The Sauk Centre herald., 1911-08-03
Guarding
the VdLuubLes

new quarters Mrs. Blake still kept her
account at the outlying bank where
she had always done business. That
was the reason when she received the
note and the mortgage she did not in
stantly put them into her safety de-
posit box.
When she was preparing to leave
the house for the first time she hid
the papers successfully behind sofa,
under pillow, under rug. under the
dresser scarf and behind the picture
Of Sir Galahad in the library Then
when she was block away she re-
turned hastily, because 1t had just
occurred to her that the house might
burn down during her absence and
then where would she be in respect
to those precious papers!
She discarded the small mesh bag
she was carrying and got out her big
gest leather shopping bag, although it
was decidedly inconvenient to take
to an afternoon tea. However, she
could carry the papers in it. The bag,
being big and square. bumped into
everybody and got her disliked. She
nearly wept that evening as she
begged her husband to take care of
the papers for her.
Il will mott" he told her. you sim.
ply must learn to look after your own
business affairs, so you might as well
make up your mind to it! Why on
earth are you carting jewelry around
In that bag. too?" He asked it in the
tone that man uses when the fool
ish peculiarities of the feminine half
of the world are utterly, absolutely
beyond him.
Because it's the safest place for my
rings and things!" retorted his wife
Every woman does it,"
His demeanor still disclosing skepti
cism, she went on: "If you leave
things at home and the new servants
don't turn burglars, then the bogus
gas inspectors and the sham telephone
men will get them, I've read about
all those tricks!"
You'll lose the whole affair."" de-
clared her husband
Il certainly won't when the bag is
slipped right over my army like this
said Mrs. Blake, loftily ''I shall go to
the bank just as soon as l can, and
you are perfectly horrid to make me
carry this bag to the theater tonight.
| The papers won't tuck inside of my
waist and there's positively nothing
! else / can do with them!"
| Frequently that evening the bag
slipped from her lap and each time
she almost had Mysteries, thinking
| she had lost it. After Blake had
bumped his head the third time while
fishing out the bag from beneath tho
row Of seats in front he put 1t In his
chair and sat on It. But he made her
carry 1t home.
Something happened every day for
three days to prevent Mrs Blakes 60
ing to the bank. She ate. slept and
visited In company with her leather
shopping bag and she positively began
to grow thin from her continuous and
strenuous efforts to keep a watchful
eye on It.
An afternoon progressive bridge
| party nearly finished her, because she
insisted on hanging the bag over her
chair back. and each time she moved
| she forgot It. Missing 1t, she would
! imagine that she had lost 1t coming
| to the party and would have to be re-
! vived with fans and kind words till Il
was discovered. She was a nervous
! wreck when the afternoon was over
and had in addition the consciousness
that all her partners disliked her in
| tensely because she had so lowered
their scores by her wild abstracted
playing.
! "I'll go to the bank tomorrow II II
| is the afternoon party that I have to
| miss" she declared.
Then she lugged the fatal bag to
! club directors meeting. to luncheon
where It fell to the floor and was
nearly eaten up by the hostess pet
| deg before it was discovered and on
a shopping trip
She hung to the bag with an energy
| that gave rise to the idea in the
minds cf casual observers that is
! must be filled with dynamite or dia-
monds
! she neared her home I've got these
awful papers safely through a whole
week and the first thing tomorrow
morning sees them in the safety de-
! post box. and then maybe l can draw
a long h-eotN! What's that door
open for"
! She ~7T ~ the eto>s and through
the eEinctng door It was most un-
! us1c,I IT, ro,l-a a--,ea~Pd TRANQUIL.
however. IGyine [lr her bag she
/ pulled off her gloves and coat and
then, Icing still uneasv. mounted to
] tie second floor. The second floor
/ also was calm.
/ Its the queerest thing" she said as
! she started downstairs and headed for
the kitchen to see if the cook had re-
turned, it being the cooks day out.
/ In the hall she stopped transfxed,
with her eyes staring at the table
~here she had laid her shopping bag.
The lag was gone.
THE burglar" Blake explained to
her with righteous reproach that