The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-11-19
MOD BANGS.

MOD" BANGS.
An Evil Intent Thwarted, and a
Noble Deed Inspired.
Anywhere else she would have been
called Maud, but Smoketon people were too
busy making money to pay proper atten.
ton to dipthongs, so to them she was
simply Mod.
Smoketon was not SO large a place as one
might imagine from the mere number of its
factories. 1t crawled along in a blacky
~unwholesome manner, upon the banks of
one of the loveliest rivers in the world, to
a very unfair length, but was in parts
scarcely more than half a mile wide, being
shut in on the east by beautiful rolling
green hills, over which it had made a
grimy and Intellectual effort to climb.
Among these hills flowed swift, clear
mountain streams, doubling and winding
many times on their way to the great
river, to which, the snow melted in
spring upon the hilltops, they often
brought a larger tribute than was quite
convenient.
Champ Preston said in his languid way,
when he visited the place, that the part Of
moket which the Lord made was a per-
feet success, adding that he had never
visited q town where the people SO bowed
down to money and possessed SO little Of 1t
themselves, for there were no m~illionaires
in Smoketon.
Mods surname was Bangs, the vowel Of
which was as unduly prolonged by the
Smoketonians as her dipthong was u~njustly
shortened. There was nothing vfsibly
heroic about Mod. She was the eldest
daughter of a Smoketon operative, teach
ing in Room No. 6, Ward eleven, Of the
Smoketon Public Schools. She was small
and slender, awkward in person and move
ments, with a p~rotruding forehead, life
iess-iooking sandy hair, and small, dull,
inexpensive eyes. She was also an en-
iongings after couture" and cravings for
sweetness and light" Above all she
cherished a romance and worshiped a hero.
Stephen Dare was not at all a bad fellow,
especially in his own opinion. He was a
handsome young. giant, with a frank,
merry face, usually obscured by a cloud of
SCOT; for Stephen, though only twenty five,
was a s.bosso at Browns mill. the largest
nail-mill in Smoketon. He was well off,
too-wealthyefor q place whose richest men
only counted by tens of thousands; so it is
not wonderful, perhaps, that he was much
petted and spoiled by the Smoketon lasses,
even though his "schooling' had scarcely
passed beyond an elementary knowledge
OF '6n6 GnreS KS"
stephen and Mod had toddled about in
each others company when both of them
wore dresses; they had been deskmates
during the boys brief experience of school
life, and had confided their joys and sor-
rows each to the other, though Mod was
ward school-house was on Stephens direct
way home from work, and as Mod always
remained there until six O'Clock to study,
stephen had got into the habit of calling
for her. and thence one September after
noon they were walking home together
when they first saw Myra Tracy.
Stephens hands were in his pockets, his
shoulders well squared under the shabby
old coat, and his full breadth of chest dis
played in its g%arniture OF blue-checksd
shirt; he was whistling under his breath,
and his chin, dark with SCOT and a three.
days growth of beard, was carried proudly
an the air. Mods eyes were red from a I'll
of weeping into which she had been be.
trayed at the close Of one of those days
which come to every teacher, when the
very spirit of evil seems to get into every.
thing and everybody. She wore a faded
pink bingham and carried a d~ilapidated
lunch-basket in her gloveless hand. In
this guise they turned a corner and came
suddenly upon a lady in deep mourning
who was gazing around her in perplexity,
She was tall, slender and ,e1quisitely
graceful, with a wild-rose complexion and
large, pathetic gray eyes, from which, as
they approached, she sent q long glance
straight into Stephens heart.
Excuse me" she said, in low, musica.
tones, but l wonder If you can direct M
81. s. Tracy, of Browns MILF" asked
Mod, rs Stephen, without even the presenc,
of mind to remove his hat, could only ran
his hands further into his pockets and star,
in silence.
The faintest possible smile waveret
sround Myra Tracy's beautiful mouth a
b bowed in silence.
10, then, L. 8. Tracy lives on the mex
street to this. Your nearest way will b
to cross the railroad and go up the hill
through that alley by the carpenters shop
1T will bring you out right opposite hi
house,"
"Thank you so much" and with anothe
smile and bow Miss Tracy moved grace
fully away. somewhat amused at tn
novelties which had come into her life i
the shape of alleys by carpenters shop
and handsome young workmen stricke
dumb by her charms.
"By jinks! amt she a daisy % exclaime
Stephen. recovering his breath and hi
Smoketon v%ernacular when the vision wa
gone.
"You never took off your hat, Steve.
said Mod, glancing with a strange ne,
pain in her heart at the mans flushed fac
and sparkling eyes.
80, confound the hat! I forgot it.
say, Mod, she must be Tracy's niece. Yo
know his brother died in Philadelphia las
month, and I heard his daughter was /
come here to teach her uncle's children
This must be the very girl"
"Guess l ought to call, if she is a teacher,
promptly:
DON'T see why you shouldn't. She
awfully swell; but 1 bet you've got q
much money, every time. Look her,
Mod! don't tell anybody, but I wouldn
Whether she'd have you or not, 1 sup
pose?"
"Have me! She'd be lucky to get me:
poor as a church-mouse, and a teacher
She'd jump at me-"
81 know who'd be sorry for it, thel
Thase Eastern girls never know anythin
ab"at Homework. She'd just hold he
"Not she! I1l take care of that" with
loud laugh; A for work, she'd 500
Mod came to a dead halt before a stor
they were passing. "Won't you drop i
and order your cooking ~stove?" she aske
sarcastically: 1.-THE rest of your arrange
ments seem to be complete"
"Don't you worry" replied Stephel
ready in time for the wedding" and the
walked ON together again.
But stephen was even more In earne,
than Mod supposed.
1t Yves not a difficult matter to obtain q
ina reduction to Miss Tracy, and when b
asked permission to call the girl had no
as she said after wards, sufficient presens
of mind to refuse. Myra, indeed, WI
profoundly amused at herself, and scare
less SO at S%tephea. The handsome, Hitter
ate young giant was a new type to th
high-brcd, cultured" Philsdelphian; an
though shc considered flirting a yer
~un.sdylike proceeding her esthetic intere,
was sufficiently visible to afford Stephe
all the encouragement he needed.
Bnt for its Clements of possible TRACED,
lie 1ituatioa would have been rather
:omscal one to n iooker-ou who could hay
reA1 the hoe1ts of those interested. st,
pha Dare was A@fsughly accustomed