The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-09-19
BURKLRY,s INDEPENDENCE.

pendent, at least. He would continue
to let them cut his hair occasional
~, but that was all. So he purchased
9 shaving outfit and made war on his
face. And, though an unbiased judge
might have criticised the results, they
seemed to satisfy Burkley.
But his razor soon became dull.
| Better take it to barber" coun-
seled Hawkins. Zone really ought
to have two razors and work 'em in
shifts, having one sharpened while he
uses the other.'
| "What'll the barber do to it!"
| "Strop it."
Cant II"
He was going out that evening, so he
left the office about half an hour early.
T AS soon as he reached home he
peeled off his coat and vest. Then
be ihitched the strop to doorknob
and went to work with will. He
felt so confident and self-reliant that
he began to whistle. He might be
a bit awkward at it, but he'd put an
edge on the thing all right. Just
then the razor turned and cut long
cash in the strop.
That about ruined the strop, but
Burk1ey believed the razor was sharp
enough, anyway. Accordingly he
decorated his face with fine coat of
lather and then sliced confidently at
the stubble near his right ear. In
stantly panied and astonished ex.
preston shone from the eyes of Burk-
ley-the rest of his face, of course,
being masked in white.
'Je-e-e- hosaphat !" he exclaimed.
He again began stropping furiously
and again slashed the strop.
Father" suggested Mrs. B. mild
1y, father used to strop his razor
differently"
Burkley had genuine affection for
his wife, but he felt that no woman
should presume so far as to tell wo-
man should presume so far as to tell
man how to do something which
was essentially mannish. He treated
her suggestion with the silent hauteur
it deserved. He kept on stropping,
slowly and carefully. He believed he
had mastered the art now. Presently
he moistened the dry lather on his
countenance by adding fresh coat,
and once more started to scrape the
bristles away from his ear. But he
only started.
"Well, I'll be darned !' he ejacu
lated. "Seems to be getting duller
all the time"
Father" began Mrs. Burkley,
fused"
"Confound father p snapped Burk-
ley. "Styles have changed since
fathers time"
+, Mrs. Burkley subsided. Burkley
resumed his muscle-making exercise.
The strop was now getting a surface
Z ssfts-.s----a--rr.-<zLi ,-hs.s nss-izlas,s
was still determined After ten min
utes Of pore opening work he heaved
a deep sigh of relief.
"I'll bet til do now," he said.
But he tried the edge on his thumb
this time. And from the ease with
which it almost severed that digit it
seemed to be much improved.
Mrs. Burkley cried out at sight of the
blood. Burkley declared it was moth
ing, but Mrs. B. anointed and bound
up the wound none the less, and Burk-
ley began feeling he acted like brute.
That is he did until Mrs. B. ventured
IT remember hearing father say"
"Well," snapped Burkley, "what
in thunder did father say -
"He used to say that unless one
turned the razor over sort of back
wards after each stroke on the strop
the edge would be turned"
"What an idiot 1 am p groaned
Burkley. II knew that all the time,
but didn't think of it."
Burkley's hope revived. He might
be humbled bit in the eyes of his
wife, but he could still hold up his
head when he met Hawkins. He
clenched his teeth and stropped vi
ciously but triumphantly for some
minutes. Then he tried the edge
pingerly-on his fingers and-ecsta-
sy it seemed to be sharp.
But when he applied it to his face
it still pulled painfully. He turned
to Mrs. B.
"Myrtle," he said, "have you any
recollection how your father used to
tell when a razor was sharp?"
"Oh, yes. He used to pull hair
from his head and cut at It,"
"That's right I've seen BARRIERS
do that"
Burkley tried to pull single hair
from his scanty crop. He found it
rather difficult to separate one from
| its neighbors. But finally he got hold
I Of what seemed to be just one and
ierked. 1t hurt, but Burkley was
game and jerked harder. When it
came out he saw that it was six. The
razor wouldn't cut them. Burkley
lstropped some more, then stopped to
try again. The hairs had mysterious
ly disappeared, so he had to pull an
other one. This time he got four.
But still the razor only made them
bend double.
Burkley faced a dilemma. One
thumb was cut, now the other was
blistered. He gave up.
When Burkley reached the office
next morning the first man he ran into
was Hawkins, who eyed him critically.
$50 you got shaved by barber p
remarked Hawkins.
Burkley didn't ask Hawkins how
he knew. He merelymeekly nodded.
''I'll bet 1 do sharpen the thing
though" he added, as soon as my
thumbs get we'll"
But Mrs. B. is going to try to have
the razor sharpened surreptitiously.
She fears otherwise Burkley may
pluck himself baldheaded.