The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-08-22

hearts.
And he might have read those Sc
, crets had the doctor only known :
little more about chemistry. But tht
doctor was totally ignorant of the fac
that sulphate of atropin is fully {
thousand times more soluble in water
than the plain atropin. Therefore he
bought the plain atropin instead ol
the sulphate, and threw it into via
containing only few drops of water
consequently it lay undissolved in the
bottom of the original vial. Two OF
Ord's precious vials contained nc
"radium."
On reaching home, Ord complain
ed that he was thirsty, produced some
lemons, and asked Miss Kerr a maiden
of two or three and thirty, to make
some lemonade. She hastened to
7 comply with his request. He had no
difficulty in emptying vial of "radi-
um" into her glass. Eagerly he
watched her gulp down the "radio.
charged" lemonade. Soon her pu-
pills began to dilate. The "radium"
was working. Larger and larger
grew her pupils, until they fairly daz-
zled him with their lustrous black
ness.
From a quiet, sober minded man,
Ord suddenly became a laughing,
oking boy. To morrow he would
know. He laughed heartily while
contemplating the pleasure that await
ed him. He drew village paper
from his pocket, tossed it across the
table and asked Miss Kerr to read
aloud to him. As it was her custom
to do this, she took up the paper
without suspecting anything unusual,
but saw only tumble of dancing
words. After making two or three
futile attempts to bring order into the
inky chaos, the paper began to trem-
bic in her hand. The color fed from
her face. She rubbed her eyes and
looked again at the chaotic page.
Dropping the paper to the floor, she
sprang up crying, "God help me
I'm going blind Nary word can
I see |" and covered her face with her
hands.
Overjoyed at the success of his ex-
pertinent, Ord sprang from his chair,
drew her hands aside and looked long
into the deep blackness of her cav
ernous eyes. After drinking his fill
of what he thought the indisputable
proof of her love, he let her head drop
forward and gave her little chirrup
of kiss. Instantly she forgot that
she was going blind-forgot every
thing except that she had been kiss
ed by the man she loved.
''Don't be scared" whispered Ord,
as he slipped his arm timorously
around her waist. "Your eyes look
all right. I wouldn't take on so
about them if 1 were you. Are you
Nary word. ~
"That's funny, 1 wonder what
could have caused it? Now I think
of it. 1 believe l have heard of folks
being blind in love-" He broke into
hearty laugh and, for some ,1n-
known reason, she laughed strange,
sobbing little laugh with him.
ORD arrived at the fair ground early
the next morning apparently to see
that his fat cattle there on exhibition
had sumptuous breakfast, but in
reality to see Miss Vera Reede arrive.
He was waiting to help her out of
the family carriage and to brush the
dust from her gown. His starving
little eyes blinked greedily as he saw
her pucker up her most kissable red
lips to greet girl friend. Ord in
sisted that, without losing a moment,
they should drink some lemonade.
miss Vera looked radiantly happy.
A smile played over her lips and her
hair danced in little ringlets as she
walked across the fair ground. Ord
stalked at her side. They soon found
themselves standing before two for
midable looking glasses of 'ice-cold
lemo." According to the doctors
directions, Ord had vial of "radi-
um'' ready, and when she turned to
look at the woman whom she sup
posed ha6 smiled at him, he emptied
it into her glass.
"Was it good 7" he asked, when
she had swallowed the last drop.
She nodded her head as she touched
her lips with her handkerchief.
"Didn't taste nothing unusual
about it?" he ventured.
mo; why do you ask 7"
Ord was much confused for a mo-
ment, then stammered, II didn't
think mine tasted right, but reckon
1 just imagined it."
"Did you see that gawky scalawag
who spoke to me?" inquired Ord
more than anxious to change the sub
iect. "Well, he's the fellow who
bought my old muley cow. My, how
use to hate to milk that old critter
"She'd always manage, somehow,
on hot summer evening when the
flies were bad to get her tail in the
milk; ther she'd switch it in my face
and all round my neck. Many's the
time that I've stopped milking to
wonder if I hadn't, by mistake, taken
my face for the pail"
Elated over his success in giving
Miss Vera the "radium," Ord had
momentarily forgotten to brood and
had become talkative, as he and his
companion FASTENED off to the hall to
see the large melons, pumpkins,
squashes, the broad whiting tobacco
leaves, the purple-topped turnips and
the bursting cabbage heads; on past
the vegetables to bags of wheat, oats
and rye, and giant stalks of corn, the
shucks pulled back, showing large,
yellow ears next came the apples,
fuzzy,cheeked peaches, mellow pears,
juicy grapes and perfume-breathing
plums last of all, the women's
handiwork-laces, quilts, tediously'
worked dollies and fancy sofa pillows
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