Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-06-12
A PRIZE VENTURE.

- II MIN fAAN iAlff
When one is newly married, and
has commenced life in small rooms on
second floor, there are no long halls
and high stairwaystO trayese between
the cooking and sleeping apartments.
Therefore, when / heard Mary fill the
kettle and stir the fire, and the next
instant saw her beside my bed, took
her sudden advent as a matter OF
course. But it is confessed that her
opening salutation came weighted
with an atom of surprise.
"You know that vacant bedroom
dear2 Well. we can furnish it nov
"Can we?' / asked meekly. "Haye
you been taking risk in stocks2'
''Here it is, ~ she said with - sud
den tremor in her voice, and tlutter
in her hands. "A thousand dollars
fer forty three stories. A hundred
dollars for one, fifty for another and
so on down. And newspaper men
are especially invited to try. You
must take a day of, and when you
get the hundred dollars we can fit up
the spare room. Let me see-fOrty
dollars for a chamber set, twenty
dollars for carpet, ten dollars for
pictures and then we will send ten
more to father and mother, to pay
their fare here and make us that long
promised visit Only a hundred dol
lars, Jack, and see what happiness it
brIngs' And the dear girl threw her
arms about my neck, and gave me
a REFUSING kiss.
Well, when she settled down TO cold
facts, produced a copy of The Current,
and showed me the tempting offer in
plain black and white, grew inter-
ested. knew that newspaper men,
and especially young reporters, had
little time for true literary work, but
imagine that for an incentive to spur
me en- could gain an odd half day
or so in the next two weeks, and write
out some of the fragmentary ideas that
had tioated through my mind for
several years, in patient waiting for
clothing and a habitation. We had
no difficulty in agreeing that the at
tempt should be made, and none what
ever as to the use to which the prize
money should be put Mary had dis
posed of that without aid from me.
The only question that confronted us
was the character of the story. its
location, tone, and treatment. We
gave the whole noon hour to its dis
cusslOn.
you must be careful, said Mary
with the air of one who for years had
filled a professorship in a College for
the Education of Fiction Writers, ''to
give it a conversational form. Long
paragraphs don't look well, and read
ers are tempted to skip. Put in lit
tie lovemaklug
"That's tmte, said
'ls it} Well people never grow
tired of it, Make IL end happily, what
ever you do Bret Hartes school may
suit the Bret Hartes, but one doesn't
like to be sent away from "A story with
suicide or hanging MS the fNUIe;
and above all things, Jack, choose a
subject about which you know some
thing, Don't founder around in a
mystic or tar-away region ON which
you have never set eyes.
How would Alaska dol' I asked
solemnly.
"What do YOU know about Alaska?
Dor the Desert of Sahara. Or Pata-
gonial Keep inside of OHIO. Make
it short tersc, and put into it not
only what might easily happen, but
something that has happened. -
| left her clearing off the table, and
singing softly TO herself. was at the
office of the Daily Neptune at 2r. NJ,
to receive my assignment of local
work. / had lcfta hope bIoSsoAing
at home that the day
might be light of work
and that | might return soon and give
a few hours to the opening of my
prize story. The plot formed itself
on my walk to the street cars. and
the scenes unfolded and fitted i.to
each other as the slow steeds covered
the three miles between my home and
the office. / would be back by four.
three hours Of good work would help
me along, | could close it up on Sun.
day, Mary could copy it at her leisure,
the hundred dollars would really be d
godsend
you must get rig Immediately,
said the city editor, and drive out to
the Five Mile Lock There has been
pOWueF iiili * pIOsiuhl duu scNtrdl
men killed Throw yourself, Smithy,
on this, as ii has the making Of sonsa-
ton"
The newspaper instinct was alive
and at work. l forgot all about the
story, the prize money, and had time
for only one tender regret for the dis
appointed little wife at home Tho
day wa. cold. the rain changed to
snow, the distance was long, the roads
heavy, and the pursuit Of information