things that I’ve told her different girls gave me, and a few photographs that I get out occasionally and spin yarns about what ‘good fellows’ of girls they were, how, they used to send me things when I- was sick in my room, and all that sort of thing. She gets mad as hops, you know, and threatens to tear up the photographs, but of course it tickles her to think that she managed to win little Willie after so many of the college girls were just crazy about him. You can see for yourself, I’d about lose my home if she got any hint that any of it was just guff.” “Oh, depend on me,” assured “Bun.” “I’ll make it good and strong. ’ “You want to be careful though” insisted Hopkins. “That is don’t want to make it too strong. She might begin to suspect. And, let’s see. I’ve always had you in pretty nearly everything that I’ve told her. J did. We really ought to have more time to go over some of these things. A man’s an infernal fool to hand his wife a lot ol darn lies about himself, especially this devil-of-a-fellow stuff, ain’t he?” Hopkins hesitated, and then, taking “Bun” by the arm, resumed apologetically. “Don’t know about this, old fellow,” he said. “Mebbe you d better not come out. I know you wouldn’t give me away purposely for anything, but then she might ask you something and we might get all balled up in spite of ourselves. Honestly, I hate to think of you being in town and not being out to take dinner with us, but I’d be on edge all evening for fear you’d accidentally bawl me out. I’d stay downtown with you for dinner, but I’d have a ha*-d time squaring myself if I stayed away now after the wife’s got dinner ready. Say, It’s a darn shame, though, that I’ll see so little of you. Come arourd to the office before you go out in the morning, won’t you? I feel mighty cheap, old man, about this, but you can see for yourself that it’d be a dangerous proposition.” And after a few handshakes and assurances from “Bun” that he wouldn’t be sore. Hopkins went on home. “I ran into old ‘Bun’ Lawrence this evening,” announced Hopkins to Mr*. Hopkins at the table that evening. “You did? Why didn’t you bring him out home with you?” asked the missus. “I’ve always been just dying to see him.” “Yes ” says Hopkins, “I tried to get him to come out, but he had a butinets engagement for thts evening that be couldn’t break. I wish you—eoui i have met him.**