The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-06-19

mere reading the tags inside the store.
and Harold will take in those in the
window. See if he doesn't. It's no
USE"
Still, l wish We could try just once
more" urged John. I'VE can fool
them. believe, if we plan it right
His employer agreed. John did
some hard thinking, and the next
day handed Mr.. Brandt a slip of
paper.
He'll guess that, I'm afraid. It's
too easy"
That's just where he will miss it."
argued John. HE expects something
hard and artificial Besides" And
he explained something further which
made Mr.. Brandt laugh.
We'll try it," he said.
When they opened on Monday
morning, there began a comedy of
curiosity. For the McGeary family
could not relinquish the Joys of read
ing price tags and specializing on the
ms and outs of the furniture bust
ness. Maintaining the appearance of
the friendliest feelings for Mr..
Brandt, they shopped without ceas-
ing.
Evadne, evidently having arisen
with the lark, came in early, bent on
the purchase of five cents worth of
carpet tacks. With sweet Indifference
she examined the cards on a sewing
machine and carpet sweeper, and
duly reported at home, w and u.nu.
At half past nine Endora bought two
yards of picture wire, and Incl
dentally memorized rpm on the green
upholstered Morris-chair, cue on the
golden oak one, and bu.ne on an oak
dining table.
At quarter past ten Bryan courte-
ously begged to be favored with the
glft of a yardstick-he had seven at
homeland stored his memory with
ip on the maple bedroom set. and Der
on patent ironing board. At twenty
minutes past eleven Mrs. McGeary
sought portieres of peculiar shade
to match mythical color scheme for
an imaginary room, located in the
limbo of her dreams. Portieres were
marked y.pe, i.un and ice. Also the
handsome leather fire screen was
yb.ge.
Harold pondered throughout the
lunch hour with the painful gravity
Of seer confronted with mystic
cabala. To tell the truth. Evadne
and Bryan had one or two letters mis-
placed. and Mrs. McGeary was not alb
solutely certain whether that fire
screen was yb.ge or gy.eb. These
facts were falteringly confessed after
the shrewd detective had made Nor
ris-chairs cost one dollar and seventy
five cents and fire screens ninety-eight
dollars.
Hang it ALL" he snapped. "How
could anybody make sense out of an
important problem like this without
accurate figures? I'll have to make
sure myself
So on his way to the clothing store
where he now worked. he fingered
in front of the prescribed windows,
twisting and craning to get a view of
the forbidden fruit. The fine Mis-
sion couch was eg.pr, the smaller Mis-
sion chair orb, and the larger one
c.gy. Now he would find that buying
price.
In the afternoon Mrs McGeary
came again to ascertain the price of
fixtures in case she should find the
l nnrtipTOc of tho oil
studied wicker rocking chairs and
iron bedsteads. Della McGeary ac-
companied her friend, Miss Kitty
Hendricks, and while the latter
looked at curtain rods for her moth
er's parlor Della studied carpets.
And all the while, MIR Brandt and
John Walters INDUCED in hearty
laughter as they congratulated each
other, and at home Harold settled
hi4nteif with logged determination
to work out the solution. That Mis-
sion couch should be somewhere in
the range of twenty or thirty dollars.
Well, suppose e is 2, and is 4; p is
probably 5; should be 0. But that
would make the small chair cost only
two dollars and forty something. To
it again. Suppose the larger chair
cost about nine dollars. Let be 3,
and y 0-nine dollars and fifty
cents. Horrors. That makes the
couch cost ninety-five dollars. What
in the world was the buying price?
Again and again in the succeeding
days did the McGeary family sally
forth for prey, and Harold, outlawed,
craned his neck to read the marks
on the various pieces displayed in the
windows. At home he tantalized his
wits nightly till unreasonable hours,
and made his days wrstched with the
problem of the buying price. His
brain reeled with symbols and cryptic
grams. His head ached with Cum
berland," and all the other hateful
words of ten letters. At last he
grew so preoccupied and nervous that
he lost successfully his jobs in the
clothing store, the shoe store and the
grocery. And the McGeary family
grew so Disguised with the task OF
trying to make sense out of the tags
on Mr.. Brandt's furniture that they
bought their new linoleum at Pine
Hill, six miles away.
Mr.. Brandt was laughing over the
story with travelling salesman one
day.
And what was Johns code-word,
if may be trusted with the precious
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