Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 185, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 August 1914 — TOM’S PERILOUS STATE [ARTICLE]

TOM’S PERILOUS STATE

By ADA, BRANDON.

‘1 have always hoped that he. wpuld marry Halite Lane,” sighed Tom’s mother. *‘l do. wish she hadn’t gone away to Europe.” "Well,” Tom’s father spoke up fiercely, “he shan’t marry that Goodrich girl as long m I can prevent it.” “You know, dear, Interfering with a love affair is dangerous,” cautioned Tom’s mother. “Any objections of ours are liable to increase his ardor. We must be careful." “How can he have any ardor for that anoient charmer ? I don’t see. I’ll bet she’s neatly twice his age."' “What can we do?” Tom’* mother looked helpless as she asked the question. “We can pack him off to California to visit-his Aunt Laura. She knows that he’s out of college this winter on account of the trouble with his eyes and she’ll be glad of a visit from him.”

When the trip to California was broached to Tom he said, he would rather have the money it would cost. “I want to get ahead a hit, dad,” he explained. * “You won’t get ahead very fast king old maids to the grand opera every few nightß.” “If you mean Miss Goodrich-—” “That was just father’s little Joke, Tom,” hastily interrupted Tom’s mother. “You know, spn, £hat we. think two or three months on your Aunt Laura’B ranch would be just the thing for you. We want you to stay o\l£doors all the time and give your eyes a complete rest. Don’t you think you’d enjoy the. life out there?” y 7 “Why, I suppose I’d enjoy it; all right, but it will cost a lot of money, going out there.” “Well, I think I can scrape enough together to. get you out and back,” said his father. “That economical streak of Tom’s was a little too sudden to be really credible,” Tom’s father said to Tom’s mother a little later. “It’s Just an excuse not to leave that Goodrich girl, but it won’t go with me. He’s starting for the coast tomorrow night. That’s decided.”

Tom had been gone Just a month, when a letter from his Aunt Laura brought consternation to Tom’s parents. After a little preamble, in which she declared her fondness for Tom and asserted that she greatly enjoyed having him with her, she begged them to recall him at once. “He appears to be simply Infatuated with a gay widow who is staying at the hotel near my ranch,” she wrote. “I feel certain that she is a designing woman and that she has made up her mind to marry Tom. He won’t listen to anything 1 say against her and when I mentioned that I was certain She was old enough to be his mother, he remarked bitterly that age seemed to be considered a crime In our family. I don’t know what he meant. But I do know that it would be most unfortunate for him to become entangled with this dashing Mrs. Gaynor. I advise you to send for him immediately. You needn’t have urged me, to keep Tom from reading or studying. He hasn’t opened a book since he’s been here. He and Mrs. Gaynor ride horseback nearly all day long. The flowers In my garden aren’t good enough for her, and he orders hothouse roses from the city twice a week and the quantity of canfiy that he buys for her is prodigious.” «

“Well, what do you know about that?” asked Tom’s father, aghast. ‘lt looks very much as if we had snatched Tom out of the frying pan and dropped him into the fire, doesn’t it? Now we must bring him back to the frying pah, eh?” "Probably this designing widow has quite banished the thought-of Miss Goodrich,” said Tom’s mother. “So there may be some comfort to the situation.” . ‘lt’s amazing what an unmitigated fool a boy can be,” growled Tom's father, as ho began to write a .telegram. "I don’t see why you sent me such a hurry call," Tom remarked to his father on the day of his arrival home. "But I’m glad you did send for me. My eyes are’ better now and I’m tired of loafing. Can’t you take me into your office, dad? I don’t want to go back to college. I want to get to work and begin to earn money.”

“Why?” asked Tom’s father, with laeonlo severity. v “Well, I think I ought to tell you. though it’s a secret Still, Lucie Goodrich and Mnf. Gaynor both guessed It, and I think -you and mother really ought to know. I want to go to work for Halite Lane. The fact is, we became engaged before she went to Europe." JW "You did, did you?” exploded Tom’s father. "I hope you won’t be angry. We kept it a secret because we thought you and all her people would say we were too young. But we are engaged, all right” "Well, I’m glad of it,” said Tom’s father, “but you've had a funny way of showing itl”