Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-08-24
The Argus Daily Short Story
The Airship-By Clarissa Mackie.
Copyrighted. 1911. by Associated Literary PresA

, dows be and Celia had so often strolled
on summer evenings and before which.
lately. they had paused more often to
discuss the merits of the furniture dis
/ played therein.
There had been one momentous &C.
casiOn when they had entered the store
and looked at parlor suits and both
had fallen in love with one OF ma
hogany. upholstered in deep green
plush. Dennis had gone so far as to
make a deposit OF $40 on the furni-
ture. and the balance was to be paid
within a week or so.
Several weeks had passed and the
young man had become engrossed in
his invention; dollar after dollar had
been withdrawn from the bank until
the evening before he had faced a
balanced bank account and gone
straight to Celia and confessed with
out misgiving as to her attitude.
In the visions of Dennis Flint there
were huge factories. belching forth
smoke from the furnaces that sup,
piled the power that manufactured the
new ships. He could see men stream
ing home from work with dinner pals;
he could see rows Of neat cottages,
where contented wives and happy
children worked and played; he could
see Celia. his wife, living in an af1u-
ence such as she had never dreamed
of in her position as saleslady in the
big department store.
And all these visions vanished be
fore the reality that a green plush
parlor suit meant more to Celia and
her mother than all the airship and
air castles in the world. II these
things would make Celia happy then
it was his place to see that she had
them, provided she would reconsider
her decision not to marry him.
So Dennis walked into the furniture
store and sought out the black eyed
man who had waited on him before
and who could discourse for long
hours on the beauty of green parlor
suits and never once repeat his phra ses
or contradict himself.
"Ah!' said the man. looking at him
suspiciously.
Yes" said Dennis. ~ paid SO on
account of a green plush parlor suit
few weeks back"
The man looked blankly at him.
then called to another man. who rang
for a boy and sent him on an errand.
When the boy came back the black
eyed man telephoned somebody, and
at last he came back to Dennis with a
scrap Of paper in his hand.
sold to Dennis Flint one parlor
set, green plush. mahogany finish.
Price S45; paid on account $40; bal
ance due S35" He paused breathiess-
ly.
That's all true" said Dennis, awed
by this display of business detail.
Now. don't make no mistake about
that set I'll come in and pay for the
rest of it" he moved away.
The lady has just been in. and she
says it won't be needed" The man
stared at him impudenuy.
Dennis paled and his lips set firmly.
You'll save it as l told you-under-
stand? If the lady don't want II,
do"-
VERY we'll" said the man hastily
and made a memorandum on the
paper.
As Dennis walked out through one
of the revolving doors in the front of
the store Celia O'Brien FASTENED in
ward from the street They were
separated only by few feet OF space,
but each one was so absorbed in his
misery that they passed as strangers
might
All at once a thought came to Den
mis-. and he FASTENED back TO his room
in the boarding house and took the
model airship under his arm. There
was one expert whom he had just re-
membered. man of small capital, but
large brain Dennis would as a last
resort approach this person with the
model ship.