The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-01-16

Midway. 1T never ask a dollar where 1t came from. That's insulting friend.''
 Out of the moving mass of farmers with ocher colored cigars and village sports with twenty for a nickel ciga- rettes and women with red shhwls ana irregular waist lines and children with toy balloons there emerged a small. very thin man with facial appear ance of having been left on a desert to dry out for few years. His hair was plentifuIly sprinkIed with gray, and pouchy depression in each cheek Indf- cated that most of his back teeth were gone But he wore a suit of college cut clothes, with 8 corset shaped coat. a straw sailor with a red green and yellow band, a cravat which used up all the other shades and tints known to nature and art and big red cravat pin encircIed with stage diamonds.
 Hello, old scoutr' he greeted Blackie.
 s'Wen, as live and breathe" 1" declap sd Blactie. tits my old L9riend, Hoodoo Mann! Shake hands with Jim Wal Hngford, Mann. Say, old boy, has any body ever taken the hex off you, or do you still walk around under a Jonah2H
 MT. Mann grfnned sadly. 1'The curse Is still on,'s he confessed.
 s'This issa living picture of tough luck, Jim,'' laughed Blaclzie. Hes afraid to be happy for fear things VIII be worse. How's the graft, Charley s''
 Rotten, thank you,'' the unluckg bne confessed. This pumpkin show ia plumb sunocating with easy money ginks, but got rheumatism in my shumb.''
 ssThatss 8 horrible epidemic for c :hree card worker" condoled BlRclies surveying the stiff and swollen thumb with sympathy It should teach you to lead better life. How are the big noises 7's
 .sThey,ve. got my hxit money, and they won't cough any of 1t up They say it's none of their business if can't work. They've brought the suckers here, and they've got dozen Johnny tin plates on the 5ob ready to pinch any sfmp for disorderly conduct if he raises a noIIer I'm going to wait until getaway day ana rough the works
 ssCrude. undIp1omatic and unprodta- bIe,v chided Blackie. 'sGetdng a bunch of strong arm Hicks and shillabers to rnuss up the lot won't get you any thingAnot even happiness. What you want, to soothe your soul. is money eh, Jim ?''
 Wa1lingford. deep in the intrieaeies of a patent auto blow. needed the ques- tion repeated to him before he could answer .sMoney is not all" he sol emnly advised them. ssItss only about D7 per cent. Who wants some?''
 ssMann, replied Blackie. Hes put up wad of ka1e for the walnut shell and monte privilege. but he can't work, and now the high Mike won't give any of it back.
 ssCertainly notg' sternly reprOvsd Wallingford. .sIt's against the rules to give anything up. It's all right to pass money on. but wise gee never passes any back. He might get into the ha5- 1t. Why don't MT. Mann put his un- derstudy on the job2
 ssUnderstudys,' snorted MT. Mann. ssWhere would ! get one2 There are mighty few experts in the profession any more, and don't know of shell worker good enough to- Suddenly he paused, and his eye rested with 1awning brightness on Blackie- Say he he exclaimed. ssyhy don't you take whirl at it7 You used to be one of the king pins of the trade
 BIackie smiled reminiscently- How pleasant it would be to go back Co the simple pastimes of my innocent child hoodr, he nnusingly observed, smooth Ing his slender fingers to make sure of their suppleness. ssVhere's your Iayoutg'
 Wallingford, making the lonely rounds of the Higg1eburg fair grounds while Blackfe practiced deceiVing MT Mann's eye with the qutckness Of his hand, paused in front of the tented booth where large, comfortable look ing man with flowing whiskers every where on his countenance but his nose and forehead sat in gloomy charge of Frazier's Little Wonder Patent De tachable Cleared Handle. The same huge muslin sign which gave Walling 1 ford this information also told him that the remarkable invention was a i long felt want, that it would revolu- tionize farm life and that the patent l was for sale.
 The extra ingenious uselessness of 1 the detachable geared handle appealed 1 very much to WaIlingford's sense of amusement, and he gave the queer con- trivance his full mind until the beard ed gentleman ventured to disturb him.
 s'I guess you never saw anything like that!' he eendded in a queer falsetto voice, which was startling from amid that hairy countenance. "The most useful invention of the century, Look at this. You have the handle on a pump. You unscrew this bolt and slip the handle on your rotary churn- This way. You run your corn sheller with I 1t, your washing machine, your feed chopper. your grindstone, your sausage suffer, your cream separator, your ap- pie grinder and cider press-anyt thing, tn short, that works with crank. Three gears-higR, low and medium and easy to carry from place to place. No home should be without one.
 3To Be continued.S