The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1912-09-26
BARGAINS IN
HUSBANDS
gy MARY BARRETT HOWARD
(Copyright.)

| (CopyrlSnt.)
The little kitchen was redolent Of
freshly, baked cake, and stout Mrs.
Pickens. hurrying through the rem
nant of the weeks ironing, looked
| flushed and heated
Soap club or no Soap club. got to
| git Miss Ransom's thins DONE she
muttered She'll be after EN- today
sure, for I suspicion she amt got
many changes. | declare" she added.
pitifrly, as she surveyed the fine, lace
trimmed garment on the ironing
board, ut makes me feel bad to see
how careful she's patched an mend
ed EN-. Ev'ry dud she's got is most
| fallin to pieces, but / expect she amt
rot the money to buy new ones. !
amt mite surprised. read one o
Ter stories once an it was awful dull
o my thinkin'. wish to the land she
was smart enough to write reel good
one like st. Elmo or Lena Rivers
| She looks half-starved. If | wasn't
afraid she'd take 1t as an insult I'd ask
her to stay to the meetin' of the Soap
club. I'm gon' to have a good supper,
If | do say it, an worked in one o
them cheap boardin' houses once an
know what they be. An to think
that her folks used to be as rich as
mud! | met the old judge jest lit
tie while before his death steppin' out
as if he owned the earth-well, this Is
a queer world! Goodness gracious
me-there's Miss Ransom now, ridin'
in an autymobil, It's stopped an she's
comm I'M"
Hastily setting down her fatiron,
she ran to the door and admitted a
slim, pale girl dressed in shabby
mourning, calculating as she did so:
well, if | amt surprised to see you
ridn' in an autymohil', Miss Ransom!
| Come right in--your thins Is jest
ready. an while I'm doing of 'em up,
| want you should look at the new
premiums / got since you was here
I last"
Glad to postpone. even for few
moemnts, the irrevocable step to
which she had just pledged herself,
| Elinor, Ransom followed her hostess
! into a room where a table was laid
| with a brave array of plated silver and
a set of china decorated with flaming
| red poppies.
cts my day to entertain our Soap
club" Mrs. Pickens explained. "Ten
| of us ladies' clubs together an buys
our soap o. Lally an then we takes
! turns drawn for the premiums. He
/ gives elegant ones, jest elegant! l got
| all that silver an that chiny set an
, that picter frame for my share. Amt
| that frame complete? Pickens
thought I'd ought to put his picter in
| instead O. Tins, but Pickens is home
| ly enough to scare the cat an Tim
was a reel good-lookin' Teller, don't
you think so. Miss RanSom?"
The large colored photograph in the
| hamboyant gilt frame was the portrait
of pleasant-faced young workingman,
and in spite of the crude coloring. the
'slicked down" hair, and the stiif at
ttude of one oppressed by his Sun
| day clothes" Einor was able to re-
spond cordially: yes. indeed, I dc,
Mrs. Pickens."
But | dunnos | ought to find fali-
with Pickens' looks when all is said
an done. | was awful lonesome after
lost my first" Mrs. Pickens said
AN 1t want long before found out
that there's a mighty sight O. difrence
between washin' for pleasure as one
may say, jest to git yourself some ex-
try thin's, an in bendin over a wash
tub day in an day out tryin' to keep
body an soul together. So when
come acrost an advertisement, one
day telln' about place where you
can buy a husband by payin down ten
dollars cash in advance l made up my
mind I'd try my luck"
why. Mrs. Pickens, the ideal" Eli
nor gasped 1.-THE very ideal"
1T did seem like buyin' pig in a
poke" Mrs. Pickens admitted. "But
knew twas resk ten dollars or earn
my own. Twin so far as I was con-
cerned for Tim had been dead most
year an theer hadn't hide nor hair of
man come shyin' round
Il got Mis- Jones that lives next
door to go with me-" she continued,
for I amt one Of your reckless kind
an I'd read in the newspapers how
women is sometimes tolled Off an
murdered But land, needn't "a been
skeered, for the man that runs the
place-a marriage broker, he called
l. ,ln
Ter as ever | see, He said he was GER
tain he could suit me, but the man he
brought out from the back room was
as godforsaken lookin' specimen as
| ever set eyes on.
"'You needn't think I'm goin' to
take up with such poor excuse for
man as that | says to him. MY
sokes.' says, do you think I'm lookin'