The Lehi banner. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1891-1917, 1908-02-13
A GAMBLE
IN ART
BY GEORGE T. PARDY
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Copyright. BY Daily story Pub. Coz


chat saiormen has their fads, they
bein' only human, after all. But
generally speakin' they amt so fad
DIV as shore folks. Course there's ex-
ceptions, like Captain Winters, for
instance. His fad lays in hating
pictures and artists. Why, he would
MT allow one of his crew TO bring
as much as a picture supplement
from one of the Sunday papers
aboard the boat, and once he kicked
a photographer into the lake, just
outside the harbor, and the man
was well-nigh drowndcd.
at wasn't always that way with
him, though. The trouble started
when him and Sam Heron, skipper
of the Levi Morton, was both court
in the same girl. Her name was
Mary Straehan, and when Winters
and Heron first got to know her, she
was workin' as cashier in restau-
rant here in Chicago, where both Of
'em used to feed, bein' unmarried
and not likin' boarding house meals.
The girl didn't encourage one more
than the other, but she was quite
nice to both of 'em. They was both
sailin' between here and Buffalo,
and it so happened that when one
was tied up in Chicago, the other
chap was down east. This gave Mary
a good chance to play EN- both, and
bcin' smart girl, she made the
most of it. Naturally Heron and
Winters hated each other like poi
son.
Things went on in this sce-saw
way for long time. Then an uncle
of Mary's who had been supposed
by the family to be dead, turned up.
He'd made a snug little fortune out
west, and coming to Chicago, hunted
Mary up. She, bein' orphan, was
mighty glad when he told her she
was to live with him for the future
and, at his say so, she quit the res
taurant. The uncle wasn't exactly
a wealthy man, but quite well enough
off to look out for his niece, and
one of the first things he insisted
on was that she should improve her
education, which had been a bit
neglected, owing to her having to
shift for herself so young.
$50 she studied some, and bein'
as | said, tolerablc smart. got along
bully. She took a great hkin' to
drawing and joined an art school.
The old man was delighted and went
around tellin' folks what fine
painter Mary was going to be and
how much time she spent in the
art institute, pipin' off the pictures
and copying them.
AT first, Heron and Winters was
afraid that they'd be passed by, ac-
count of Mary gcttin' up a bit in
the world, but she wasn't that kind
and soon let 'em know it didn't
make any difference. So Winters
kept calling around when Heron was
away and Heron took his turn while
Winters was across the lakes. Mary's
uncle didn't Interfere.
MATTERS was in this shape when
Winters, who was a crafty cuss, be-
gan to figure how he could gel
ahead of Heron. Mary's birthday
was near and it was up to both Of
'cm to buy her a present. Now, seein
that she was struck on art, Heron
kind of thought he would get hel
some kind Of a painting Sho'C
talked about pictures to him till hC
almost thought he knew all abou
'cm, though he couldn't help bu
wonder when she told of the ia
prices some art bugs was willin' (,
pay for dinky little daubs Of color
She often allowed it would be fin
thing if IA person could pick up
valuable painting cheap and sell
for CARLOAD Of coin, same as tn
newspaper stories sometimes tell Of
Winters had heard her talk in tn
same way, but he didn't put muc
stock in such yarns, and onl
laughed when she told him HOY
Heron had promised her paintin
for birthday gift.
cit happened one day, while Wiz
tcrs' boat was laying at Buffalo, b
was strollin' round town and stoppe
10 look in the window of a junk shoI
There was all kinds of truck ther
secondhand furniture, ornament
and the like and among EN- froy
sv. crumpled canvas, smeared vii
dirt, that might have been a tho