The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-08-12
MIR. WILKINS, ECONOMY.

MrS. WllklnS IS polite woman, so
 she listened without any comment. That's just where you make your
 mistake" MT. Wilkins was saying, firmly. Tt is these little things which
 are the soul of economy. Of course I
 could hire a man for a couple of dollars
 to paint the linen closet floor and the
 stairs, but there Is no reason why
 shouldn't do it myself I believe in
 luxurious America getting back to
 primitive conditions. The country was lots better off when every man had to do everything for himself
 No doubt you are right" said Mrs. Wilkins, discreetly. "The cans of vel
 low paint and the oak finish left from
 the work this spring are down cellar. I
 believe there is a brush, but it Is full
 of green paint"
 Her husband went to work with en- thusiasm slightly tempered by the
 amount of yellow paint that diaboli- cally insisted on splashing itself on the baseboards Also his knees grew ten der and rasped from kneeling. It was
 hot and he was glad he had thought to open the window in the linen closet un- til as he was surveying with fatuous admiration the coat of billowy yellow streaked with dark--he had forgotten
 to wash out the brush-his wife called
 him. It apeared that it was going to
 rain hard immediately and would he
 be sure the upstairs windows were
 shut?
 MT. Wilkins gave one wild glare at the wideopen window at the farther
 end of the linen closet. It mocked him
 gayly from across the sea of wet paint. He might as easily have hoped to shut it had it been in the Chinese emperor s palace. Mr Wilkins fled the sad scene
 when the flood of water poured in, but
 Mrs. Wilkins looked amused. q SUD- pose, dear" she said, soothingly, 'you
 got fresh towels from the farther draw
 CT, as told you-and you remembered,
 of course. that your panama hat is on the last shelf?'
 The Wilkinses dried their faces and hands on handkerchiefs for the next twenty-four hours and Mr. Wilkins went to the office wearing a dis reputable old felt hat.
 | He looked grim when he began on
 the front stairs, which met the back
 stairs at halfway landing. the re-
 mainder of the ascent being accom-
 plished hy one flight. It was his inten- tion to paint from the landing down. The famil ycat and the bull terrier at
 once evinced the greatest interest in
 the work, but after the cat had made
 flying leap and landed with both hind feet in the paint can MT. Wilkins is-
 sued orders. The cat was immured down cellar. the terrier thrust out of doors. Muff1ed walls and yelps protest ed dismally.
 MT. Wilkins felt quite chipper when
 he had finished. Next day he would put
 on the oak finish-he hoped it would conceal the dark streaks.
 It took the united family to protect
 MT. Wilkins artistic labors. Both ter
 rier and cat developed the most acute
 cunning in their efforts to get on the forbidden ground. Because of her abil- ity to climb banisters the cat was ban is2ed to the rear of the house where
 she lurked near closed doors in a pa- | tient hope of slipping through. The terrier lay in front of the screen
 barring the stairs and sighed wistfully, for his favorite resting place was up in the linen closet.
 MT. Wilkins thanked heaven when he finished applying the sticky oak coat ing that he was not obliged to paint for
 living. Just as he changed into civil ized apparel and settled himself with a book pandemonium broke loose. With a frantic bound the terrier cleared the screen and at the same in- stant the cat broke through and sprans