The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1902-10-17
MIRANDA'S
PINGPONG
ry C. 3. BURcIN

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6Y1T is all over; finished; done
ELI with; exhausted! SO am |!
----s,,T7r So is Miranda! But little
-. - Noel Hartley Is as fresh as a
rose and wonders why the Rev. Arthur
Greatorex thinks so much OF her. The
Rev. Arthur also wonders - many
things.
In crises like these Miranda and |
have sometimes limited desperately to
one another OF an eternal Separation.
with a capital S. We have drawn
pathetic pictures OF how we would di.
vide everything between us, and she
should 90 and live with her mother,
while strobe into life's highway.
manfully putting the past behind me
In order to become great. and. instead
Of going TO theaters, spend my even
ings sitting by the fire, waiting her
footstep on the stair Miranda would
always get quite worked up by this pa
thetic picture until she remembered
that II was useless taking half the
things, because her mother had no In.
tention of turning the house into a
storage company for the furniture OF
others. So the trouble generally blew
over, But this time II went as far as
my making out a list OF the things in
my "den" before we were reconciled.
Miranda saw then that she was on the
brink Of an awful precipice, and Il
made her SILVER. SO It did me, be-
cause there's a beautiful bronze Brit
ish lion (from Japan in my den"
which she has set her heart upon hav-
ing, and / know we should have SQUAD
bled over that. When she says. "Dicky.
you're such a dearr pats my brow and
with the other hand takes the very
thing | don't want her to have, the
pathos of the situation degenerates in
to farce, and-and-oh. you know what
young wives are likel The next time
| marry l shall choose a solid. estima-
BILE lady Of mature age, with false
front and without what little Noel
calls "parlor tricks"
As soon as Miranda told the Rev.
Arthur Greatorex about her projected
pingpong tournament he smiled In a
pleased way and said that he himself
would be the first to take a two shil-
ling ticket. He also threw out dark
hints that Miss Jarvis would like 10 be
asked. They're not really engaged, be-
cause the Rev. Arthur hasn't enough
money TO marry, but he calls Miss Jar
Wis dear sister" and looks at her. II he
thinks he is unobsorved. In the same
way that Sir Lancelot did at Guineyere
when King Arthur was out. OF course
Miranda knew all about this "ge-hilty
passion" as she calls II, and that was
why she told Miss Jarvis that the Rev.
Arthhr was soing 10 play and then In
formed him that Miss Jarvis would
also be there. So she had them Tin the
net" as It were. and the members of
the blanket club almost cried when
told they were too old to play. To
please them, Miranda made a special
rule that II they liked to take tickets
they could get some one else 10 play
for them. and, as the old men were
fond OF excitement, they pawned their
remaining blankets and bought twelve
tickets for the tournament. ~ do my
old cart good TO get little permiskus
sport like this ere" said CATER Hind
ley to Miranda, "and I've got four
quarts on with Joe Burridge as little
missle"-pointing to Noel-"'ill play
for me and knock his ugly cad on. l
do ear as low Mistress Jarvis sewing
club be a-goin' to try to knock US out.
and there's twelve on us wants little
missile TO do her best for us. 1t do
warm our old carts, 1t do. TO have a
bit Of real sport like this newfangled
game. Most as good as a days rattin'
It be, surelle."
When Miranda asked her little niece
Noel to stay with us, she said that
Noers blue eyes, golden hair, mournful
| face, with its Il do want TO be loved
before heaven claims me for its own
kind Of expression, made her uneasy.
| Il did me also. knew the child, and
| I was also aware that heaven could
get along very well without her-for
time, at all events. She was a little
demon at lawn tennis and could pick
up any new game in ten minutes. Be
| sides, as she told me. she had been
| working hard at pingpong in order to
lick Brother Tom" had a little
practice with her before the tourna'
ment came of. and She But 1 antici
pate.
Miss Jarvis. although she loved Mi
randa dearly, did not like the success
Of the blanket club. After all, we were
only newcomers and we ought, like
Agag. to have walked dclicately" fol
few years before bursting into such
meteoric fame. IL occurred 10 Mis-
Jarvis when she saw the special ruiz
that it would he sporting kind Ol
thing for her sewing club members {,
enter en- masse. Though most Of then
were the wives Of the blanket clul
men. she never seemed 10 realize tina
house divided against itself cannd