The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-10-12

vA&Nu He not only united the stilted Ok II & & lords or buttoned in the archng in
 steps of those who sat in the Ladies = =. and Misses Dept," which the other : side of the doublebacked bench whose
 obverse was the Gents Dept," but
 so he took the gstening surface of his trousers he muddy soles of merchants. the claybronzed bro ans of hired men, the cowhide tOboggans or team ters ana the brass-toed redkneed boots of little ,oys ecstatic in their first feel of big leather
 Rudd was shoe clerk to be trusted He never re wo sizes too smal and when she bit her lip and nanched with agony he pred her heel into the pro- estfng dongola he seemed not to notice that she was 10 Cinderella
 And one day. when it too late and Miss Lucy posnett whose people lived in the big brick mansard ealized that1 sheahad in her stocking what did kudd as? Why, he never let on
 Stanch Methodist that he was, William Rudd stifed n petto the fact that the United Presbyterian par ons wife was van and bought little soft black kids with the Cuban heel and a patenteather tip to the opera toe!. The United Presbyterian parson himself lad saved his own vanity by saying that shoes show 10 plainly the pulpit and it better to buy them
 trife too small than trife too large. but-umm Y, rs lan you better put in little of that pow Ter, AIfs Rudd ?-I have on--whew unusually thick
 Claw Kittredge. Rudd's employer also valued him, secretly as who brought in customers and sold them goods But he mentioned this to his clerk, lest Rudd be tempted to the sin of vanity, and incl entally demanding increase in that salary which had remained the same since he had been promoted rom delivery boy
 a BR ksp .bn,ss his sc5ss nsn5sr ss as ie- was Rudd earnestly palmed off shopworn stock for resh invoices declared that the obsolete Piccades which Kittredge had snapped up from bankrupt sale were worn all the best feet on Fifth Ayenoo, and bandly substituted just as good" for advertised wares that Kittredge did not carry
 But when he took his hat from the peg and set 1t ,n his head he put his private conscience. What ever else he did. he never lied or cheated to his own advantage
 And so everybody in town liked William Rudd ana nobody admired him.
 Eventually old Skinfint Kttredge died and the son chopped the Jr" curlicue from the end of his nane and began regime. The old Kittredge had sought only his aggrandizement, and his son was his son The new Clay Kittredge had gone to public school with Rudd and they continued be "Cay" and WHIP to each other; nof would ever have called Rudd by so demonstrative name as Bill"
 When Clay second stepped into his fathers boots shoes he began to enlarge the business, hoping to pface his fathers achievements by his own The shop gradually expanded to department store TOT cover wants as well.
 Rudd was so overjoyed at not being uprooted and flung aside to die he never observed the shrewd irony of Kittredge's phrase You may remain Will. with reduction of salary"
 To have lost his humble position would have frus- rated his dream for he doing his best to build
 r himself and for Her home where they could full n their desines. He cherished hope, hardly even n desire to be great rich man himself. He was of the nestweavers the caveburrowers the home makers who prepare the way for the greater than themselves who shall spring from themselves
 He was of those who become the unknown fathers of great And salary that would have meant pennry to man of selfseekng tastes he man nged to save always the, major part of his earning At the bank he was modest but regular visitor to the receiving teller and almost total stranger to the paying teller.
 His widest dissipation being second pipeful of tobacco before he went to bed-or retired" he would gently have said it-he eventually heaped up enough to ask Martha Kellogg to marry him. Martha, who the plainest in plain Hills dale. accepted William and they were made one by the parson. The wedding was not accounted "swer' even in Hillsdale.
 The groomy bridegroom and the unbridy bride spent together all the time that Rudd could from the store He bought for her little frame house with porch about big upper berth patch of grass with path through it to the back door, holly hecks of startling scplor, and highly unimportant ss nsrSs as bso1s sts He did all he could please her. At her desire he gave up his pipe without missing it-much.
 Mrs Martha Rudd was an ambitious woman, or at least restless and discontented Having escaped a wonan's supreme horror, that of being old maid, she perked up enough to ambitious for her hus band gShe nasged him for while about his podding ways the things that satisfied him. the salary he dured- But it did. no good Will Rudd never meant to put boots and spurs his own feet and splash around in gore He was TOT carpet slippers days. he even descended to what he called "ar'tics
 Not understanding the trne majesty of her. hus- bands long distance dreams and bafled by his sponse to- her ambitions for him., Martha grew ambi- tieus for the child that was coming Husband and wife spent evenings and evenings de- the naneor the afterhatfve names For it is advis- able to have two ready for any emergency But the future was rosy They were unanimous on that President of the United States. nebbe at least the Presidents wife.
 Mrs Rudd., who occasionally read the continued stories in the evening paper, had happened hero named Erie" She favored that name-or Gwen doIynne (with "y"), as the case might be. In any event. the childs future glowing that warmed Mrs Rudd to asking one evening. forgetful of her earlier edict:
 "Why don't you smoke your pipe any more WHIP
 "Td kind O got out of the habit, Marthy,' he sad and added hastily But guess Ill git back in"
 Thereafter they sat of evenings by the lamp, he smoking she sewing things-hodiug them up and then for him to They looked almost too small to 5e convincing until he brought home from the store pair of shoes-"the smallest size made Marthy too small for of the dolls you at Bost- wicks"
 It was the golden period of his life Rudd never sold shoes So we'll People could hardly resist his No. 21o. RLEASED FOR JANUARY a. is1