Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-11-26
q year to take "a flyer" with q man
his wife couId trust

All right, ION. III trust o Wlln
Horace. l know he'll take are Of you.
Besides, / want you to mail some let
tiers for me-the invitations. You
know, Tom"
She slipped the eight envelopes into
his hand and gayly slapped him on the
back. The men smoked a few cigarettes
in the parlor, chatting with Kate, be-
fore they started.
by Jove!" snorted the Canadian
looking at his fur coat in the hall, FIll
wear no coat. It's a blooming tropical
place, Chicago"
"Oh, no, it isn't, Horace" chimed
the solicitous hostess; you must take
a coat. One of Tom's-the raglan,
Tom. It's too big for you, and you
car wear the top coat"
So they bundled Cousin Horace into
the raglan and away went he and
Tom.
Mrs. Kingsland was sure of hel
guests and incidentally sure of a new
sealskin coat (for she meant to hold
Tom to his wager), but just the same
she began to get a bit ervous at five
o'clock Thanksgiving afternoon when
she noticed that not one of the seven
young folks had arrived. She remem-
bered explicitly having asked Martha
Dlnwiddie to come early. Dinner was
to be at six, and as she had received
no notes declining her invitations she
was yet confident, but
Tom and Horace, oblivious of her
growing misgivings, were listening to
her very latest and most glowing tri-
butte to the beauty, wit and grace OF
Martha DinWiddie, and the handsome
Canadian, well satisfied of Mrs. Kings
lands Judgment and appreciation, was
beginning to feel a yearning desire to
meet the much-vaunted Martha. Six
o'clock came and struck without either
of the men noticing the chanse that
was coming over Kate. At 6:15 she
was in a nervous tremor; she made re-
peated trips to the kitchen, and at in
tervals stood by the window watching
the street. Finally Tom pulled out his
watch, whistled softly, looked up and
blurted:
by lingo, Kate, your guests are
either late or they're not coming"
She stood before him ready to fly
into a rage or weep. The tempest OF
her disappointment, however, re-
sosved itself into tears, and in a mo-
ment she was sobbing on Toms Shout
der.
Il didn't think they'd do it, the
heartless things!" she sobbed. "And
Martha, too, the mink! She at least
knew that l had my heart set on this
COMPOUNDED dinner"
1t was all out now. Too late to
guard her modification from Cousin
Horace, too late to evade the silent
sarcasm of the waiting servants, too
late even to avoid the distressing scene
before her guest. But he as well as
Tom came bravely to the rescue.
Their loss, not ours" laughed Hor-
ace. Lets eat up the whole dinner
ourselves. Pm %ravenous, and, excuse
me, Mrs. Kingsland, | don't know but,
on the whole, I'm gladder to have our
dinner privately together. You know
l never was a beau. Ha, ha, hi-yi!"
So they filed out rather mournfully
to the dining room. Tom managed to
whisper a message to his wife as they
stood to let Horace pass, and when she
tool hnr Dloaa of tha tahJn eho ,,o1 ~
little brighter for the knowledge that
she was to have the seal coat anyhow.
The wine and meat, the wholesome
humor and hearty laughter of Horace
gave zest to their merriment, and be-
fore the coffee anne on they decided to
have an impromptu theater party and
make a night of it," as Tom said. He
was half sorry a moment after he had
awkwardly suggested that "impromp-
tn things are always happier" but
Kate, who noticed it, forgave him with
a look.
But the theater party didn't turn out
exactly well, either, for as the men
were getting into their coats in the
nall Horace SAID:
cav, by the way, Tom! There's a lot
of letters here in this box coat of yours
that Pm wearing. | intended to turn
them over, don't you know, but pom
my ~word-aw-I didn't think of !. till
now"
And he pulled out poor Kate's bunch
of invitations.
Tom looked at her and she looked at
Tom. The letters had been in that
raglan ever since the night she gave
them to her husband. They never told
Cousin Horace what a mess of it he
had helped to make. Kate torgave her
husband, but-well, Martha D%inwiddie
hasn't met the Canadian yet.-Chicago
Record Herald.