The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-05

Mrs. Endicott Found Out why the Men
Broke The Windows.

Mrs. Endicott has curiosity. This Is
nothing to her discredit. Goo ave 1t to
her. He also giveth the increase which
is constant and plenteous. Such be-
ing the source OF her inquisitive pro-
pensitles. Mrs. Endicott is not ashamed
of them. on the contrary, she culti-
Yates them a~ssiduously. This, she
claims. is her IN duty. Many
other very nice people, she says, have
been endowed with curiosity, and by
industriously following the bent of their
inclinations have arisen to be high and
shining lights. Mrs. Endicott has not
yet reached this pinnacle. but she IL on
the way and is expecting to get to the
top most any day.
Mrs. Endicott's neighbors are not in
sympathy with her ambition. Neither
is her husband. Indeed. many women
in LAX View decry her boundless
powers of research and a few of them
have been heard to pronounce her "a
mean old thing" and this in spite of
the fact that she is not yet 30. Her
husband has never gone quite that far
i'm public-but everybody in the town
Of Lake View knows that he has
thoughts.
Mrs. Endicott's curiosity is too omnis-
cient and absorbing for her to be igno-
rant OF these venomous shafts, but n
is on a plane of such lofty investigation
that they lose their force before reach
ing her. hence cannot even sting.
Mrs. Endlcott. returning from a shop
ping tour recently. had her attention ar
rested by the unusual sight of two men
deliberately smashing the glass in a
10 by 10 show window.
Mrs. Endicott stopped short i'm horri-
fed establishment. Breaking plate glass
windows was "A mighty expensive
amusement, not at all consistent with
her ideas Of economy. and she didn't
see why somebody didn't rush in and
interfere. But nobody did. Never be-
fore was a gaping. wondering street
crowd so intent on minding its own
business. Even the policeman who pa
trolled the gutter in lieu of stepping
room on the Sidewalk merely winked
one corner OF his eye at the destroyers
as II what they did was no concern Of
his.
In view OF all this nonchalance, Mrs.
Endicott finally concluded that these
men were not lawless law breakers. but
paid workmen, who had "a legal right
to break store windows whenever they
felt like IL. They went about their
hammering in a skillful. businessl'k e
way. A circle about a foot in diameter
had been drawn near the center Of the
window. The man standing inside the
store would give the glass within this
ring an emphatic tap with an iron NAL
let and knock out one little piece of
glass. upon which the man outside
would respond with another tap and
knock out another little piece, and thus
they kept II going.
IL was plain that they had some OBJ
ject in this piece of vandalism and Mrs.
Endicott was racked with curiosity to
NOW what Il was. She asked several
b~ystanders. but no one could tell. One
man said he thought 1t was a new adj
vertising scheme. such as he had seen
worked in several saloons about town.
But Mrs. Endicott secuted tina idea.
She knew there were cheaper and more
effective ways Of advertising thar to
knock the middle out Of a ten-foot
pane Of glass and she didn't believe any
merchant In the city would sanction
such "A plan.
Mrs. Endicott went back to Lake
View n the woman's meeting. and ner
mind was downtown. Even when de-
batting whether or not IL was advisa-
BILE TO increase the taxation of mem
beers under b years. she seemed to see
the hole in the window and to hear the
clicking Of the hammer. By evening
the suspense was telling on her. She
put the case to other members OF the
club. hut they could not enlighten her.
She put IL to her husband. He heart
lessly remarked that the glass must
have been broken TO make some id
fool ask questions. Mrs. End colt cried
then. with sheer disappointment M
was being gradually consumed by I'M
satisfied cur osity and she felt that to
wait until morning without the desired
information would prove fatal
About { o'clock she made some excuse
to her family FOR a short absence and
started downtown. There was rCin.
there was thunder. there was lightning.
there were b~lOckades. Mrs. Endicott
had TO a four car fares. but she did
not mind, for was she not about to
learn the reason for the hole in the
glass
Al $50 Mrs. Endicott reached her
destination. The rain still fell. the
lightning flashed. the thunder rolled.
but Mrs. Endicott stood before the
broken window and looked and looked.
What she saw was two circular ventfla-
tors buzzing In the holes the men lad
made.-Chicago Chronicle.