Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1910-07-29
IWHATWASO ON
] THE HOOKa
By MARY RUTH TRUEspALE


left bis son lsanc bis sole heif the
young man was twenty.seyen years
old. He did not inherit the mlserly
qualities OF his fnther He was a
quiet fellow aud longed for q home.
something his father had considered
himself too poor 20 give him. Isaac
had not lived the life Of d gentleman
and hnd no idea Of meeting and court.
ing q lady for wife. He desired to
marry, but had sufficient sense TO un-
derstapd that he would be the target
for designing women. His father had
scarcely been laid TO rest before Isaac
was the recipient OF basketfui OF Of
fers from young women who were
anxious TO marry him. He read every
one OF them. thinking that he might
see something by which be might de.
tect genuine good sense. the faculty
he most desired In wife. He did
1pd one that impressed him with Its
guilclessness. girl who gave her
name as Blanche Tyron and her age
as eighteen said that some OF her
friends were putting In applications
for his hand and she had concluded 70
do the same. not that she had any
hope OF getting the situation. but her
mother. who was an Invalid and whom
she supported, had urged her TO do so.
She sent with her letter her photo
graph. There was such honest inno-
cence In the face that Isaac was i'm
| pressed.
Isaac did not reply to her letter, but
q few weeks later he appeared at her
home as an agent for u sewing ma
chine company and insisted on selling
her q machine. The girl looked long
ingly at the machine, for she earned
her living by her needle and needed a
new machine sadly. She regretted
that she could not AFFORD to buy II and
was turning away when the agent
made her proposition so favorable
that she stopped to think. When a
woman hesitates with a salesman at
the door she Is lost. The agent. with.
out waiting for her to make up her
mind, removed the machine from the
wagon to the house. Then he filled In
the necessary blanks. and before the
girl knew what she was about she had
signed them.
Isaac had made the installments to
be paid weekly on each Saturday
night. When the first payment came
due he appeared about o'clock in the
evening. Blanche had the money
ready for him. but instead of going
away he fingered TO talk with her. The
next Saturday evening when be came
for payment of the note he stopped
longer. Indeed. his visits grew more
and more extended and the relations
between the two more tender. Some
time before the last installments were
due Isaac one evening when he called
10 collect tore up the notes aud left her
the possessor Of the machine. Blanche's
gratitude kindled love. and not long
after this when Isaac proposed under
the name OF Nathan Griggs she &C.
repted him.
She Ind scarcely given her word
when the postman called and handed
her an answer to the offer Of marriage
.heshad made the multimilllonaire sew
rral months before. He Informed hei
hat on receiving her letter and hei
picture be had taken pains to learn
something about her. had seen her and
| had been so favorably impressed with
her that he had decided to give hei
/, | the situation of wife to him.
Here was a situation Of another kind
Blanche had few days before accept
ed a sewing machine agent and nov
, comes an offer Of marriage from
| multImilllonaire.
Blanche fortunately received the let
ter when her mother was upstairs ant
knew nothing about 1t. Blanche tool
, It up to her own room and hid 1t In he
. 6ureau drawer. saying nothing about
! TO her mother. whom she knew woul'
. give her no peace till she had broker
with the sewing machine agent an
q accepted the multimlllionaire. Isaa
n oalled that evening. He expected {
A Hnd his betrothed in at least q state o
r uncertainty and had but little dout
= | thnt he would receive his dismissa
, he found Blanche In no different cor
, dition than usual. except that tn
, greeting kiss she gave him was trit
t, more affectionate.
i. Isaac passed the evening expectin
a every moment that the letter would /
o mentioned. but when he arose to q
% md nothing had been said about 1t }
% began to wonder. He had stood benin
|, tree on the opposite Side OF II
h street and seen the postman han
"A Blanche q letter and knew that It ws
= his, for he had purposeiy put 1t In
/ nink envelope. lie had come expectir
Blanche to tell him Of her offer.
- The next day Isaac received lett
4. rom Blanche IN answer to his pr
. ,osal. stating that since her letter
q lin abe had received similar on
n rom one who loved her and whom 81
q. owed and that 1t would not be honor
lie nor could she bear to disnppoi
| ain, Sha must therefore beg him