The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1907-02-09
MARRYING
MY PA OFF
By NE GER VERNON.

Copyright, by Daily Story Pub. Coz

his own father" l thought / was
wise" until cupid's darts began to
worry pa; then he didn't seem like
the same man.
But it wasn't pas fault he got
married. PAS awful handsome,
Any man that's handsome and a
widower and has plenty of money
has a pretty hard time to keep from
getting married. All the I'M
manned women in town are after
him. At least, they were all after
pa.
And, then, he tried to blame it on
me-he said l needed a home and
someone to look after me, and all
that sort Of rot. Of course that
meant he'd have to get married. l
caught on in a minute. | knew who
he had his eye on. She's been aw-
fully good to me lately.
| suppose pa thought l was easy.
But | just fooled him. I told him
l guessed we could get along all
right the way we we're.
'But, my boy" said he. eff you
had a home you could have a dog
1 told him l didn't care much for
dogs any more.
well, then, you could have q
pony"
~Nope," says I, 81 don't like
ponies, either. But say, pop, how
about an automobile?"
~rll tell you, my boy, if you'll be
real sensible, and try to do things to
please me, III get you an autOmo-
bile"
] knew what that meant-but,
then, ia do anything for an auto
mobile.
AN right, pop" says l. 81
think it would be bully to keep
house. And then you'd have some
lone to look after you when you get
Isick.'
"That's Theway / like to hear you
talk, my boy" said he.
"Give me "a nickel, pap"
l knew | had him over a barrel,
land he knew it too, so he ponied
up without even asking me what l
wanted il for.
Pa and Ilived in a hotel-and his
"girl" lived in a Hat across the
street. He and I always took a
walk after dinner, But when he
got ready that evening | told him
| was tmed and that he'd better get
Miss Jane-that was his "girl"-
and take her out for a walk. He
patted me on the shoulder and said
he wars sorry l didn't feel like go
ling, and that's the last / saw of
lhim that evening.
But after that he began going
ITO Miss james every evening. | got
ftired oil staying alone so l began
Esoing with him. 4 guess this wasn't
livery satisfactory to him-but |
liked it Fetty well. One evening he
gave me a quarter-(bet he thought
tit was a nickel)-and told me I'd
better go@yer to the hotel.
Pa always said | had a good head
for business, so after that l made
him this proposition; I'd go back
to 'Ehe hotel.
AT nine O'Clock for rs cents;
ut ten o'clock for Is cents;
ut IL O'clock for ten cents.
i made 20 cents pretty nearly
every might that way.
Then one night they went out
walking and left me at Miss James.
4 guess they had a falling out, be-
cause fhey hadn't been gone long
before they came back. Pa opened
the door and Let Miss gane in and
then went away. This sort of sur
prised Miss Jane-she thought he
was coming in. She began to bawl.
| told her it would be all right some
day, She said she just knew nd
never come back. l supposed all
girls liked something romantic SO
I told Miss Jane that maybe pad
go jump in the bay like another dis
appointed lover had done that sam
mer. But that didn't seem to cheer
her up very much, because she
bawled some more.
Then came the most disgusting
part of all. Pa came backi never
thought pad be such a weak-kneed