The Falls City tribune., 1909-07-02

she had so long u"nsuceeSsiulIy ought
It was the y" lie LETT the house
five minutes earlier than usual and
stopped I'm at the orner grocery on
his way to the train. When he
emerged 1t was with a decidedly
guilty air. Under his arm was Il
small square package wrapped in
brown paper.
At the Office the Man opened his
parcel surreptitiously and drew forth
a carton of P~redigested Oats. He slit
the top with a penknife and CROPPED in
the interior until his fingers encoun-
tered a small square of pasteboard.
With far greater agitation than moves
the professional stock-gambler who
notes on the ticker the gain OF loss
OF thousands, he examined the little
card. 1t bore the imprint of an M"
Somehow the Man could not fix his
mind on his business. A little leaven
had leayened his whole lump.
Queer things transpired at the Of
flee within the mex week or SO. Each
morning the Man appeared with two
or three packages under his arm, and
yet he never took any bundles away
with him. The boy was sem so often
to various downtown groceries FOR
Predigested Oats that he contided to
the %janitor his fear that the boss was
turning into a horse. The ianitress
querulously complained that a poor
woman's life wasn't worth living, the
uav M 30 Httarad IN his capDat dow
after day with that brownish poWdery
stuff that was so hard to sweep out.
The Man himself began to- get
cramped for room. His desk was full
OF oats. His coat and o%yercoat had to
be laid over the back of a chair dur
ing the day-the cIothes-lockers
We're crowded with square boxes. The
stationery closet was bullying with
predigestion.
There IN a point when the add
ton of II little straw to the camel's
burden brings that faithful animal TO
an untimely end. In desperation the
Mar n day bought a dozen packages
of the detested oats at one fell sWoop,
and found within them a dozen dupli-
Gates of letters he already had, but
no ""
This game is an internal swindle,"
he cried, hurting a shower of oats and
cartons through the open window
into the light-shaft. "By the Great
Horn Spoon, | don't believe there ever
was a " in any of their boxes! It's
robbery, but they tried their game on
the wrong man when they tackled
me-. I'll see whether there's any law
in this land!"
Determined to strike while the iron
was hot, the Man t%elephoned to his
attorney, who roasted several stories
higher in the same skyscraper, ask
ing him to stop in on his way to
lunch. Within an hour the lawyer
appeared, and listened attentiyely to
the Mans recital of how his wife had
invested vast sums IN the represen-
tations of the cereal manufacturers,
and of how much evidence she had
acquired by purchase of the absence
of an essential letter from the pack
ages. In thus setting forth the case
tiib al httlit I hitiVN III anu TIL
necessary to mention his own pur-
chases. For the sake of convenience
he simply added his expenditure to
hers and represented the sum total as
her outlay.
Nov. tell me, Galloway" he con
cluded. "is there no way of getting
back at these people? Couldn't we
get at them through the postal laws,
if by no other procedure? Are they
to go on robbing the public indef-
nitely?p
Well" said the lawyer. pressing
his fnger-tips together reAectiyely, Il
could tell better If | were acquainted
with the exact terms of the company's
offer. | suppose they are printed on
the package. Couldn't you bring down
a carton tomorrow
Certainly. Come to think of it, I
believe l have one of their old boxes
down here somewhere. Let me see
where did l put it? You're taller than
| am-just look on top of that book
case, won't you?'
As Galloway turned his back to
grope for the carton on the book
case, his client hastily slid open a
drawer of his desk, grabbed the top
most package, and pushed the drawer
home.
oh, here it is; I had it in my desk"
he said. passing it to the attorney.
The latter read the printed PROPOSE
ton carefully and glanced over the
top of his spectacles at the would-be
litigant.
What did you say was the missing
letter. he asked.
1T is ""
"'Y?' Where does " come inn"
I'm Prettyman's, of course. Pref
t-Y-m-a-n-s."
The lawyer looked at him SUSPECT.
ously. You're not trying to Josh
me. are your he asked.
Plainly the Man was puzzled.
See here" said the lawyer; with.
out prejudice to your general intelli-