Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-04-12

girls. WaeA ne OOeS SCG AdAA4Co AS
can save money, pay his debts and be-
come a model for the community"
Mary johnson did not like II when
Al showed a tendency to keep on rum
ming along the road which had big
finger post marked "Ruin' standing
all along the way. There wasn't grain
of selfshness in Mary Johnson's ma
ture. She liked the young fellow and
she hated to see him go the way that
leads to the great big precipice.
All the set, Al and a lot of other
young fellows included, went to st.
Dives church. Most of the members
of ST. Dives were so rich that they
could have each Clipped in enough
without missing it to make unneces-
sary the holding of church fair for
the benefit of the poor of the outlying
districts of the parish. They gave
church fair, however, and the young
women prepared to play. as sadly
enough they always do at church fairs,
the part of harpies.
The girls held a meeting before the
fair and planned a campaign. Each
one had little book in which the VIC
Tins were to put down their names,
pay quarter for the privilege and
thus secure one chance in 1000 of win
ming tidy or an impossible whisk
broom holder. One of the girls said
that it should be a matter of con-
science with them all to make as much
as they could, and then she added:
Every girl in this bunch must make
Al Harlow pay so cents a chance, be-
cause he'll do it, and never wink. It's
in a good cause, you know, and he's
easy, and we must get all we can. The
other boys will stand for quarters,
but they are not in the easy class with
AL"
In that meeting they laid plans that
If carried out would come pretty near
completing the financial undoing of
Albert Harlow, book publishers man.
Mary Johnson was there and she de-
nounced the scheme as "a shame"
The-other girls looked at each other,
as much as to say: 80, but isn't she
artful?"
The fair was on. AL Harlow had
bought tickets for all sorts of things,
and he paid three prices therefor. He
had paid one dollar postage each on
letters in the post office and had paid
so cents each for a dozen attempts to
hook a penny whistle from out the
''fish pond" Now it happened that
Al had been obliged to work late at
the book shop and he had gone to the
fair without having taken as much as
a bite of food. He was young, active
and healthy, and he was as hungry az
a bear. After he had parted with q
large part of his financial substance
he said within the hearing of half
dozen of the girls, and somewhat
thoughtlessly: "I'd give five dollars
for something to eat"
''You shall have it," they said, in
chorus: "sit down.
They pushed him into a chair by a
table which was close to the door of
the fair kitchen. Al had seen his young
men friends eating for an hour past.
He knew that they had paid dollar
a head for their dinners and that they
were having each a substantial meal.
He hoped that his five dollars would
br ing him something solid, yet appe-
fixing. The six girls to whom he had
impaired knowledge of his hunger dis
appeared into the kitchen. There they
talked louder than they knew and Al
heard every word.
Wen just give him the regulation
church fair oyster stew" said one
voice. It'll be a good joke, and he's
too eask to say anything, and therell
be just $495 clear profit"
"Splendid," sang a chorus. Then Al
heard another voice. He recognized it
as that of Mary Johnson. 1t was
voice softer and with better modula-
tion than any he had heard. Perhaps
it was what she said that made him
think this, but he thought it never
theless. That's not only a shame,
girls said Mary, "but it's mean. Be-
cause Al tries to be good natured and
does things for US all is no reason why
he should be imposed upon and made
to go hungry"
MARY" said another voice, "you are
always spelling our fun
Then there was silence. In few
minutes six young women escorted in
watery oyster stew and put it down
with not even so much as cracker on
the side. 1t was indeed a regulation
church fair stew. 1t had one oyster,
a miserable, attenuated, pale little
thing like all oysters that are sac
rificed for-charity. Mary Johnson was
hOG IAC OL4OOhS1S DIS Al oLOs
When he rose from the table he said:
GOD night" and left. Not all the
opportunities to buy carnation for
only four dollars succeeded in holding
him longer.
Two weeks later the young women
met in the parish house to make the
final accounting of the financial end
of the fair. They had made lot of
money. AS Mary Johnson held out
her paper of accounts to the treas
urer the girls saw something on her
hand and with one accord they
screamed: MARY, where did you get
ftp"
On the engagement finger of Mary's
hand was a heavy gold circle holding in
a golden clasp a magnificent pearl.
Mary blushed a moment and then with
a glad look that betrayed something
of triumph, replied: Its my engage
ment ring. Al Harlow gave it to me
yesterday. The pearl is beauty, is it
not? Partridge & Co., to whom Al
showed it, appraised its value at 81, 900.
Al found the pearl in that plate of oy-
ster stew, for which you charged him