Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1897-08-19

ance before her. lie planted b;m.a1f
with his feet apart and his arms fold
ed. 49,
said. no
Dwight Hopkins!'' said Irene. with
struggling suspicion that Dwight
had lost some portion of his senses.
Its So, said Dwight. ssI suppose
father would give me some more
money, if leased him, but I shan't .
He told Irene all about it. "You
see, ne explained, 'sit was a plagued
shame, and I couldn't stand it think
ing about it. She's always stood
higher in her class than Margaret
Cary or any Of those girls; and the
idea OF her b aving to miss commence
ment, and all the fun, because she
hasn't dress
Il know!" said Irene. Her voice
had little tremble in it. And there
was such look in her eyes that
Dwight turned red and coughed.
"Pshaw! 'Twasn't anything" said
he, and he began to talk about Lynn
Trumbulls new shotgun.
When he started for school the next
morning, Irene was waiting for him
at her gate.
'I've had an idea," she said, 'san
inspiration. You can have your party
inst the same, if you will It won't
be the kind you were going to have,
but-wait till tell you! I thought
it up last night
They were still talking so earnestly
when they mounted the schoolhouse
steps that they bumped squarely into
Bob Logan. "What are you two
Ginning about?" he demanded, 'sthat
you can't see fellow of my size?''
He found out the next day. He and
the rest Of the S. T. G. club, and a
few chosen outsiders, received invita-
tons from Dwight Hopkins to party.
They came i'll yellow envelopes, and
they were written on neatly cut strips
OF brown wrapping paper. Hard
times Party was penned in one COR
ner, and ''Please wear your oldest
clothes" in another.
Curiosity and excitement ragged
among the S. T. G. Dwight was be-
sieged with inquiries. SO was Irene,
whose completely in the matter was
more than suspected. But they had
nothing to say. ''It's all on the in
v::tations, they averred. cts hard
times party, and you're to wear your
worse clothes; that's ALL"
An atmosphere of fascination sur
rounded the affair from the first. It
was not too much to say that the S.
Z. G. had never made preparation for
a party with more eagerness. Evelyn
Burns germans even had never caused
more discussion and confabulation and
general excitement.
"Eyerybody's accepting; I haven't
had regret. Look here" Dwight
said to Irene, with glee, and he
pulled out of his pockets several hand
fuls of strange looking missives. They
were written on all sorts of cheap and
outlandish papers, from foolscap to
the back of an advertising card and
the torn off margin of a newspaper.
Good They're getting into the
spirit of it already. Well have no
end Of fun, said Irene.
Dwight's father had some business
out of town that day, and it was $50
when he got home. Dwight had in
formed him that his party came off
that evening; and he saw the lighted
windows with pleasant thrill of ex-
pectation.
Somebody came forward, when he
entered, with a hearty, 'sHow are you,
father? Glad you've come''-but he
did not for a moment recognize the
person.
whats this?" he gasped "Eh?
what's this?''
Dwight was receiving his guests,
and Irene was assisting him. Dwight
was attired in a coat he had outgrown
two years ago, and whose sleeves did
not reach much below his elbows; and
a pair of trousers in which he had
helped to paint the back porch; they
were not only ragged at the knees, but
daubed freely with paint; and an old
red handkerchief concealed his lack
of a collar. Irene Winslow wore q
faded old shirt waist, bicycling skirt
with two large rents in it and the hem
partly ripped, and some old shoes
with their toes stubbed out.
"What is it?" said Dwight. cts
hard-times party, father. !"
Flora Osborne and George Clement
were coming downstairs. They shook
hands with their host cordially. Flora
was arrayed in an old cotton frock, IN
which she had picked berries and
helped her mother can them, until its
o,.;s;na1 aolo,. u,as lost in a solid mass