Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1904 — EVE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

EVE

By.... Barry Preston

CopyrioM' 19uS, by T. C. McClure

It was a mere whimsical Idea that prompted Adam Breck to swing suddenly round in his office chair that gray November day and say. “Throw In the farm at Buttonwood, Jimmy, for good measure, and we'll close the deal here and now." It was an equally whimsical idea that sent Breck up to Buttonwood the following June to inspect the farm; for Jimmy Cregar had olosed the deal then and there, and a deed to the place, duly drawn up and recorded, had reposed in a pigeonhole of Adam’s desk since November. He had scarcely given the place a thought heretofore, and as to what it might be like he had not cared a whit, for the deal would have been decidedly to Ills advantage even without the farm. That June morning, however, in overhauling his papers, he had come across the deed, and, with one of those sudden decisions for which he was famous, be was off to Buttonwood to see his farm, the deed In one pocket and a bunch of Jingling keys in another. He might sell the place, he might rent it, he might give it away. That was immaterial. The charm of the affair Jay in its incongruity. He was starting out to inspect a piece of property the very existence Of which he had ignored for some months. He chuckled to himself as he Climbed into the smoker of the train. That evening Adam sat on the stone doorstep of his Buttonw'ood house. He had been most happily disappointed in the place. The house was a low, rambling, story and a half affair, in an excellent state of repair. An Inviting piazza ran along the northern side; the western end was half hidden under rambler rose bushes just coming into bloom, Mnd a box hedge divided his domain from the road. To the left he could see the cozy house of a nearby neighbor, Dr. Thurston, as Breck learned from the lantern above the gatepost next door. The peace and quiet of the place appealed to him. Seated there in the red twilight Adam

suddenly felt a desire to remain hereto build up the place by his own efforts. Sell It, rent It, give It away? No, Indeed. He would build It Into a little Eden of his own devising. And, the mood being strong upon him, he trudged the mile and a half to town to telegraph for his effects. Early next morning Breck set to work. With a pair of ancient pruning shears he had found In the shed he was trimming the hedge, which, somehow or other, was not the simple task he had Imagined. He was awkwardly lopping off the twigs when he became awiye some one was watching him from the other side of the fence. He turned and saw a girl looking at him from the depths of a sunbonnet. Bhe was an amazingly pretty girl, and the laughter lurking in her eyes was a trifle disconcerting. “Good morning,” she said. “Are you our uew neighbor?” Breck doffed his hat, and. Ashing in his vest pocket, found a card. He approached the girl. “I am Adam," he announced, presenting the card, “and this is Eden I am making. I fear I’m doing It bad ly,” he added, with a deprecatory wave toward the gouged hedge. “Rather,” said the girl, her eyes sparkling. “If you like, papa will lend you the gardener,” “Oh, no,” said Adam; “this is to be an Eden of my own making. Therein Ues the charm.” They talked of commonplace matters—of strawberries and pansy beds and the like. He discovered she was Edith Thurston, the doctor’s daughter. He also discovered she was the most charming young woman it had been his privilege to meet. When she turned to the house he watched her to the door. “Eve, by Jove!” he asserted, as she entered. Then he returned to his hedge trimming with a vigor which threatened to exterminate It After that they entered Into the jolUest sort of friendship. Every morntag she called across the fence; “Good morning, Mr. Adam. What is the latiast bulletin from Eden?” Whereat Adam would perch on the fence and

drolly relate his experiences with the pruning shears or the lawn mower, or be would set-forth bis doubts as to where the raspberry bushes should be set out. Bummer waxed and Eden grew. “It’s finished,” said Adam, almost regretfully. “Eden is complete as far as my work goes.” They sat on the stone doorstep in the twilight of a late July day. The girl was looking pensively at the red sky. “More Edens to conquer?" she asked lightly. “No,” he said. “I want to complete this one.” “You said it was finished,” she said. “I said my work on it was finished,” he returned. “Here is Adam,” he went on, “and here is Eden. There’s a discrepancy.” “You wou’t have any trouble finding the serpent,” she observed. “Eve came before the serpent,” he said. “I should think,” she said, “you’d profit by example. Eve was the undoing of the original garden.” “There’ll be no serpent In this garden,” he said. “I’ve made this solely for Eve. Every flower bed I have made, every drop of paint I have put on, has been with the thought of Eve. It's all for her.” “Then you had Eve in mind when you came here?” she asked. “Yes,” he fabricated unblushlngly. “Oh,” she said in a queer little voice. “I’ve always known her,” he went on, “from the time I was a child.” Bhe was silent “I’ve always thought I’d make her an Eden with my own bands. I hope she’ll be happy here. Do you suppose it will suit her?” he asked anxiously. “It should,” she said. “Does it suit her?” he asked very gently. She started. “Pray how do I knowf* she said coldly. He slipped an arm about her and drew her close to him. “I’ve always known her,” he explained, “but I never saw her until she looked at me across a fence and laughed at me from the depths of a sunbonnet because I gouged the hedge. Does it BUit her?” he repeated. “Adam.” There was a world of tenderness in her voice. “Eve,” he said gently.

"MORE EDENS TO CONQUER?” SHE ASKED LIGHTLY.