The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-18
By ". B. MAXWELL, Author of ssrhe Guarded Fraine.s = The Ragwed Messenger"
 "vfvanss Etc.

l1 a- .a r '. out of sorts lately. You don't know of any better doctor than Dr. Blake, do you?" t'-rD
 pr. Biake's reputation is very high said Mir. Bowling. file attends my wife; and everyone on the ITiil believes in him.v ~
 An! think I shallihave to call him m for Lizzie. But the worst of pr. Blake is this: If you ask him to come once. he comes another dozen times without asking" .s
 CHAPTER VIII.
 The widespread excitement had abated. The town as whole had drowshy folded It's hands. was ready to fall asleep again. MT. Hope. with all the weight and power of The Ad- vertiser at his command, could not stir the somno1ent Corporation. There had been objectionable. inimical On-dits in Mees's Bulletin: "On-dit. that certain parties are raising a storm In a tea cup" "On-dit that Medford numbers eighteen thousand inhabitants and that the population of Hill Rise is only 153 persons all told" and so on.
 Mr. Hope used always to say that The Advertiser was the sole newspaper published in Medford, Hut Mees the stationer and librarian, who was also printer. issued horrid little sheet which he called "Mee's Weekly Bulle- tin" It contained list of Books added to the Library" three pages /of local advertisement, some brief cut tings from London periodicals, and a half to two-thirds of a column of orig. inal matter entitled On dits. Old Mees, whenever in talk with customer he had heard rumor of marriage. car riage accident. an outbreak of measles. etc, would say to his spectacied son. We might made an On dit Of that" and young Mees. blinking behind his spectacles. accepted such material or rejected it in accordance with his, own highly-trained editorial judgment MT. Hope never would admit that this four page Bulletin was rival. Tt is," he said. "a trade circular, not a newspa- per. The On dits are neither journal ism nor literature. They are beneath contempt"
 Yet sometimes. as now, young Mees's On dits were daring, very daring. Ger tainly. as MT. Hope confessed, Mees would not have rentured to take such tone about the great sale. if the public had not manifested so much apathy.
 There was apathy in Hill Rise itself. The younger generation refused to believe that the end of the world was , coming. The young men lounged about as contentedly as ever. The girls still played tennis and croquet. and carried all their rAoney to Sellkirk's--or, rather, nearly all their money, but not quite all. Some of 1t found its way to Modes ct Robes. Miss Walsh had recently sold twenty-one leaf-green tulie ruff fIes--a Specialite--the overpius of new line sent down from as certain smart London house. Wearing these special ruffies, the Hill young ladies felt gay of heart, easy in their minds, and scarcely listened when parents dis cussed the coming stroke of doom.
 The fuller sale bills were now up all over the town. Mir. Crunden. having met the bilI-sticker, asked for one or the white sheets, carried it home, and with a drawing pin fixed 1t to the wall of his big room between the two en- cravings in the place where such docu- inents always hung years ago.
 Coming back early one afternoon ne found Mrs. Price as if spellbound be- fore the new bill.
 Haven't you read that yetY,' said Mir. Crunden, with a grunt. "Or are won learning by rotor And he 9runted again as he took off his square hat and brought out bandana handkerchief to pnop his forehead
 It was an oppressive, airiess osy' very hot Tn Ll6 8uAlt diAO AHAAs had obviously returned in rather had temper. Mrs. Price smiled, and spoke soothingly.
 You've had your walk, thenY
 "Yes."
 Any news?"
 'No.S
 "wellp said Mrs. Price in friendly conciliatory tones, there's one thing with you--you're regular as clock work. One can always tell your move merts. Down by the Yard. over the bridge, and up the town-as usnaiE What did you see todayF
 "A lot of fools, as usual" And with a loud grunt. the master went to ms bnreau and sat down. "Fools!" All the town chattering about the saIe."i
 well, it Is a bomeshell for the gem try" and Mrs. Price turned once more to the bill. q cant get over 1t. must read 1t every time I come in." And she laughed good-humoredly. At the Mart, London! On July the twenty-second. at 3 D. m., precisely! By order of the Executors. Forty