Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1910-05-05
SUCH A DEAR CHUBBY"

SUCH A DEAR chubby"
From the Washington Star.
This Is little story of resourcefulness,
the central figure Of the same being a
young married man whose life is such a
busy one that he occasionally feels it nee
essary to tell little bits of white lies
A month or so ago he had to go to st.
louis on business trip, to be gone for
about two weeks. His young wife hated
to have him go. OF course, for they've
only been married about year. Not that
the length Of time that couples have been
married really makes any difference in
such cases. but-however, this Is not a
dfdact.c discussion on the subject of con-
nubtaltty but concrete story. This man,
s when nh ne started on business trips, always
pieased his pretty young wife immensely
10y making a great show of taking her
picture along with him, and while he was
away of writing to her about how the
photograph soothed his lonesome hours,
and all that
Inc last thing that he always did when
packing his bag was to grab that cabinet
photograph of his wife, the only one OF
Its kind In the house, that stood on the
dresser, and stuff 1t in his grip while she
looked on, pleased all over to observe him
an the act of doing such NICE thoughtful
thing.
1t is necessary to remember, by the way,
mat the cabinet picture that he took away
Win MIN on these business trips was, as
stated. the only specimen of its kind in
khe house. and that 1t always stood on his
wires dresser while he was at home
wen, when he started for st. Louis on
this last trip he was in such dead rush
NAT IN packing up he quite forgot tho
photograph of his wife He had to make
n IYolx
1t.
HIS wife noticed that he had forgotten
the picture only after he had gone. and
Fhe mentally excused him for forgetting
1t when she remembered what a great
hurry he had been in.
But
A couple of days after her husbands ar
rival In st. Louis she received letter
from him that shocked and amazed her
beyond expression.
Inc letter from her husband said. among
many other things not germane to this
narrative, that he was deriving all kinds
OF solace and consolation from her pic
cure. That he'd taken 1t out of his grip
just as soon as he'd unpacked in st.
LOUIS, and that. at the very moment he
was writing. the picture. standing there
on his hotel bureau, was smiling and
smiling away at him and making him
suffer all kinds of Inconsistencies and lone
someness for the dear little wee wife
ana all that: the average reader'n fill
out the rest all right.
OF course. she was shocked and a,nazad
She was worse than that She was griev-
ed. TO think that he whom she had dur
ing all her married life found SO perfectly.
SO scrupulously truthful, should stoop to
telling her l-that is. that he should
write her something that wasn't so!
wasn't that photograph of her right
fknc Il v<r- {.
on, 1t was sad blow to her all right
She didn't let on In her letters to him
didn't say word about it, But 1t stuck.
and 1t stuck deep
NOW. three or four days after he'd ar
rived In st. Louis he was writing her an
other letter about how much joy and de-
leht ne was extracting from her picture
on the hotel bureau when a quick wave of
remembrance overwhelmed and stunned
him.
He suddenly recalled that he didn't have
the picture with him a all!
And here's where the resourcefulness
comes In.
Tie went right on and finished the let
Ter to her about how much consolation he
was finding in the picture of her and
mailed the letter.
lie didn't calculate on being found out.
He is sort of an adherent to that e,cy-
enth commandment which saws that
Thou shalt not be found out" and there
wasn't mtnted amount Of coin that he'd
take to have his wife catch him in even
one of those tenchy domestic falsehoods
Ills way out was this:
He was well acquainted with the Wash
Angton photographer who had taken that
photograph of his wife. And so. that very
evening. her wired to the Washington pho
tographer. instructing INN to make. in
stantiy. q PRINT Of that photograph-which
nD hnv
could quickly ident.fy-and send II along
by special delivery, to the hotel In st
Louis.
Z The photographer found the negative
without any trouble, made prjnf NJ n
mounted it and fired it along TO the man
IN st. Louis who. when he received II
went out and bought an elaborate oval
gilt frame for 1t and chuckled yery great
ueai indeed While he put the photograph
Into the frame. p--
ne knew that his wife would imagine
mat she mad him when he got back and
that she would have little sadness about
her. and so on. And he had that end az AZ
right, of course
sne had meant to restrain herself. but
Wnen he flung his arms abou. her on en-
terlng the house upon his return she col
iapseu from having worried so much about
the little thing and fell to weeping
vi course. the brute. with a wide gaze
OF utter innocence, asked her what an
earth could be the matter
on. to think" she gasped. that Won
c-c-could t-tell me s-s-story,,'
Story"' said the man, winkinc NJ him
sen sen y. .c the mantel mirror over her shout
AnynoW: What story?' -
why, she moaned between her sobs
ABOUT my p-p-picture-writing m-m-ma
mat You were Unlocking at II every
n-h-hisht, and you d-d-dan't have ii with
S-t yg1u "a AT a,its Up on the bbbureau
The unspeakable male person npsbed nov
gently away from him and roearded ber
ness. ' ioiey SAD
My. dear" said he, In that ,nin,ea
abused tone that some husbands have 90;
Gown pretty pat; My dear. do YOU really
mean to say that you could think my
cap y, OF such thing as that-mew'
B-o-but J-J-J-Jack, dear" she sobhed
the PREFECTURE is upstairs nen-nnw
For answer he put his grip on ton Of tha
sitting room table, opened II and TN. ~ .ne
rlght on top Of the clean linen. and beau,
tnully wrapped about In viii az,
muffier. was her photograph Ia tho DIR ,mh
heavy gilt easel frame .''s'
She gazed at 1t with natural aetop,.h
ment aetoiiisn-
..B-!n-but,' she cried. "w-w-wben did
Dearest" he said to her, Didn't tel,
YOU that had another print made ius.
for CARRYING away on business trims atorI,.
week before started for ST I6uis ~
that l got this frame for 1t. and that
put it ia the bottom of nv grin as son,, . =
I got II sos I'd be sure moi ia foruat 80