Life — December 2, 1915 — page 39: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The contest closed on October 4th. So many thousands of manuscripts have been received, cach one necessitating a careful reading, that our friends are invited to exercise all due patience. We shail continue to publish the stories accepted each week in this department until all the manuscripts have been passed upon; and as soon thereafter as possible the p s will be aware The Escape By A. Leslie Goodwin HE tent flap lifted and dropped. The prisoner coula make out the dim outlines of a man’s form. “To be shot at sunrise, eh?” The prisoner stirred quickly. voice was strangely familiar to him. The figure moved nearer. A knife flashed and the prisoner's bonds fell off. “ Follow me, and not a sound.” They crept out of the tent, past a doz- ing sentry, and across a dark field. * Now,” said the guide, as they straight- ened up in the shadow of a hedge, proposition, for cousins will be cousins, even in war.” He paused, looked warily around, and emitted a low chuckle. months ago.” he That Six continued, “when I was captured by your side and sentenced to be shot you rescued me, as I have you. You showed me our lines and gave me two minutes to get away. After that two minutes you were to fire, and you——" He stopped, wheeled like a flash, but too late. A shot rang out, and another. The two men stiffened, leaned toward cach other, gasped and dropped to the ground. Around the corner of the hedge stepped the sentry, a smoking automatic in his hand “Huh!” be growled, stirring the pros- trate figures with his foot. “ Relatives have no business on opposite sides, any- “Man May Love” By Robert Sharp “WN AISS YOUNG, I want to ask you something.” and Geoffrey modestly pulled the sheets close up under his pink chin. “I suppose you'll think me an awful bore for saying this to you so abruptly. but I'm dreadfully in earnest. Will you marry me, please?” Miss Young did not stop a minute in her deft arrangement of his breakfast tray, She didn’t even blush. “No, I don’t think I will,” she answered. “ You I can't marry everyone that asks How have you married al- ready?” “Well, I haven't married any yet.” “Then marry me.” The unruffied little nurse smiled at his impetuosity. “You know,” she said, “every marriageable male that I have ever nursed has proposed to me. It is merely a sign of recovery. It ought to go on the list of symptoms.” “My proposal is a symptom, all right. but not of recovery. It is a symptom that I am desperately in love.” “You do it beautifully, but you are not quite so romantic as Antonio, my last many potential husband. He wanted me to flee with him to Italy, but his wife came and took him away. Geoffrey was indignant, “Do you think I'm going to let you stay here while every Dick, Tom and Dago Harry proposes to you?” “Better eat your breakfast, Sonny.” “Sonny” Geoffrey flounced over, his face to the wall. “I don't care for any breakfast, thank you.” “AML right, Ill take the tray away in a minute,” and with a knowing smile she left the room. Geoffrey was twenty-one, possessing all the impetuousness and dignity accessory to that age. He had offered his love and had been laughed at. She had called him “ Sonny.” Yet, during those three past weeks of antiseptic nightmare she had been ex- tremely kind to him. Perhaps she loved someone else. At the thought Geoffrey became quite disconsolate But finally, he turned over and his eyes fell upon the breakfast tray laid temptingly beside his bed. A ravenous hunger assailed him. He pulled the tray onto the bed and began to eat. After all, things wer: not so bad. A woman always had to be coaxed Meanwhile Miss Young was talking it over with a sister nurse at breakfast in the nurses’ quarters. “What I want to know, Heine, is this When do we ever get a fair chance at a man? We don't get away from the hos- pital long enough at a time to capture one, and here, where we receive pro- posals every day it’s against the rules to marry the patients.” “Did he propose to you?" interposed Heine. “Yes, he did. too, Excuse me, not for mine. I'm vac- cinated against marriage. I'm’tired of having men growi and grumble at me all the time “Sure, so am I, But, Heine, wouldn't it be perfectly grand to have just one great big man to jaw at you! He asked me to call him Geoffrey.” “Look here, kid, you're not falling in love, are you?” demanded the quizzical Heine. “I wonder if he has another answered Miss Young irrelevantly. About noon Geofirey became exceed- ingly restless. Miss Young smoothed his pillows again and again, Once when her hand strayed temptingly near, he grasped it and kissed it. It must be con: fessed that Miss Young didn’t withdraw her hand quite so quickly as the super- intendent would have thought She even blushed and that was very un- usual for the sophisticated nurse. “Gee, I know I'm an awful bore to keep bothering you like this, but haven't you changed your mind? Don't you think you can marry me?" “Look here, Geoffrey "—she really hadn't meant to call him Geoffrey—" you don't know what you're talking about I'm the only woman you've seen in the last three weeks. I may have helped pull you over some pretty rough places. Of course you think you have to marry your benefactor.” “IT have to marry you, Miss Young, but that’s not the reason, I'm going to ask you three times a day until you consent to be my wife.” “Well, keep it up, Geoffrey. It will help pass the time.” Miss Young had quite regained her customary impene- trability. Geoffrey kept his word. When his nurse was in the room he watched her continually and at the most unexpected times propounded the old question. If And he's a nice boy, girl. proper. comicbooks.com