The Washington herald., 1913-11-23
"a lottery"
Its against the law" objected Brink

"hoe eAC io"s "hCi VIC nave S1AlC
Senator Hissup to help?" asked Brian.
THE stunt I'm going to pull of is little
matrimonial love gamble TO be called the
Lot and Lottie Lottery. Now harken"'
He held up a hand to forestall interrupt
ton. "All that bleak desert stretch
which politeness calls Utopia Addition is
owned more or less jointly by those pres
ent-although all / own is a second joint.
Ny idea is to cut that tract up into about
5000 buildin' lots and put 'em on the mar
ket at hundred dollars per. We can
draw 'em like flies"
IF you've got the attraction" said the
cynical Ketchum.
We've got it all right" grinried Brian,
waving aloft the portrait of Lottie de
We're. Now listen to my spiel: We put
up the land between us and mark 1t on
into buildin' lots. On the prettiest lot Ia
the tract We build a cheap and handsome
mission-style house, and put the lots on
sale under the following conditions: Six
thousand lottery tickets will be issued,
and every purchase of a 800 lot entities
the purchaser to a ticket. On a set date
we hold a drawing, and the man who gets
the lucky number wins the house and
lot, with full title to marry the lovely
Lottie de We're. Do you follow"
"Will this Lottie person be willing to
come into such a scheme?" asked O'Mal-
ley.
Sure as shootin'r' said Brian. Last
time saw her she said she'd marry any
body, even me, to get to live in San
Bruno"
''She's desperate-you need say no
more" grunted Ketchum. Il think the
idea is full of wheels
1T takes wheels to get anywhere" re-
torted the Little Booster. There's my
scheme Take II or leave it. II you leave
it, il costs you nothing. If you take II
you'll have to raise enough dough to put
'er through"
Brian sought the manager OF the En-
pire Vaudeville Theater in the quest OF
the golden LOttie, and found that her
name was on the books as appearing
that week at a theater in Seattle; so
there Brian sent the following telegram:
Would you play headliner matrimonial
engagement San Bruno. life contract?
B. B. BLANEY.
To which came the reply. collect"
Will a COW eat grass? Who pays car
fare? LOTTIE.
Brian wrote a letter outlining the
great lottery idea, and, armed with
Lottie's enthusiastic consent, he set
forth to carry out his plans. Several
Thousand cheap prints were manufac-
tured from the beauteous photograph III
Brian's possession. and in a short space
OF time iii KusIck. a conndant OF Leo
pold. Eggs went on the road as COM
ElercIaI traveller for the scheme. There
were 6OOO tickets struck on. 1,O0O of these
to be distributed in San Bruno and en-
virons, the balance TO be sold in the
larger cities throughout the West. The
stipulation of sale was that the pur-
chaser. paying 800 for a Chance and re-
ceiving a lot in Utopia Addition in re-
turn. must be in San Bruno on the day
of the drawing. November L, and must
promise to remain there at least SIX
months after.
1t was Brian himself who suggested
that twenty-five of San Bruno's leading
citizens buy the first tickets. in order to
set moral example to less Illustrious
gamblers. Ere the week had waned
fourteen leading citizens came secretly
to Bran with Shame IN their eyes ana
tickets in their hands. were married
men," as they expressed it, furtively
Eiancia9= over the left shoulder. What
would we do with Lottie, even If we
won her." Brian was too thoroughly q
business man to let the chance slip, and
bought up the fourteen tickets at a
% per cent discount. The chances
he held. being of an early issue, ran
in sequence between the numbers l203
and l217.
IE a short space of time Lottie de
We're began TO take rank with Mona
Lisa and Lillian Russell among the
worlus mysterious beauties. AIJnougn
her share in the lottery was never men,
toned. her career was thoroughly syndI-
ca.ed i'll yellow supplements.
Cipher kilograms began pouring in
from the industrious Hi Kusick an
and hordes of expectant bachelors al
ready fastening toward San Bruno.
Out on the prairie stretch of Utopia
workmen had been busy for
weeks building a super-Dreadnought
Of house in the Aztec style of archi
lecture. In the midst of II all came a
telegram from the lady herself saying
that she could not be in San Bruno
until the 9th, three days before che
lottery drawing.
One afternoon. when Brian was 60
ing through the now fiourishing col
Ony of Healthy View, he stopped. OF
at Uncle Steve Pottles cottage,
and leaned over the fence to talk to
A small young woman in a gingham
apron, who wa transplanting gera-
mum slips into a cracker box.
Il been over to Utopia Addition look
in at the new lottery house. Say. it's
a dream" he announced enthusiastic |
cally.
From under Betsy's frivolous practi- |
ral sunbonnet strsyed such a lock as
Daphne might have shaken, maddening |
many river god.
What lottery house?" she inquired. |
"Oh. bee-have!" snorted Brian. |
Everybody on the Coast knows about |
my Lot and Lottie Lottery"
"Tr ayaryho6r he
she replied promptly.
You are to mel said Brian in a low |
voice. But. as conversation seemed to /,
strike a cul-de-sac at this remark, he !
sought to tighten the effect by bring !
ng the photograph of Lottie de We're |
from his pocket. She's the girl that |
will marry the man that will win the |
house." he explained Tt may sound |
ike the House that Jack Built. but |
here's more truth than Mother Goose
n this proposish.''
Betsy took the photograph and looked !
critically at Lottie's incredibly regular
How did you get acquainted?" she
asked.
Il don't know her very WELL" Brian
fastened to reassure her. Just met
her in restaurant, and"
oh With the concentration of a
expert. she scrutinized the
'cribbled You know me-Lottie."
Il think she has a hard mouth" said
Betsy decisively. as she handed back the
picture. II suppose you have bought
OTIS and lots of tickets in hopes of win
ling this Lottery Queen?"
''Only fifteen" he said.
Let's see them"'
He handed over the pack of little PASTE
boards running in seouence from, I 0n2 20 |