Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-11-28

Duncan placed a pleading hand on
his forearm.
Don't kid me, Harry" he entreated.
mot a bit Of it. This is straight
goods. II you want to try it and will
ronow the rules L lay down. I'll guar
antee you'll be a rich man Inside OF
twelve months"
RULES. Man, I'll follow all the rules
in the world! Come on. I'm getting
palpitation Of the heart, waiting Tell
it to me, what've 1 got to do?'
Marry" said Kellogg serenely.
"Marry?' Duncan echoed. aghast.
Marry" reafirmed the other with
unbroken gravity.
Marry who?"
"a girl with a fortune. You see,
can't guarantee the precise size OF her
pile. That all depends on luck and the
locality. But it'll run anywhere from
several hundred thousand up to mil
lion, perhaps more"
Duncan sank back despondently.
You ought to be ashamed OF your
self, Harry he said DULY. you had
me all excited for a minute"
mo, but honestly, 1 mean what
say"
New look here, do you really think
any girl with million would take a
chance on me?'
She'll jump at it."
Duncan thought this over for a
while. Then his lips twitched. whats
the matter with herr" he inquired.
"Pm willing to play the game as it
lies, but bar lunatics and cripples."
There's no particular her, yet. You
can take your pick. I've no more idea
where she is than you have"
Now 1 know you're stark, staring,
gibbering''-
Not bit of It, I'm inspired. that's
all I've solved your problem; you
only can't believe it"
How could 1? What the devil are
you getting at anyhow"
This pet scheme of mine. Lend me
your ears. Have you ever lived in a
one horse country town. place with
one unspeakable hotel and about TWEEN
ty stores and five churches"
NO"
81 have. l was born in one Of 'em.
Have you any idea what becomes OF
the young people of such towns?"
Not a glimmering."
density. The boys-those who've got
the stuff in them-strike out for the
cities to make their everlasting for
tunes. Generally they do it too"
The same as your
The same as me-" assented Kellogg,
unperturbed. But the yaps. the JAS
pers, stay there and clerk in fathers
store. After office hours they put on
their very best mail order clothes and
parade up and down Main street, talk
ing loud and flirting obviously with
the girls. The girls haven't much else
to do. They don't find it so easy to
get away. 4 few Of 'em escape to
boarding schools and colleges, where
they meet and marry young men from
the cities, but the majority of them
have to stay at home and help mother.
That's a tradition. If there are two
children or more the boys get the
chance every time. The girls stay
home to comfort the old folks in their
old age. Why. by the time they're old
enough to think of marTying-and they
begin young. for that's about the only
excitement they find available-you
won't find a small country town be
tween here and the Mississippi where
there aren't about four girls to every
boy"
ITS a horrible thought"
you'd think so if you knew what
the boys were like. There isn't one in
ten that girl with any sense or self
respect could force herself to marry
If she ever saw anything better. Do
you begin to see my drift?'
81 do not. But go on drifting"
mo? Why, the demand for eligible
males is 800 per cent in excess of the
supply. Don't you know-no, you
don't; I got to that frst-that there
are twenty times as many old maids in
small country towns as there are in
the cities? It's fact, and the reason
for it is because when they were
young they couldn't lower themselves
to accept the pick of the local matri-
monial market. Now, do you seeY"
You're as interesting as a magazine
serial. Please continue in your next.
1 pant with anticipation"
You're an ass. Now take a young
CHAP from city. with good appear
ance. more or less n gentleman. who
doesn't talk like a zap or walk like
zap or dress like a zap or act like
zap, and throw him into such a town
long enough for the girls to get &C.
quainted with him. He simply can't
lose, can't fail TO cop out the best look
ing girl with the biggest bank roll in
town. 1 tell you. there's nothing to
itr'
ITS wonderful to listen to You, Har-
ry."
I'm talking horse sense. my son. |
Now consider yourself-dorvn on your
luck. don't know how to earn a decent /
living, refusing to accept anything
from your friends. ready you saw to
do almost anything to get some mon
ey. And think of the country heir
esses with plenty of money for
two, pining away INN tnnncno11s