The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1913-11-06
A
Four-Leaved
Clover
Howard perspired with exaspera.

v nv WY ny SVLue WiSeTIule mix
up in the trains. 1t was enough to
make a man swear.
Most of the passengers we're trav-
@lling men, like himself. One by one
they Went up to their ~felloa,s in mis-
'~ortuneNand commented on he read.
i've been travelling this road for
live years said Howard. as he paeed
up and down the car. and Id like TO
recall the time when | ever got where
wanted to get at the time intend
ed The others ell said a..nen.
A conductor stuck his lead in5ide
the door. Two hours to AIT, gem
tlemen." said he. - lore We pill in
TO Bangor" The dtunmers all fell
back into their sac5s w.t. de-pair.
Howard got up and walled MO the
baggage car. Are yoa sure we
have two hours" he asked the coz
ductor. IF it amt more IN eat M.
shirt" was the reply. So Howard
decided to take a walk. There was
8 long. narrow. dusty lane, which
wound its way over broad fields of
clover.
Glover. Howard had always had
a weakness for the sweet fawers.
emblematlc of a peace aid content
ment which he had not lelt for ages.
He remembered how, when a dirty
little imp of a boy. he had spent
our in hunting the mystic four
leaved clover and had treasured the
luck charm as though it had been
gold. Two hours to throw away.
Howard thought he would find a
fcur-leaved clover. He knew it WAS
a foolish pastime, but it did brig
back the dear old days in the dim
past. So he walked boldly into the
pink sea of clover and sat down.
The sweet breath OF the flowers
almost intoxicated him. He felt hap
per now than he had felt for many
days. He almost forgot the veXat'on
OF the delayed train. He vas a boy
again.
Strange to say. there seemed to be
no four-leaved stems at all. Howard
began to think hat it was a piece
of spite on the part of the clover.
When ne was a kid they used to have
lots OF en-. Now hat he was a
grown up. even the flowers went back
Oh him. An angry mood came. over
him. He would hunt and hunt and
hunt until he did find a lucky clover.
SO he sat there and picked around in
the grass and dirt and hunted.
nd GpalI- h., F.,..
very big one, 20 Eo sure; but. Their.
II did have four leaves. He pulled
out his card case and laid the tails
man carefully into it. mentally saF-
ing to himself that the clorer had
not gone back on him after all. He
felt c%ontented now. He had spent 6
delightful hour. Now for the train.
He pulled out his watch. He had
forgotten to look at it before, but
he only been hunting clovers a lit
tie while. So he walked back down
the dusty. narrow, long, little lane to
the tracks. Instinctively he walked
faster. He found the tracks. but nc
rain. An old fellow who hung
around the crossing told him the
train had been gone over an hour.
Howard had to put his hands into his
pockets 10 keep from knocking the
fellow down.
How he cursed that clover mania
OF his! Good luck, indeed. He had
been hunting the confounded things
Tor three solid hours. All the good
luck the clover had brought him was
-. He sat down on a rock and
wiped his forehead. He almost cried
with anger and modification. In
the wet the sky was growing purple.
Howard sat there, his head buried
In his hands for some time. Finally
he got up. He must put up for the
night somewhere. Through the trees
he saw the CLINT of lamps just lighted
for the evening. So he went through
the %brushwood till he came to a little
town. There was n hotel in it
that was as bad as the usual one. But
IL was better than nothing. He was
Shown a that smelled like by
gone days, and which was decor
ated' with moth-eaten crepe paper.
exhausted he fell asleep that night
and dreamed of clover, clover. clover
and about trains standing still.
He awoke later than usual that
morning and vent down to break
last. The hotel was a mess, no doubt:
but they could cook oatmeal that
tasted like real food. The landlord
brought Howard a morning paper.
How Howard hated these morning
papers. He never read papers, any
way. The ads were interesting some
times, and the recipes.
But there was nothing to do at all,
so he picked up the thing.
A moment later the landlord came
into the room and found Howard
pressing a wilted clover leaf to his
lips in a sort of dream. The paper
lay on the floor. The first page gave
"A graphic description of an accident
the day before. and across the top
was the headline in immense type:
Horrible Accident to Bangor Train
Scores Killed and Wounded
Rigid Investigation to Follow--
Few Escape With Lives.
The clover leaf is framed now,
and Howard drags il around with
him on his travels as other fellows
do fhnir l,c,ct oir1'v ni,f,,r,c o,-flaf-