Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1902-12-06

on 1t, and a golden, green bottle neck
peeping out of the ice, but anyway
they marched across to The City Hall
and, she blushing and tittering, and he
quite ridiculously solemn-1ooking, they
asked for. and paid for, ana got Ii.
cense, and went back to the hotel bub
ling with enjoyment of Harry's latest
Joke Stephen was awaiting for
them, very impatient and important
and Dorothy thrust the folded license
into her bosom and with a quick warn
ing to Harry went away with her
fance to the theatre
Then Harry went back to the mar
riage license desk and called the clerk
aside so that he could explain the
joke, and that, of course, he didn't
want the license at all and that it
mustn't get into the papers.
II just thought I'd come and tell you
to make sure the reporters don't find
it out. We're going to tear up the IL
| cense, and"
But it's too late, Mr. Hatch,'' said
the clerk. 'the afternoon papers have
got the names already. These lists
are public property, and, anyhow, the
license is issued, is out and is bona
f1de until you bring it back"
"Then I must bring it back to be
cancelled" exclaimed Harry, and not
waiting for more than a nod he darted
off toward the theatre where he knew
Dorothy and Stephen were attending
the matinee. He didnt find them,
missed them in the crowd later, and
when he went rushing TO her house at
dinner time found her mother in tears
and the house a bedlam. The report
ers had been there! The story of the
| license was "out." Harry rushed back
pell.mell to the newspaper offices to
have it stopped" but when he got out
of the carriage and bought the late
editions of the evening papers, the
story was there, looming black, sensa-
tional and prominent Cali about the
sensation in high society" Harry
read it over and-grinned! "That
won't do a thing but put a crimp in
SteVe!" he muttered.
He pleaded with the city editors and
insisted that the whole business was
joke. They promised to do their
| best for him and interviewed him and
| sent reporters to interview Stephen.
1t was an awful mess! Harry out of
| breath and anxious to pacify the Cars,
fastened back to Dorothy's home to
! Stephen had been there in a towering
rage. He had scolded Dorothy, read a
lecture to old Mrs. Carr, cursed Harry,
and left in a sullent huff" Dorothy's
mother glowered at poor Harry and
| then burst into tears.
'That for your jokes, you mischief
maker!" she screamed at him when he
tried to explain, and then, for the first
time in his life Harry Hatch was
abashed, disconnected, ashamed.
But Dorothy, too, was in passion.
Not at Harry, but at Stephen. She
even forget her proverbial filia1 re-
spect, and when her mother resumed
her TRADE at the scape-grace, said with
shril1 vehemence:
stop! How dare you scold him?
What is it after all but a tempest in a
teapot? A few paragraphs of silly
sensationalism in the newspapers. It
might have been a source of fun for
anybody but an ow1-faced blockhead
like Stephen Hatch. I wouldn't marry
him now if he had all the money in
the world. I'm of age and the whole
thing was my doing, and I'm glad Of
it. So, there!"
And she and Harry walked away in
to the garden silently, but very con-
| fidently. Mrs. Carr didn't speak to
Dorothy till the very day of her mar
riage to Harry, but old man Carr,
Dad" as Dorothy called him, who
liked the scape-grace and finally con-
WINGED mamma that he'd rather have
Dot married to good Indian like Har-
ry than to a coupon-clipping, joss-like
Stephen, fixed up matters so adroitly
that the wedding turned out to be the
SWEETEST, happiest, most promising af-
fair that even the practical joker him
self had ever assisted at"
You're all right, Harry, said papa,
when the bride and groom were going
away, you're all right, bur-well, that
was a great joke-on Steve!"-Chica-
go Record-Herald.