Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-05-13
WON HIM HIS WIFE.

baggage at the station upon the eve OF
their departure from the city when
the battered, dilapidated, age-worn APP
pearance of the trunk of one of the
Illinois editors came in for the guy
ing Of most OF the outfit
1T was a small, old-fashioned trunk
OF the steamer variety, and 1t had seen
SO much service that it required -four
heavy trunk straps to hold it together
The guying members of the party were
ironically talking of making up sub
scription for the purpose of stalking
the owner of the old trunk to new
one, when the Illinois editor, who took
the chatting all in good part, came
back at them.
That's all right about the old box :"
he said to them. Its getting pretty
old and moth-chewed, but I'm not go
ing to give it the shake till it falls
apart, and then I'm going to put its
old bones away carefully and keep
them decently busted That old box
won me my wife,"
OF course, they demanded the story
of him then, and the owner of the bat
tered trunk gave it to them.
when | first took hold of the little
weekly in my town." said the Illinois
editor, my personal effects didn't
mucn more than half fill that dinky
little trunk, and when | went away
for any little trip | had to resort to
all sorts of film expedients to pack
the trunk to the top SO that the few
things | owned wouldn't joggle around
in the vacant space and get broken or
knocked out of shape.
But, for all of the slenderness OF
my means and my wardrobe, the pref
test girl in the town, and the daugh-
ter of the most well-to-do citizen in
the place, wasn't any too good for me
to pay attention to- | used to call
upon her two or three times a week,
but | was only one of about half
dozen chaps in the town who were also
calling upon her right regularly. and
all of them were a heap better off in
this worlds goods, or, at any rate, in
prospects, than | was at that time.
Il didn't know where | stood with
the girl on this account, but | wasn't
going to be frozen out till | got the
direct word from the girl herself that
that was the program in contempla-
ton. She was pretty cordial to me,
and when | happened to find other
fellows calling upon her when | Wis
tied her home she generally let it APP
pear, through the crafty little ways
that women pick up as soon as they
quit wearing their hair in braids that
she'd just as lief Id outstay the other
fellow as not
Anyhow, the frequency of my Wis
its and the cordial welcome | got from
the girl aroused the jealousy of some
of the other suitors, and one evening
after I'd been a caller at the house
for about a year, they put up job
on me-
Il was seated on a lawn bench in
front of the girls house with her-it
was during the summer-when the
wagon of the township grocer drove up
and the driver jumped from the seat,
went TO the rear of the wagon, loaded
my trunk-the little battered box that
you've been guying-onto his shoulder
and walked into the yard with it, just
as my young lady's father came down
the front steps on his way to lodge
meeting My rivals had kidnapped the
trunk from my room and sent it to
the home of the young lady, with the
idea, of putting me in a foolish light
before her and her father.
What's this,?' inquired the old
gentleman, as the driver of the wagon,
at my command dropped the trunk
on the lawn.
Il asked the driver how he hap
pened to fetch the trunk to that place,
and he confirmed my suspicious by
telling me that he had been so in
structed to deliver it by my rivals.
"1t's not my fault. you see, sir,
said to him, for | felt pretty silly
even when | knew the girl and her
father were aware of the real situa-
ton. L hope you fully understand
that | wouldn't take hand in any
thing so idiotically presumptious as
this
nat dll IlSHl, 5OHs bhdl oil
right said the old gentleman, cycling
me shrewdly, and then casting his
keen gaze in his daughters direction
You and Mary had anything to say
to each other YETI
AT that of course, | felt as incom-
petent as hairless Mexican dog in
blizzard, and Mary didn't appear to
be desirous to exhibit any converse
! tional powers. either.
/ Because, son. the old gentleman
went on, cycling me in kindly sort
of way, whenever you and Mary get
ready to say something to each other
and ! wouldn't be surprised but what
that's the way the wind blows, eh,
young ones ?'-and he winked in a
fatherly sort of way at newly, you
might just as well have your trunk at
! this address as anywhere else-least-
ways, until | build a house for you
Ell, son? And he tapped me in pa
ternal sort of way on the leg with his
| 10 ~