The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1907-10-18

some new feature WIS added ns an of
set until 1t seeaAe4 lilt uJ.-t.s i.oTt
OF the engage. uent Of Il ci.vus could
definitely SEE the +. lD.S.
Ii was t., ti.ls = ...e or lid that
Mrs. Paulding a. preached her son.
you know thai auto.-o-iie you
wanted" she began ut the BREAKFAST
table. I'll get 1t for sol II yol can de-
wise some feature ! 4 MIS-. u. an can
not possibly get fot her -. That
woman has COPIED every lea l have
originated so far"
DO you give me suite biuAcle?" he
demanded.
Spend as much as you Ike" she
murmured.
"And you won't ask what it is until
I spring it?" he stipulated.
II promise" she said. II may rely
upon YOU, Fred?"
"For the sensation of the season. he
assured. take heart Of gra e. mother
mine. l am planning to shake Glen
dale to its very foundations" e
Much relieved. Mrs. pauldi"g hurried
to conide to her dearest friends that
she would have a sensation that could
not be equaled. This In due course was
communicated to Mrs. Bran, who
worried much; but, since Mrs. Pauld-
ing did not herself know the nature Of
the surprise, she could not betHay
Fred's plans.
The day of the double header" as
Paulding irreve"ently referred to It.
dawned bright and beautiful, and BY 2
o'clock the festivities were under way.
There were circus performances on
both lawns. and honors seemed fairly
even. Mrs. Paulding went about with
a smile of confidence upon her face
and with skillful references to her suE-
prise kept curiosity up to pitch. The
afternoon passed without the appear
ance of the surprise, and the dusk had
gathered before Fred disappeared. and
word was passed that be had gone to
engineer the great event. An hour lat
CIR the Pa"lding butler sought his mis-
tress. and she vanished into the house.
She found Fred In the library. and
with him was Nancy Bryan.
II want to introduce you to the sen
s%ation," said Fred. with q laugh. as hs
led the girl forward. Nancy and I
were married half an hour ago."
"And this is your surprised" she
gasped.
"Could you have a greater oneT' he
asked. EVERY one knows Of the r.
valry between you and Mrs. Bryan. II
you turn your party into a wedding re-
ception you'll beat Mrs, Bryan to q
standstill. You've been Dragging about
your surprise. You pretend you knew
1t was coming all along. and the laugh
is on Mrs. Bryan"
For a moment Mrs. Paulding hest
tated. In some ways 1t was u bitter
pill to swallow; but. as Fred had
shown her, it was necessary to make
the best Of the situation. She stepped
forward and took the bright faced giri
In her arms. -.
my DEAR" she said sincerely, II am
very glad to welcome my sons wife to
her new home. Let us go out on the
lawn. l will introduce you to my
friends" rt
She turned toward the door. but
paused us down the street there came
the sound of a marching band.
f'Nhat is that" she asked-"mOfe Of
the surprise 7".,4 80
,Paulding nodded his head. Its the
people from the Bryans coming to con-
graduate the BRIDE" he exclaimed.
"Mr. Bryan was with u.s., but went
home to tell his wife and invite the
crowd over here. You have swallowed
up Mrs. Bryan's party with your coun-
ter attractions. / guess I've kept my
promise, haven't II"
Mrs. Paulding patted the curly head.
"You have kept your PROMISE" abe {
agreed. "You have shaken us an to
our very foundations" Then. putting
on her best smile, she led the way to
the piazza to meet Mrs. Bryan at the
head OF her guests.