Sharp County record., 1903-03-06
A Cluster Of
ViOlets "
By ELLA S. WITHERILL.


r AITRENCE MAYHEM was the
ouietest of all the travelling men
connected with the firm OF Knight
Powers & Co. the most pr0saic, un-
sentimental, matter-of-fact fellow
one would find in a months search.
So when Horace Worth, anotheE
drummer for the same house-Onc
raw, chilly day in March, CHANGED to
stepinto Frantz Karter's, the tiorlsts'
inst in time to hear Mr.. Mayhem say;
.Now, Mr. Karter, do not fail to get
the violets off by to-day's express.
Sane address as usual, you have 1t,
suppose, And here, put this card in
the box; my train leaves in Is MN
utes, or | would stay until you got
them packed" end when Worth acci-
dentaly saw that the card bore the
inscriptions: "To my darling, with
hearts best love-Laurence,' to put
it mildly, he was astonished.
Hello, old fellow" said he, send
ing violets to your best girl, eh9"
"Yes, | thought they would surely
be appreciated such a dismal day as
this"
well. you are the last man would
ever suspect of being guilty of falling
in love; a confirmed old bachelor like
you, with plenty of gray hairs. But
they say when man of 40 or over
does get hit with Cupid's arrow he is
hit hard"
AT any rate" laughed Mayhem, "in
this instance confess it is true, am
shit hard as you say, and my best
girl is the dearest girl on earth,' and
he hastened away to the depot, where
his sample case had preceded him.
Worth had only entered the employ
of knight, Powers e. Co. six months
before but during the time he had
met Mayhem several times and had
liked him from the first, mentally
clubbing him good fellow, with a
keen sense of humor, ready to take
or give joke in his quiet way, but
seldom entering into the storytelling
of his brother knights of the grip,
when-as was occasionally the case
some of them met at the end of their
several trips; and he had never been
heard to boast of the pretty girls he
had met, or firted with, as some of
the others were wont to do. So the
above incident impressed itself upon
the memory of Horace Worth, who,
although voluble, easy-going man,
was kind hearted almost to fault.
and possessed of a strict sense of
honor.
Two months later Mr.. Worth hap
pened to be spending Sunday at a
small town some so miles out from
the city. Saturday evening the la
dies of one of the churches were
serving ice cream and Strawberries in
a hall near the hotel where Worth
was stopping, and to while away an
idle hour as much as to help in
good cause, he strolled in about nine
o'clock, and took a seat at one of the
tables.
bright little woman came forward
TO serve him, and he instinctively
potedher plain, but attractive face, lit
up by large gray eyes, and crowned
with wealth of hair, once dark
brown, but now thickly threaded
with silver. The rush of the earlier
part of the evening being over, he
was the only one at that table, while
disposing of the daintily served re-
freshments the little woman brought
in response to his request; so, seeing
that he was stranger in town, and
seemed to know no one, she remained
by the table pleasantly chatting in a
manner that showed her to be lady
in every sense of the word.
Soon some one called, "Oh, Mrs.
Mayhem, please come here a minute"
and saying Excuse me-" she has
tened away.
Five minutes later she returned,
Mr.. Worth not yet having paid for
his refreshments. AS he handed her
the amount he said: "pardon me, but
l heard your name called, and it is a
familiar one to me, as another tray
cling man with the firm / represent
bears it, Mr.. Laurence Mayhem. Is he
Q relative of yours?"
Quickly smiling, she said: "0h, do
you know Laurence? Why, he is my
husband. ! am glad, sir to meet a
friend of his; may | ask your name?'
Horace Worth, at your service,
replied he, bowling, "but you surprise
me. ! did not know that Mr.. Mayhem
had married; may ] inquire how long
since the happy event took place?"
Did not know that Laurence wa.
/. married2 That is strange" laughe,
she, yet perhaps not strange, either