The Red Cloud chief., 1913-07-24
HIS CLEVER SCHEME
John Moran Arose to Occasion,
and Immediately Fell With
Great Splash.
sY HERssRr DRocER.

Copyright. 1913. by the Mcclure News
paper syndicate)
Anything between the ridiculous and
the sublime probably would have left
John Moran with very uncertain
appreciation Of the Fourth Of July
celebration. Neither the one nor the
other, In his opinion. could have been
very fruitful Of results. But when the
ridiculous followed close on the sub.
lime. the two operated after fash.
ion peculiarly uncalculated and
taneous decision on a matter affecting
John. wherein all the p's and q's she
had fingered over 30 long never be-
came finally resolved In her mind to
. syliogistic nicely.
OF the two extremes, the sublime
had been deliberately planned; 1t was
premeditated. The ridiculous wasn't.
The former was the result Of a clever
scheme and weeks OF hard work. The
latter was the chance Of minute. un-
foreseen, unexpected. and. some might
have said on the spot, unpropitious.
For several years John Moran had
wooed Susan Duvau, but. so far. he
seemed to himself no nearer the matri.
monial goal than he had been at the
beginning. All her people had been
assisting him without apparent avail
He had pleaded with her; he had
coaxed and cajoled and even assayed
to coerce after mild fashion. his
threats reaching that superlative pro
portion where he promised to identify
himself for life with the sublime or
der of bachelorhood. But, to all this,
she merely cast down her eyes de-
murely and asked him to wait awhile.
John calculated that he had waited
long enough. At first he had been
patient. but now he was growing des-
perate.
A score and one.half years had
come and gone around the life Of
Susan. AS her thirty.first birthday ap-
preached. John. who had schemed un.
til his hair was beginning to fall out,
decided on a bold stroke. He spent
the afternoon with her that day. and
in the evening. they had dinner to-
gether downtown.
That night he sat with her on the
front porch, after the family had re-
tired. Over them dim light shining
from the parlor window. cast pale
glow. John sat quietly. waiting for
the silence he depended on for the
furtherance OF his plan. After awhile
It came, and then. when the stiffness
had locked the night in its embrace.
he began to hum, "Silver Threads
Among the Gold" When he had
drew his chair closer to hers, reached
ceased, tears stood In his eyes. He
out for her hand again. and asked her
to become his wife. But It was the
same old prosaic answer"
wait awhile. John" she insisted.
"Wait awhile. Do something grand.
Show me that you can rise to the oc-
casion."
Rise to the occasion. he would. He
resolved that firmly as he stood up
forthwith and bade her good night.
He resolved 1t all the way home. The
next morning he still resolved It. But
how?
A happy thought struck him. John
had a penchapt for happy thoughts.
He would make a speech at a Fourth
Of July celebration 1t would be so
grand and SO eloquent, couched in
such rich expressions and so laden
with noble sentiment, that she could
not help but feel the appeal. He
would show her that he could rise
to the occasion!"
John got out his old. school die
tionary and brushed the dust from its
covers. Then he borrowed an i'm.
mense volume of masterpiece orations
from a friend and read every speech
he could find that contained any pa.
triotic reference or expression. For
four weeks. he labored almost inces.
sanity, night and day. on his effusion
and finally he had II completed.
An obstacle that John had not reck.
oned on now loomed up. John was q
member of the program committee.
and he doubted the propriety of hav-
ing himself included among the list
of speakers. But he remembered his
penchant, and called 1t into play
again. with good effect.
The morning before the celebration
he called around to see the chairman
Of the committee.
you see-ahem!-Mr. Grubbs." ("
John began. being one of the commit.
tee. I should regret to see any part
of the program fall fat"
"Just So" answered the chairman.
~ feel the same way"
We'll. as q matter of precaution.
Mr.. Grubbs. ] think shall prepare a
few remarks myself today. Should
any Of the speakers be tardy. or fail
to respond. you might call on me-"
"Fine idea, John. I'll do It."
Then John took himself around to
the residence Of Squire Sloan. He
knocked at the door and was admit.
ted.
"Ahem. SQUIRE" began John. after