The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-02-13
LOVES LABOR LOST

The Stars owl reporter saw, the
other night a spectacular fact, a pair
Of spectacles-that gave him such an
ache under his wishbone that he
thought he had appendicitis until the
doctor told him it was on the other
side.
1t happened in Kreger's neat little
store. All the boys go into Kreger's
some time during the evening, and the
reporter generally goes in also. TO try
and bunco Kreger out of a drink of
something refreshing with a nice little
red tomato in it.
On this particular evening only one
of the boys was in Kregers; a nice
young man, who We all know. He was
much distressed; his face expressed the
limit of his woe, and tears were rolling
down his cheeks and splashing on the
floor Kreger looked some sorrowful
himself: his face wore the expression
assumed by a really kindhearted lady
when the wrong man has proposed to
her.
The trouble was in this wise. Last
winter, a pretty young lady from
Maine. Ohio. San Francisco or some
other northern state, passed the winter
here. The nice young man met and
allowed him to obtain the idea that she
reciprocated. Maybe she did. At any
rate, when she went north in the
spring she took the nice young mans
cardiac apparatus along in her suit
case.
He sent her loving letters and other
evidences Of foolishness all summer
and fall. and Of course when Christmas
2 hi to In ha Co 10
Claus act.
Kreger laid in stock of alligator
skin goods. Most Of the alligator
skins on the market are made of bulls
hide or paper. but Kreger had the real
thing. BEINGS he's in the profession.
we don't mind saying he has afew yet,
and selling them at cost.
The nice young man. in search of an
appropriate gift for his inamorata,
spied particularly splendiferous
handbag in Kreger's stock, and at once
began to negotiate for the same. But
when he learned the price, he found
that after paying his boardbil1 and
| lodge dues, he couldn't raise the coin,
so he was about to turn away very
sadly.
| But Kreger, who hasn't gotten over
being in love himself. took pity on the
youth. and sold him the bag on the in
stallment plan. Not the eXtOrtion plan,
for it was SIS bag and Kreger let
him have it for s11, one PUNK down,
and other plunks as fast they could
PUNK without the young man losing
any of his meals
! 1t seemed like under this arrange
ment all hands and the cook would
have been happy, and they were until
last Wednesday. when the young man
received an invitation to the wedding
of his hearts desire with some mudsill
who never saw an alligator and proba-
bly, wouldn't buy a girl anything big
ger than a sheepskin purse.
! Now, the Ocala young man is a game
sport, and moreover had a real case o.
true love, which is as scarce as hens
teeth and almost as inconvenient So
he blew in his months salary to buy
her a wedding present, but in his
perturbation forgot his debts until the
congratulatory article had been ship
ped. (Some of us forget our debts for
less reason).
So he hied to Kreger and told him his
troubles, and between his own disap-
pointment and his concern at disap-
full indeed, and didn't have presence OF
mind enough to pick out a place where
he could cry in a tub. And Kreger fell
; badly, because the young man had fall
len down with the girl and not because
he had fallen down with his debt, an6
beside 1T was cold night, and he fear
ed the teary place on the floor would
freeze and cause Seibert Davis ITO sliI
nm and fall down and break his
and maybe resort to the employer:
liability law against him when HI
, opened the store next morning.
However, "Kregie' is some of a spor
| himself, and has kind heart conceal
ed somewhere about his anatomy, 81
| he gave the young man more time oil
, his debt, and much sympathy, and SOM
! good advice: and then did all he coult
{ to get even by making the reporte
pay for drink in advance.