Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 February 1919 — Plans for Peace [ARTICLE]

Plans for Peace

By JANE OSBORN

' (Copyright- 1918, J>y McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) Some of the more leisurely or lml>>Tcnt of the hoarders at Miss Ttlwfirs'Ttn’gfWrt"lTr' thty wicker -chairs of tile sun parlor after breakfast. but this morning there were more loit' i’I ei-s than ns!i:i|. ami tb« i "■•n- mlkimp. ; in accents that showed keen interest. I Ami that interest hml aa.iwu| by ■ headline*-hi the morning papers that i indicated ThnT the end -IT the world i war, if not in sight, was at least soine--1 tiling :hat one dptr“d dream about. “1 suppose Miss King will have to come (lonn on her board." a little i «eazen f.-iee,| old holy, noted for Tier I miserliness, was say ing. : -"Well there’s mi use my<s;iving any im re pit-. I siipfMi-e.“ sighed another; ■ and a third. "At least, they won’t have •- ht-y excuse Toy sweetet >i ng t-he eram-j-berry sn’nco with molasses, I duln't ]) i.e to oi I ice! befofty It didn’t seem : loyal. hut I now I certainly——" Doris Miry, who had lingered on her way to her volunteer work at Red ■ Cross. but who ngvertlieless was tiu’ii- • ing, her time to account with sock knitting. limi nt this point emitted n iktie stilled scream that cut short the Inst remark and focused the <‘jes of ; rhmlingerers on Iter. ~ r Doris, twenty four, and swept of face ami the yonnrest member by far, ;of rhe King c#hrbiishnw.Mit, Idasiied p\yiij) ' enrtiiii’rassmcm. She had im>i expected to attrirct .‘itrenfton and she did tod really want to explain. ‘ ! “I was just tltinkitiL',” slu- exjilained, r-^yp V p T7 ---'-i l suddenly occurred to me- ■ that wh+m -the war was over there would hOTTo more socksTo*knit and no more canteens to work for nor com ! servation kitchens to help with nor liberty bread to bake —and. well, I was beginning to feel sorry ami that made me scream, I guess. R seemed so : wicked to liaie anythihg tmt tile happiest feelings that it is nil over. I truly shall miss the knit ting—. : -“Wi-11. I tun 1 -Imn''.'' snapped • one of the sour-visaged members of I the es-tablishtnen' who had. dnritrg the x course of the war, matgiged to knit l two whole pairs of seeks ami a sweatI er. “I’m quite exhausted. I assure I you. aml-itotlilng but ti winter--.lD_ELor.-__ Ida will undo the damage all this knitFtin gha s Ttnne tnyTirrves.“ r “Aiiyway. yoa tieedn'f stop knitting." another one of the company was saying. “Soldiers aren't the only people who wear socks. I had a cook once — an ini ful •creature she w as. too- —and her husiiand was a teamster and he i wore knit socks. I know,, because she “ustsl to knit the socks jn the kitchen during time that I was .paying her to ' work for “Rut I don't know any teamsters,” laughed' Dot “Retillv I didn't mean rtm say I xrasTorry. bignuse I am not. I am so happy tn think that it really is going -to end some time, only it will : seetn stupid going 'Juick to the bridge parties :tml teas ami things that we used trr jvpend so nntch time on liefore the war." Doris went about her work at. Red . Crnsst-hnU dn y tinri at can tg on Th a t afternoon with less than usual xis h-r tiatiinil eliPerfuliiess, She was vexed ■ ivith herself to think that she could have any selfish regrets when, she knew that in her heart she felt only the deepest Of joy at the news of pos-. I~s.ib.le peuw."~ ! ~ ~ ' T f That evening <*apt. Robert Biekneli came in to the boarding house from the encampment five niiles away ivhere since his- return from France he hjid been dieting as instructor, was seized by the coterie of those who lingered in tiie drawing room tifter dinner. Somehow it seemed as if his opinion concerning the outVanne of peace ttilk would be of more weight since he. had cmne fresh from a military encutnptnetit. As».T matter of fal’t the fact tliat he had cmne from the eneimipment made iiim nuicynt about discussing it—that is. before the grnup-of Miss King's hoarders in the’ Ttfirwing. roo.nt, —’ :

It was to escape this assemblage ’! •it he begged Doris to take a stroll .! wn the small town street with him. ■l';-;- people' notice so,” protested Do- ‘ ris. ‘-Yon know how those women habble? and it was -only two tii.*t yon were here before.” "Yes,".agreed the captain." but perhaps there won’t be many more nights. Pm not g oing to an noy you as k i ttg you rhe nM qpestion. -.- I -gwess youmade= yourself about as clear to .me as any trirl ci mld. —! know you’re not the kind <»f girl ihat will accept^-man just be-cau»-v he keeps at her? and I’m not the kind of than that would want a woman to-marry—liiim just because he did. nag her, But I may be leaving camp soon. and I just have to talk things <>vt»r with yott. You told rne you would be interested in me a I way s, and 1 value your ad' ice. I may be taking a leap i.n the dark, but I have* been thinking things over and I know now that I can't go on the way things wer'b before the war. “Then I was content to be cashierhere in . the bank. Honestly, do yon know. Doris, when I first <|w the paper this morning and realized that peace wascoming perhaps before I get back to France, of course my first thoughts was one of the> greatest -joyfl nd then I had the selfish feeling of regret. , *’l seemed to’see myself In the bank again, spending my days In the duli , M onotony here In this town. I didn't

find it dull then, hut shire I've he.-e, leading the life of a soldier I see TtlTngs differemlv. “Ofcwurnie JUL- be -glad—th—slick aruty-ifi years—mh- year’s, the- t’e-t at my life—if I-thought dn that jVtIJ 1 xquldTwTfi you eventually. But I Un" ’■ ' you have made up your mind. Well. I was making plan-; and I was think ( ing that as Soon as wajms~ove~FTT7~ ' oiit what iutfri-st I have tn property here nnd annke for the West. I spent i.a little titue on a sheep ruiu’li it) Wyoming once, and I know a fellow out r Jdu>xe. ihut could help mejmy in h> iuU vantage. So I'm going ttStaHmk/’ for thg'j i-w^l4]s■-ft•^ <^<wr^7-^tx■-<T■er J ‘tPeTTT* , comeit. whether it Is next week or next year. I wauteil to tell you—and ask if you thonght i wasn’t ’riglirf d “I hope you don’t think I- was a JiniLe-fbr feeling-that'spUlt-of regret,” lie asked pdhitentiy. “I can’t tinderstand it exactly, but until I thought of this western scheme I was as hht<as iHdign.- AftertHl. in spite of the hell we have to go tTirmigh, it appeals to some of its more than we realize. want To go on fighting—find there Is more chance “to fight in the life out ' there than there is here.” Hotis had li-teiifd intently, ■ and her breathing, -fast titid Irreguhir, dietiuiyed. r J he int en.-e iutererft. .-lie’, was taking inker c<■lapaiiioiiLS.f disjointed expltinanfons.

“Wonhl vnti need—need to wear woolen socks?" she aske<i. ••Woolen socks? Why, of course. -Utit< l) me ever going hack to those silkthings "with thin shoes after I've known what it is to dress like a regular tnnn." “And out there-=I suppose you’d liv*e in a little cabin at first and you’d have to- ha Hrereand a lot of canning ami everything ami there would bo lots for inle iine. ’ ~. —y ---- "Well, there’s thttl. of cQiir.se.” and, -The—eaptahFs—face registered—a- slighth’ok of unli.-ippiness. “Perhaps I could diet some (ihTcouple to do the wm-k for -mo—i; \v..;Ui!:,'t like Tuvian :i hmiie, but perhaps I cuuld get used to-It.” “There would be ah sorts of work for rhe—the woman you married, wouldn't there?" faitcrpil Doris. "Don’t worry.” nnd the captain did not conceal the fact of his annoyance at This question, “I have no idea of/ asking any woman to share that life with me —you are kind to show cuneern for tny possible w*ife. I ass'ttre--yott. but it Isn't at all necessary.” “But Robert —well, you see I was thinking this very morning that, although I was So happy that the war is going to be oyer, yet I'd be so miserable when 1 didn't liave. to make socks and wotjk hard and can fruit ami tilings, I have really been happy dor tng whTiT I Have done -and, if you’d foTgive me for changiiig my mind — and if you really haven't made any other at rtmgements, well-*-I know now that I've always really loved you.”