Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1901-11-14

cided that she would surely find the
| letter when she reached home, and he
would then hear from her.
Now, Clemintne was a girl who al
ways had a great many things on her
mind, and when she had unpacked the
| treasured jar and placed it on a dainty
table in her pretty parlor-with a self
congratulatory thought that it was so
respectable TO have things that ones
relative had brought from China-she
wholly forgot the curious load that the
mandarin had on his breast. She missed
her silken hose, of course. and pestered
them.
| In Midtown, as you may imagine,
Randall waited for the answer to his
letter. Awhile he waited patiently,
then impatiently awhile, and then
dived into his law books with that
'composure of settled distress" which
lovers have known In every age and
cline. He did not dream that the slant
eyed mandarin would be guilty Of the
ungentlemanly trick of intercepting a
love letter.
/
what he was about He was not with
out experience in these matters, and
he wanted to punish Clementine a
trifie and bring her TO the proper con-
dition of seriousness.
And Clementine was feeling the stu
alton with all the sobriety that was de-
sirable. She had suspected all sum-
mer that Randall had a tender feeling
for her which she felt qualified to re-
ciprocate. but she was proud girl and
could not by a feathers weight influ-
ence the balance of his attentions.
Therefore behind her smiles she had
been not a little wounded that he had
allowed her to come home without hav-i
ing given expression to his sentiments.
So She too, now took on a sober
countenance and banished thought and
regret by joining several new clubs
and taking membership in two or three
more charitable organizations.
Just before Christmas Randall one
day experienced in his breast a sort OK
1 imperative neutrality-suspicious. direct
from the slant eyed mandarin, who
knows THAT he might hear of some
thing to his advantage IL he should go
down TO the city and call upon Clemen-
tine; so after some futile resistance to
the message he betook himself thither
He was graciously received by Glenn
entine-that is, graciously enough for
a young man who had played the
trifier with her invisible affections
and he seated himself in coy chair
near the pretty table which held his
old friend-the blue jar.
As he talked with Clementlne, a lit
tie constraint being apparent on both
sides. he toyed with the lid OF the jar,
and the slant eyed mandarin appeared
TO wink at him three times very know
ingly.
Under some occult but imperative
pressure Randall removed the lid and
touched with his finger the silken tex
ture of some mysterious contents.
! Curiosity further constrained him,
and he pulled from the bosom of the
now jubilant mandarin pale blue ar
ticle of singular description for parlor
ornament. and, following 1t. he extri.
Gated pale pink strip of similar shape
and structure.
Turning 10 Clementine for explana-
f ton Of these Unforeseen apparitiOns he
/ found her speeches. with wild eyed as
I constituent. ana without word or
gesture she seized the old blue jar and
hurried from the room.
/ Randall smiled tie first real. soul felt.
refreshing smile that h had INDUCED
in for several months and vowed by
the plgtail Of the old slant eyed that he
would stay rooted to the spot until
/ Clcmentine returned.
What she said TO the genius Of the
jar as she flew up stairs with it only
the mandarin can reveal
| As Randall paced the parlor, pulling
his mustache ana wondering If Clemen-
tines keen sense Of humor would carry
her safely through the trying hour. she
came shamcfacedly into the room, bear
ing in one hand the blinking old man
DARN and in the other the pleading let
ter he had borne so long hid in his
clever old bosom.
Randall met the dear girl more than
half way. and as She whimpered gently
on his shoulder he promised never,
never, never To tell.
And when they We're married, If you
believe me. that ridiculous old ginger
jar accompanied them on their wedding
trip, and Randall packed the bosom Of
the grotesque mandarin full Of Clemen-
tines bridal roses. there to fade and
there forever TO remain.
Now, as Randall never told and
Clementine never told, the entire
responsibility Of this revelation lies he
tween you and me and the ginger jar.
A thousand things by it are done