The Washington herald., 1915-03-04
DAILY SHORT STORY.
PATENTS AND POLLY.
BY MOLLY Mem

he mounted the steps leading to hi:
clearinghouse he realized that. he hac
lost the small model of his patent and
that the knowledge in no way worried
him. He had no doubt left it in the
subway train that had carried hin
homeward from the fnancier's office.
However. since the thing was moi
worth financing and putting on the
market, Crawford didn't care whai
happened to his patent. All he did
know was that he would not spend
another cent nor yet another atom
boilers or any other kind of a boiler
He had banked rather heavily on the
outcome of his visit to the fnancier,
but the expectations had ended
crawford would hope for nothing in
the future save his $50 week. His
dreams of sudden and vast wealth
brought about by a startling demand
for his patent egg boiler vanished
into the past. even as his model itself
had lost itself in the subway. craw-
ford hoped IL had fallen beneath the
wheels and been crushed TO pow der.
He laughed bitterly and could not
remember. so gloomy was his atti-
tude, that the great finanCier had
mentioned that n slight amount of
added thought spent on the patent
ccssful egg boiler.
And Polly Woodward. returning
from n hard day in the Office of her
employer, picked up the small pack
age that had been left in the seat into
which her tired body sank.
She was far to weary to ponder on
the exact nature of the thing she had
found, but knew il TO be something
for kitchen use. 1t might be a baby
feeder or even a grill of some kind.
Later. when she had cooked her even
ing meal in the tiny kitchenette her
fiat boasted, she would no doubt have
sufficient brain energy to fathom tho
character of her find. For the pres
ent she closed her eyes-they were
strangely luminous-and robbed the
gentleman opposite of the pleasure of
watching them. He. also a tired toiler
of Wall street, had been resting his
own eyes unobserved on the beauty
of the weary little worker. John
ellsworth was more than ever re-
gretful that so many women were
forced TO enter the field of labor.
When Polly Woodward had finished
health had returned to her cheeks
and renewed power to her brain, she
sat down with the patent and studied
it infinitely.
An egg boiler she unused. "I
wonder if IFS any good or just like
the thousands of other egg boilers"
Curiosity got the better of her and
she tripped lightly into her kitchen
to experiment with Jim Crawford's
patent and one of her sixty-cents-a
dozen eggs
Il will have to use this for salad
tomorrow" she told herself by way
of apology for her extravaganza.
Using great care SO that no harm
would come to the model, Polly put
in her egg. She felt certain that
the person who had lost the patent
would claim it by advertisement,
and she did not want to damage II.
To her interested eye the thing
seemed to be one of those labor-sav-
ing devices so dear to the domestic
woman's heart. Polly had many lit
tie contrivances that saved her both
footsteps and time. Where there is
adequate kitchen space the most
modern equipment is none too mod
ern.
The indicator on the egg boiler
snapped and Polly removed the egg,
only to find ii half boiled. She
sighed disappointedly. The patent
had seemed so promising. yet it failed
because of the indicator.
Surely it could be quite easily ad-
justed," she pondered while she
cleaned the model and dried it care
fully. There would be one of these
in every kitchen If it could be easily
regulated to any number of minutes.
All the girls in the office would have
one. ] wonder'-the continuation of
Polly's query was carried on in the
small sitting room. whittier she went
with CraFford's patent. Her lumf
nous eyes were half closed. so close
was her scrutiny of the egg boiler.
She sat down under the light. her
busy brain hard at work.
When a week had passed and no
one had advertised for the model
Polly became impatient. She had per-
fected the boiler until it worked like
a charm and 1t irritated her to real
ize that the Inventor was SO lacking
in interest as to put forward no claim
for his patent. 1t should be on the
yet she was not free to go
to the financier in the office build
ing in which she worked and put ii
before him. She had heard that John
ellsworth was always ready to finance
anything good.
1t was Polly herself who finally ad-
vertised for the person who had left
a small package on the subway con-
an invention.
Crawford, from whom the shades
Of gloom were. gradually lifting. hap
pened to see the advertisement and
went forthwith in search of his lost
property.
II was perforce after business hours |
that he went. Polly Woodward had
scarcely tidied up herself and her fat
before her bell sounded.
Crawford was decidedly pleased that he |
had lost his model when he beheld Polly |
in the doorway.
You can make stacks Of money out of \
that" she told him when she had drawn |
him into the cozy sitting room. 1T only |
required a simple bit of regulating. You ,
won't mind my showing you, will you?"
Crawford wouldn't have minded any
thing she chose to do. but he merely
listened attentively to her curiously in
leiligent explanation Of his error.
by love, Ny head is solid ivory
not to have seen that" he said with
splendid dash OF color in his cheeks and
sparkle to his eyes. But after all" he
added quietly. looking at her. lit takes
4 WOman'a head to 6GuIO out these