Newberg graphic., July 01, 1909, Image 2

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Main
Chance
'
BY
M eredith N.cholsett
Corraiairr 1W
/
T h e B o u s M i h i l l C o m pa c t
is an hon­
e s t , straight­
forward p i c -
of the life
to-day in a
wide awake
western town.
It gives the
reader a pleas­
ant impression
of a type of people and a phase of
life well w jrth a closer acquaint­
ance.
It is a crisp, forceful delineation
of the career of William Parker,
a prosperous banker and pro­
moter, whose beautiful daughter,
Evelyn, is the heroine of the
story.
John Saxton, an enter­
prising Bostonian, is sent west
to close up some ranch and other
investments for a Massachusetts
trust company. This brings him
in contact with varied type* of
humanity all of whom play an
interesting part in a plot involv­
ing the manipulation of a traction
line, the kidnaping of the banker’s
child and other events which go
to make up an intensely graphic
narrative.
T h e M a i n C h a n c e is a ro­
mance of youth, of love, and of
success honestly won.
It is
buoyant, yet full of pathos,
wholesome humor, convincing
realism, admirable diction and
bright sayings. Added to this is
a rare, common sense touch that
shows the practical side of real
western life.
y .- A a o K a w
C H A P T E R I.
“ Well, sir, they say I’m crooked!”
William Porter, president o f the Clark­
son National Bank, tipped back hia swivel
chair and watched the effect of bia dec­
laration on the young man who sbt talk­
ing to him.
“ That's said o f every, successful man
BOwadays. isn’ t it?" asked John Saxton.
“ They say I'm crooked, repeated Por­
ter, witu a narrowing of the eyes, “ but
they don’t say it very loud, and I guess
they don't any of them want to have to
prove it. I'm afraid those Boston friends
o f yonrs have given us up as a bad lot,
and they've sent you out here to get their
money, and I don’ t blame them. Well,
sir; that money's got to come out in
time, but it’s going to take time and
money to get It.”
” 1 believe they sent me because I had
plenty o f -time,” said Saxton, smiling.
"W ell, we want to you you win out,”
returned Porter. “ And now what can I
do to start you off? I warn you solemn­
ly against the hotels in this tow n ; bnt
we've got a fairly decent club up hers,
and you'd better stay there till you get
acquainted. Just look over the papers
till I get rid of these letters and I’ ll be
free.”
Porter turned to his desk. There was
an air o f great alertness in his small,
lean figure as be pushed buttons to sum­
mon various members of the clerical force
and rapidly dictated terse telegrams and
letters to a stenographer. . Saxton was
impressed by the banker's perfect -confi­
dence and ease.
John Saxton had -been sent to Clarkson
by the Neponset Trust Company o f Bos­
ton to represent the interests o f a group
o f clients who had mads rash investments
in several of the Trans-Missouri States.
Foreclosure had, in many Instances, re­
sulted In the transfer to themselves of
much town and ranch property which
was, in the conditions existing in the
early DOs. an exceedingly slow asset. It
was necessary that some one on
the
ground should care for these interests.
The Clarkson National Bank had been
exercising a general supervision, but, as
one of the investors told bis fellow suf­
ferers in Boston, they should hare an
agent whom they couid call home and
abuse, and here was Saxton, a conscien­
tious and steady fellow, who had some
knowledge of the country, and who, more­
over, needed something to do. Saxton's
acquaintance with the West had been
gained by a bitter experience o f ranching
in Wyoming. A blizzard bad destroyed
Ills cattle, and the siihaequent depression
in land values in the neighborhood of bis
ranch had left him encumbered with a
property for which there was no market.
His friends bad been oorreel in the as­
sumption that he needed employment, and
he was, moreover, glad of the chance to
get away from home, where the impres­
sion was making headway that he bad
failed at 'something in the vague, non«
interest-paying West.
“ Now,” said Porter, presently, scrutin­
izing a telegram carefully before signing
It, " I ’ll take you up to the office we've
been keeping for your people, and show
you what It looks like.”
• The room proved to be a small one at
tbe top o f the building. On the ground-
gtaaa door waa inscribed "The Interstate
Irrigation Company.”
The room ooo-
tatued a safe, a flat-top desk and a fe
eh;
ei
" ain’t ptatty,*’said Poi
1y. Ifflt if y«o dotta lik e It
when you get ready. The bank is your
landlord, and we don’t charge you much
for it. You've doubtless got your inven­
tory o f stuff with you, aud hers in tha
safe you'll find the accounts o f thes# com­
panies, copies o f public records relating
to them, •afi so on.
You’re going up
Iguinst a pretty tough pro pcs tri ob ,
.»an.
You’ll hear a hard luck
atory
wherever you go out here just uow ; peo­
ple who owe your friendb money will be
mighty sorry they cap’t pay. Many o f
the ranch lands your'people own will be
worth something after a while.
That
Colorado irrigation scheme ought to pan
out in time, and I believe dt will ; but
you’ ve got to nurse all these thiugs. Make
your principals let you alone.
Those
fellows get in a hurry at tbe wrong time
— that’s my experience With Eastern in­
vestors. Tell them to go to Europe—«e t
rid of them for s while, and make them
give you a chance to work for them.
They’ re not the only pebbles. I ’ll send
the .combination o f the safe up by tbe
boy, and you can get a bird’s-eye view of
the situation before luacb. Mr. Wbeaton,
our cashier, is away to-day, but he’s fa­
miliar with three matters and will be
glad to help you when he gets home.
When you get stuck call on us. And drop
dewn about 12:30 and go up to the club
for lunch. Taka it easy; you can’t do It
all in one day.”
“ I hope I shan’t be a nqlsance to you,”
said tot younger man. “ I’ m going to
fight it out on the best lines 1 know how
— if it takes several summers."
“ Well, it’ll take thgna all right,” said
Porter, sententlously.
Left to himself Saxton examined his
new quarters, found a feather duster
hanging in a corner and brushed the rirt
from the scanty forniture. This done he
rat dour, by the open window, through
which tbe breeze came coo) out of the
great valley ; and here he could sea, far
over '.he roofs and spires o f the town,
tbe bluffs that marked tbs broad bed of
the tawny Missouri.
He wae not as
buoyant a s hia last worcp to the banker
implied.
Here he was, he reflected, a
man of good education, as such things
go, who had lost his patrimony in a sin-
gle venture. He had been sent, partly
our o f compassion, he felt, to take charge
o f investments that were admitted to be
a!moot hopelessly bad. Tbe salary prom­
ised would provide for him comfortably,
and that van about a il; anything fur­
ther -would depend upon himself, the, sec­
retary of the Neponset Trust Company
had told him ; it would, he felt, depend
much more particularly on the miking
otet by benign powers of the consider­
able part of the earth's surface in which
his principals' money lay hidden. As hia
eyes wandered to one of the office walls,
the black train of a great transcontinen­
tal railroad caught and held bis attention.
On one of its northern prongs lay the re­
gion < i hie first defeat.
“ Three years o f life are up there,” he
meditated, “ and all my good dollars are
scattered along the right o f way.” Many
things came back to him vividly— how
the wind used to howl around'1 the little
ranch house, and how he rode through the
snow among hia dying cattle in the great
storm that bad been bis undoing. With
his eyes still resting on the map, he re­
curred to his early school days and to
his four years at Harvard. There was
a burden of heartache in these recollec­
tions. None o f the professions bad ap­
pealed to him, and be had not beeded
bis father's wish that he enter the law.
The elder Saxton, who was himself a
lawyer o f moderate success, died before
John’s graduation ; he bad lost bis moth­
er in bis youth, and bis only remaining
relative was a sister who married before
be left college.
A review o f these brief and discourag­
ing annals did not hearten him ; but he
fell back upon the better mood witli
which he had begun tbe morning ; be had
a new chance, and he proposed to make
the best o f it. He put aside his coat and
bat, and opened bis desk. Tbe banker
bad sent up the combination o f the safe
and Saxton began inspecting its contents
and putting his office in order.
The books and papers began to Inter­
est him, and he was soon classifying
tbs properties that bad fallen to his
care. He was so deeply occupied that
be did not mark tbe flight o f time and
was surprised when a boy came with a
message from Porter that he was ready
to go to luncheon.
"Y'ou mustn’t overdo the thing, young
man.” said the banker, amiably, as be
closed his desk.
“ Don’ t you adopt our
Western method o f working all the hours
there are. I do It now because my neigh­
bors and customers would talk about me
if I didn't, and say that I had lost my
grip in my old age.”
The t ’ltfrkson Club stood at the edge
of tbe commercial district, and its brick
wails roue, hot a n i staring in the July
sun as Porter and Saxton approached.
“ Here we are,” said Porter, leading
the way Into tbe wide hall. “ W e’ll ar­
range about your business relations later.
There’s a very bad lunch ready upstairs,
and we’ll go against that first.”
There were only a few men In the din­
ing-room, seated at a round table. Por­
ter exchanged salutations with them as
he passed on to a small table at the end
o f tne room. Those who were o f his
own age called Porter, “ Billy,” and he
Included them all in the careless nod o f
old acquaintance.
They went from the table fqr an in*
sp ed ion o f thè club, and arranged with
the clerk in the office for a room on the
third floor. They stopped in the loung­
ing room, where the men from tha round
table were now talking or looking at
newspapers.
Porter introduced Saxton
to all o f them. Several of-th e men who
shook hands with Saxton were railroad
officials, but nearly every line o f busi­
ness was represented.
“ If you’re going with me," said Por­
ter. “ you'd better get a move on yen.”
The whole group went out together. Por­
ter leaving Saxton to the others, with
that confidence In human friendliness
which Is peculiar to the social Intercourse
of men. They made him feel their honest
wish to consider him one o f themselves,
making s point o f saying to him, as they
dropped out one by one, that they hoped
to see him often. Porter led the way
hark down Varney street, carrying bis
hat in his hand. Hs said at tha bank
d oor: “ Now yon make them giva yon
what yon want at tha elob. I've got a
bouse up bars on Varney street— come
ua fas dinner to morrow night an 4 va'ti
If we ran't raise a breeze for
It's hotter than Sues here, soil you’«
ter tpfce my advice about start!*
elowJp:
*.
L‘ It# went into the bank and Si
^took’ the elevator for his own ofllca.
i
n f fathers who
hose flrm-wrou t woi
v '/ 'f i . deeds succeeded,
Comes there not a voice from your Ups
. •
o f clay
That other Fourth-of-Julye are need­
-A h , ..C H A P T E R II.
^ »w *
ed?
Saxton was not over-sensitive, hut the
stiffness and hardness o f the club house
were not without their disagreeable im­ When fcrlvllegs fata at tbe public purse,
When. Rights are pillaged, or starve un­
pression on hint as he sot at dinner to­
heeded.
ward the dose o f his first day In. Clash-
sen. Two of the aten to wheat. Pester. Then sooner gr. la t « .. for. b e tte r,^ worse.
Another Fburth-of-July la needed..-4 ~
had introduced him at noon proved'to be
fellow lodgers, and they exchanged greet­
ings with him from the table where they When the people’# tribunes taint the law
Till the etream rune rank and poison-
sat together. They unsociably read their
weeded,
evening papers ah they ate, and left be­
fore he finished. 11« was watching the When they pilfer the wheat and leave us
/ straw,
fading colors of a brilliant sunset \yhen
Another Fourth-of-Jaly Is needed.
a young man appeared at the door, and
after a brief inspection of Saxton’s bach
When the treadmill prisons the child of
walked over to him.
toll
"A ren ’t you Mr. Saxton-7 I thought
T ill tbe baby brows are wan and bead­
you must be he. My name it Raridan.
ed.
Don’t let me break in on your medita­
tions,” be added, taking the chair which Wherever such shadow blights the soil
Another Fourth-of-July Is needed.
the waiter drew out tor him. “ I met Mr.
Porter a while ago, and he adjured me
to be good to you. I don’t know whether W hile a race still drinks ot the bitter
this is obeying orders” — he broke off In
cup
And the earth with the victims* bones
a laugh— “ that depends on tbe point of
Is seeded,
view.”
“ Yon are guilty o f a very Christian The cry o f the blood-blotched stones goes
act,” Saxton said. “ I was just wonder­
up
That another Fourth-of-July is needed.
ing whether, after the sun bad gone down
behind that ridge over there, the world
For the fearless fathers who mads ths
wofild atill be going round.”
day
“ Tiie world never stops entirely here,"
Far more to the world than ths day
returned Raridan, “ but the motion som e
they deeded ;
times gets very slow. 'Mr. Porter tells
me that you’re to be-one of us. Let me T be spirit still lives, though ths lips are
,
clay,
congratulate qs— and you !"
When another Fourth-of-July Is needed.
Warrick Raridan was, socially speak­
ing, the most available man- in tha Clark­ — Edmund Vance Gook.
son Blue Book. He wae a graduate in
law who did not practice, tor he had,
unfortunately, been left alone in
the
world at 20, with an income that seemed
wholly adequate for his immediate or fu­
The Crosspatch Man's
ture needs.
He maintained an office,
^Fourth o ’ July
which was fairly well equipped with the
literature of his profession, but this was
merely to take away the reproach o f his
busier fellow citizens.
Raridan’s office
was the rendezvous for a variety o f com­
T he Crosspatch Man w as sick again,
mittees to which he was appointed by
and
th is tim e it m ust be pretty bad,
such unrelated bodies as the Clarkson
Dramatic Club and the Diocesan Board for all the m orn in g M eredith had been
of Missions of the Episcopal Church. He w atch in g the servants spread straw
appeared every Sunday at the cathedral, before the house and muffle the big,
which was the fashionable church
in shiny door-bell.
Clarkson, where be passed the plate tot
“ P oor m a n !” mam m a said, p ityin g­
the alms and oblations of the well-dressed ly. “ He Is sick so o ft e n !”
congregation.
“ But he’s a Crosspatch M a n !” mut­
He was capable of quixotism o f the
tered M eredith stiffly. Then he repent­
most whimsical sort. He had, for a year,
ed and looked aa sham efaced as a very
taken his meals at a cheap boarding­
house in order that he might maintain little boy w ith a very round, dim pled
two Indian boys in school. He was not face could look . “ I'm sorry he’s ve-ry
“ I s'pose it
at all aggrieved when, at the end o f the sick .” he said, slow ly.
first year, they ran away and resumed hurts even Crosspatch Men.”
tribal relations with their brethren. He
Mamma did not notice. She was
chaffed himself about it to his friends. having her little noon “ gossip ” with
It was not enough to say that Warry papa, and they w ere stll^ talkin g about
Raridan could lead a german or tie an their invalid neighbor.
Ascot tie better than any other man on
“ It Isn't quite so bad as it seems, you
the Missouri R iv er; for he was also the
best Informed man in that same strenu­ know ,” papa w as saying. “ He alw ays
ous valley concerning the traditions oi has the straw laid dow n and things
the English stage, and was a
fairly muffled when he has one o f his worst
good actor himself, as amateurs go. He nervous attacks. It d oesn 't mean all
had a slight literary gift, which he cul­ that it does in m ost cases. H e I# ter­
tivated for his own amusement. His hu­ ribly afflicted by noise at alm ost any
mor was fine and keen, and he occasion­ tim e.”
ally wrote screeds for the local papers,
“ N oise! I should think s o !” That
or mailed pleasant jingles to his intimate w as from M eredith, w ho pricked up
friends.
h is ears at the w o r d / D id n ’t he know
“ I’ll wager that if you stay here a
how the C rosspatch Man felt ’bout a
year you’ll never leave,” said Raridan,
n oise? D idn’t he belong to the Rudd
as they went downstairs together. “ I’ ve
been about a good deal, and know that Street S econ d? W asn't he captain?
we who live here miss a lot of comfort A nd oh, m y, the tim es he’d seen the
and amusement which go as a matter of Crosspatch Man a-scow llng and a-fum-
course in older towns.
But there’s a Ing, w hen they m arched past his win­
roominess and expansiveness about things d ow !
out here that I like, and I believe most
“ B ut F ourth o f July w ill be a terri­
•men who strike it early enough like it, ble day to him — poor m a n !” w ent on
and are lonesome for it If they go away. m am m a’s gentle voice.
T hat made
“ I think I ¡Understand how you feel M eredith start a little. H e had been
about it,” said Saxton.
“ There
were
th in k in g about F ourth o ’ July, too.
times in Wyoming when Western life
seemed pretty arid, but when I
went (D id he think m uch o f an yth in g else
back to Boston I was homesick for Chey­ n ow ad ay s?) H e had been g oin g over
In his m ind all the gloriou s program
enne.”
o f the day. F or the Rudd Street Sec­
„ (T o be continued.)
ond w as g oin g to celebrate In a w orthy
m anner. T hey w ere g oin g to even
M O D ER N U N D E R T A K IN G .
ou td o them selves
each
year— and
M ethods That H a v e (ir e a tlr Sim pli­ hadn’ t they had the proud honor of
fied the .C a rln « tor the Dead.
bein g the n oisiest street In the city
' Modern m ethods o f undertaking now for tw o F ou rth o’ .Tulys a-runnlng?
call fo r the highest ]K>ssIh1e skill in L et 'em Just w ait till they heard this
em balm ing and arranging every detail F ou rth o’ Ju ly !
o f burial.
It tjas three days off. T hat would
From the old methods o f placing a g iv e the Crosspatch Man tim e to have
body on Ice, with its attendant insani­ the straw taken up and the bell un­
tary conditions, the undertaker haa muffled. fo r his w orst “ tim es” never
reached a high point o f perfection in lasted m ore than tw o or three days.
embalming, the New York Sun say»,
“ Then he’ll have to cotton up his
but not content with the 'advanc-xt ears.” mused M eredith, ph ilosoph ical­
m ethods experim ents are now under ly, w atch in g the big foreign servant
w ay which will, it Is contended, make that w ore a turban go back and forth
it unnecessary eren to make any In­ past the Crosspatch Man’# window .
cision in a body when the embalming T h e house M eredith lived in and the
C rosspatch M an’s house were quite
process Is being perform ed.
One o f the most advanced undertak­ close together, so it was easy to watch
ers in this country says that within thitfgs.
U n fortun ately for an Invalid with
the next five years it will be possible to
embalm by placing the body in an air­ the terrible affliction called "n erves,”
tight chamlter and by subjecting It to Rudd Street was a regular nest o f
a pressure o f the gases o f certain em­ boys. T h ere were boys everyw h ere on
balm ing material# to i>erform the work It. You ran against boys when you
w ent east, and boys ran against you
w hich Is now done by injecting fluids
when you w ent west. B oys sprang up
Into the veins.
*'
In the m ost unexpected places. T h e ,
Several firms In New York and other
h ouses seemed to he running over wish
large cities have done much to relieve
boys. And really, there was at least
fam ilies o f the very troublesom e work
one boy— and on an average tw o or
which follow s death In small bouses,
three— In every house on M eredith's
boarding houses or hotels by fitting up
side, excep t . In the C rosspatch Man’#
chapels where bodies are taken until house. Oh. dear me, no, there w eren’ t
ready, fo r burial. Embalming Is done an y boys there!
In the establishment, burial clothes are
On the other side o f the street you
furnished and w atchers if required.
had to sk ip the “ m lddlest” heuse and
T hese Arms also have clergym en to M iss Q ullhot and Miss E rom athea’s—
perform services, law yers to attend to oh. yes, and the m inister’s house, o f
w ills or Insurance papers.
cour.se.
Miss Q uillot and M iss Ero-
mathea w ere old maids, and the m in­
F ry* «* E «* s. -
ister— oh, no, he wasn't an old maid,
T he most disagreeable part o f fry ­
hut you cou ld n ’t expect him to have
ing eggs Is the sputtering and flying
boyé In the house, for how cou ld he
o f the hot fat. T his may be avoided •ver w rite h is serm ons?
by siftin g a little flour In the pan be­
Bo It was, as I said, an unfortunate
fo re adding the eggs. T his you will street to h ave “ nerves” on. And the
find to work like a charm and espe­ C rosspatch Man had so m any!
cially w ill the difference be noticed
T h e three days in between
soon
where there la s large fam ily to sup­ w ent aw ay, and It was the night—
ply.
________________________
th e very night— before It! T here were
T b s Stats o f New Jersey h as im port­ on ly a fow h ours m ore, fo r o f course
ed five stallions from O rest Britain to you did n ’t have to w ait till tha sun
enable Its farm er# to produce s higher rose on F ou rth o f July.
t JW
ot
hones
Mwadlth had drilled the
Radd
Street Second fo r the laat tim e, and
dispersed h is men. H a was on his
way home to supper. G oin g ’by the
Crosspatch M an’s house, he heard
voices d istin ctly lseulng from an open
w in d o w .. H e cou ld n ’ t help hearing. It
w as so quiet In the street. Perhaps it
w as the lu l l before the storm .”
-“ T he sahib can not bear It,” a gentle,
sooth in g voice waa saying, but Mere-
dlt recognized the indignation m ixed
with the pity In i t “T h e sahib will
be again sick .”
'
Then cam e M eredith’s astonishm ent,
for the Crosspatch M an’s voice was
answ ering, and it was quite calm and
gen tle; and It said:
“ O f course I shall be sick again,
H arll I ’ve made all my plans to per­
ish. But w hat can you exp ect? The
little chaps m ust have th eir Fourth
o’ July. I was a little chap m yself—
once. Shut the w indow . H a rt T here’s
a suspicion o f a draught.”
M eredith stood still in sheer amaze­
m ent, and w atched the turban-man
close the w indow . He was a little chap
h im self once, the Crosspatch Man was!
And how kind h is voice had sounded—
not a bit crosapatchy! Then Meredith
rem em bered how w eary and full o f
pain It had sounded, too.
It made
him sorry fo r the Crosspatch Man.
sorrier than he had ever been before
“ H e’s a-dreadin’ It lik e sixty. H e’s
’spectln ’ to perish,”
M eredith said
aloud. “ It’s g o ln ’ to make him sick
o f course— that’s what he said to the
turban-man. A n’ he was a little chap
once, an' his voice was kind an’ tired
out.”
Then M eredith went hom e and
perched h im self up on the banister
post in the hall, to think. T hat waa
where he alw ays thought things— big
things, you know. T his 'was, oh, my,
such a big th in g!
“ I’m cap'n,” mused M eredith, k n it­
ting his little fg lr brows. “ I can say,
‘Go, an' thou ghost,’ like the man in
the B ible; but they’ll be dreadful dls’-
polnted, the R udd Street Seconds will
be. S till— w ell, he's sick an' he had a
kind spot in his voice, an' he used to
be a little chap, too. so o f course he
used to bang things an' m ake noises.
I don’ t think he sounded m uch like a
Crosspatch Man.”
In a little w hile, after a little more
tough thinking. Meredith slipped down
and out o f the door, up the street. He
got together the Rudd Street Seconds
and made a little speech, as a captain
m ay, to his men.
T he next day the city and all Am er­
ica celebrated F ourth o' July, and
Rudd Street was fam ous again, but
this time for being the very quietest
street in all the city ! T h ere were ju st
as m any boys in It, too, as ever.
T he Crosspatch Man's white, ner­
vous 'face sm oothed and calm ed aa the
day w ore on, and at last It actually
sm iled in a gentle way, as If he was
th in k in g about som ething pleasant.
And the captain o f the Rudd Street
Second and his brave men. d rillin g
and popping and banging in a distant
street, were happy, too.— Y outh ’s Com ­
panion.
F a c ts
A boot
F ir e c r a c k e r s .
T he greater part o f the alm ost
$2,000,000 w orth o f firecrackers annu­
ally exported by China cornea to New
York. And the United States stands
next to China in its* use o f them.
Thousands o f Chinese men. women
and children w ork at the m aking e f
firecrackers, fo r there are no m anu­
factories there, the w ork being done
by hand. T ney receive on ly about
$1.40 for m aking 10,000 firecrackers,
laborin g from six In the m orn in g un­
til 11 at night seven days a week. Bo
a Chinese woman or ch ild w orks Ilk*
a slave for tw o days to earn w hat la
spent on a few hunches o f firecrack­
ers by the urchin bent on doin g j u »
tlce to the G lorious Fourth.
M E M O R IES OF T H E FOU RTH .
Have you ever mused, In silence, upon a
summer'e day.
And let your thoughts ran riot, and yoor
feelings have full sway,
As you sprawled full-length upon the grass
In some secluded dell
And breathed tbe balmy country air, and
smelt tbe country smell?
And as you muse.
And gently snooie.
Between thinks.
You remember those Jinks,
When spirits were high
On the Fourth o f July.
There was little Willie Browning, ths
of all tbe hoys.
Who bad a sure nuff cannon that sends all
kinds o f n oise;
And when the cannon wouldn't go, he Mew
into tbe mussle,
But wbat become o f Wlllle'e teeth has al­
ways been a puszle.
How tbe folks looked askance
At the seats of our pants
When those giant skyrockets
Went off In our pockets,
tlee w h ls!
Wbat fun tbs Fourth Is t
When the red-hot July sun began to wink
the clouds awsy,
We were out with whoops and shoutings to
eelebrate the d a y ;
With piece o f punk In one band and crack­
ers In the other.
We'd troop home later In the day for 11»
seed oil— and MOTH Bit.
But our hums
Were small roncerne—
- Our hearts were ll.-ht.
Injuries slight—
Not even a sigh
On the Fourth o f July.
And as you He and ponder, the thought
comes home to you
That your youngest hoy how celebrstee the
way you used to do,
And tbe mother whom b bawls for to have
those small wounds dressed
Is ths woman who long years ago you
swore you loved the best.
But what funny things
Memory brings—
Who would have thought
That I would be caught
With s tear In my eye.
On the Fourth of July?
T h e Absent minded M an. *
“ W hat day does the Fourth o f Ju ly
com e on this year?” asked the absent-
m inded man.
“ On Sunday.”
“ Yes, but what day o f the m onth?”
‘GLORIOUS FOURTH.”