Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-08-22

| less tones of one addressing an auto
maton, not daring to catch his eye.
, With face as expressionless as the
tones of her voice, Algernon started
the car and turned it toward Castle
Crags.
Molly leaned back in the deep soft
seat and gazed up the long dusty road
through half-shut sleepy eyes. The
car glided along smoothly, with a
soothingly monotonous purr OF the
engines. On one side of the road lay
fields of ripened grain, on the other
side were the woods and the ocean OF
which one could catch glimpses now
and then through the trees. 1t was
very warm and quiet with only the
insects to buzz and drone. The bees
and seemingly endless number of
small yellow butterflies darted among
the browning brambles on each side
of the road. The goldenrod famed by
the wayside in the midst Of asters and
great heavy-headed milk-weed, light
ening the dun grown bushes of late
summer. Peace covered all and seemed
to tuck one in as downy bed-quilt on
cold night in winter
Suddenly Molly opened her eyes
wide and glanced sidewise at her COM
panion, the little imps hidden behind
the long black lashes danced and the
dimples appeared at each corner Of her
bewitching mouth.
"Joe," said she, "it's worth It,"
Algerncn turned and smiled down at
the piquant face beneath the brim
of the big white hat.
What Is worth what?" he asked,
amused.
1.-THE last two months. No matter
what happens, they can't be taken
away from me. have really felt what
1t means to be rich, and no one can
change that whether I remain so or
not. It's grand to have nothing to do,
to lie in bed and have your breakfast
brought to you, to order this and that
and the other and have some one run
and fetch them for you, to have
clothes, until you don't want any more.
Money, 1t means a lot No wonder
men lose their souls for It," There
was a hard ring in her sweet voice and
an expression of greed crossed her
face like the swift shadow of cloud
across a tiny brook.
"Nonsense." said Algernon. "if you
were old and fat and ugly and had In
digestion and rheumatism, you
wouldn't think money Is everything"
1T would be compensation for the
rest Of everything that didn't have.
Don't talk to me about love and peace
and happiness going hand in hand with
poverty. l know. l have tried both
now, wealth and poverty" She laugh
ed. Poverty" and she flung out her
hands with gesture of mingled alb
horrence and wisdom. Poverty
grinds a mans soul to pleces!"
"Oh rot"
do you like being poor?' She chal-
lengtd him with her bright eyes on
his face.
Algernon thought Of the last two
months of pleasant novelty he had
spent peddling with James Mortimer
Worth. He had not had worry on
his mind and he was always subconsci-
ously aware that he had but to tele-
graph or write his lawyers, name the
amount he wanted and 1t was his. He
nevertheless labored under the delu-
sion that he knew what it meant to
be poor:
poverty" he sneered.
"You are a man and men miss half
of the trouble of this world Women
get 1t all in a big lump, heayGd right
down plump on top of them" In her
voice was the wisdom of the ages, and
on her face again the passing shadow
of, greed and cupidity. She nodded
cnce or twice, her eyes on the road
ahead as If in its dusty turnings she
could see down the years Of time all
that women had suffered and would
suffer. Then she laughed. "You
should try being rich for time. You
would not be so sure of the blessings
of poverty afterward. You would see
all the nasty littleness of 1t which you
are too near now to see. Rich-or
married. either will open your eyes"
Algernon blushed guiltily, but she
was arranging the bundles on her lap
and did not look up. IF money" she
went on after a moment, were not as
far above poverty as king above
slave, as woman above man, why
has everybody since the world began
taken their hats off to it?''
Everybody doesn't" protested Al
gernon.
The majority do, Joe, and you
know it,
See here" said Algernon, II can't
argue. I never could. Tell me what
you want me to say and I will say it"
mo one can argue on this subject"
said she calmly. "All have to agree
with me-"
"All DON'T" returned Algernon. "The
majority may. don't deny it. But
that's because the majority don't look
at it in the right way. They look on
it as nothing but burden and forget
that it is really an incentive"
ITO suicide" said she. mo. they
don't forget
IAN incentive to live, to work"
protested Algernon.
"You can work the best horse to
DEATH" she replied tersely, and so
you can humans"
81 know That's where people make
a mistake by not taking poverty easier.
slower. They have got to be rich TO-
morrow or they won't play. They
ought to take time. work and rest
"You can't rest much, Joe, when you
49, 81, rhN In