The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-12-30
The Lucky Man
BY JOANNA SINGLE
Copyright. 1910. by Associated Literary Press3

She was young-and pretty. But
"a physical bloom and softness
the prettiness was mostly mere youth
There was tight little look to he1
thin but rosy lips, and a hard look In
her blue eyes. But the young men in
the case could hardly have been ex
pected to see this. There were two
OF them-and q number more, but
Gene Turner and Ebe Fisher were
ahead-or II looked that way Also
1t looked as II Gene was having the
best OF 1t, II by best is meant the
lady's favor. It was odd, too, accord
Ing to the ideas of the other girls al
the Cosmopolitan department store
They would have thought Suzanne
born Susan Jane-would require
some sort of real style In fellah!'
Gene was not stylish, but he was
young, and straight, and wore his
working clothes with a jaunty grace
He even carried dinner bucket, as Il
that were matter to be graced II
the doing. And he earned thrice, al
carpenter1ng. what Ebe Fisher die
style. He was a good dancer and
dresser, a matter which must have
absorbed most of his salary, had the
girls stopped to think about it.
Suzanne, whose final name was
Ryan, had somehow escaped the
warm-heartedness of her race. which
was a pity. But she was good
clerks, with an undesirable pert pref
tines, wealth of reddish hair, 8
milky skin and large, moist, bright
eyes. And she herself had all sorts
of style. She was the best dancer IL
the store. She lived with an old aunt
to whom she gave three dollars out
of her weekly seven dollars, and tt
whom she paid scant attention. The
front room" was, she made it under
stood, for her own especial use, and
she tricked it out with some CHEAP
tides and albums, lot of photographs
of everybody who would give her one
and bright rug and settee bought
on the installment plan. For the rest
she owed it to herself to dress like
lady.
Her immense self-conhdence gave
her certain charm to the circle in
which she moved she was gay
saucy, independent, with that little
touch of feline cruelty which men
laugh at and love In a pretty girl
not realizing it's real significance
unless they marry her!
All W{nfor che had dorooa
f1irted and-worked. Ebe, as the most
desirable man in her train, she had
taken pleasure in playing with. She
liked to make herself envied by the
other girls who counted Ebe Fisher
sort of prize, but snubbing him in
favor of Gene, who was nopchalant
and independent as herself 1t was
this recklessness Of consequences
which made the store tiguratively
hold it's breath. They began, the girl
clerks, and the men, too, to bet on
which would be the lucky man.
Even Gene had become really in
terested in the game. He liked tc
see how, carelessly enough, he could
get two dances to Ebe's one, two
walks to his one, the privilege of tax
ing her out to the theater or park
oftener than Fisher could. At first
he had been not at all in earnest
simply amusing himself. He made
love to no girl, for he had an ole
mother to support who was the apple
of his eye, and he was paying for 6
little lot and cottage.
And Suzanne? She had merely usec
him for foil; there had been only
Irritation, less clumsy than his, but
certainly, even then, none too subtle
She would not, at first, have dreamed
Of marrying him, but somehow he
was not man to pick up and drop
He left his mark, the mark Of per
sonality which is hard to erase. Anc
his independence matched her own
Late in the spring Gene took K
running over in the evening, once {
week Or so, and sitting In the from
room with the girl and chatting her
Finally ne made himself welcome IL
the little kitchen, which old Mollie
the aunt, kept shining and comfort
dU10 duu "ulCA, VAIL 40 OAO AuI III
ture, handmade by her dead hus
band, and her old blue dishes, was
far prett1er and more characters
tic than all Suzanne's cheap frippery
1t irked the girl that the handsome
laughing young fellow should spent
q good hour Of his call sitting will
the old woman, making her chuckle a.
his jokes, mending thing for her
doing a bit OF hammering or saving
and always in a jolly companionable
way.
Once the girl joked-rather serious
ly-at him on the subject "A bedy'e
think you were dead stuck on Aun
Mollie." she said.
Il am" he retorted. She's almos
half as nice as mother-1'm used t
old ladies an like them. Come GU
home with me some night and visi
mother. She's bit lonely, and I tr,
to stay home with her q good DEAL"
The girl tossed her head. She hat
2 1/sI1