Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-01-15

| times just because the conversation
didn't bend around as he wanted It
to. he left unsaid the very things for
which he had made his call. He had
tried for three whole evenings to get
the conversation around to circuses
the week that the three-ring show
came to town, but in vain. So the
tickets he had bought for himself and
| Madge just went unused. And how
| many times he had tried to no pur-
pose to bend the conversation in the
direction of the subject that was al
ways uppermost in his mind, when he
called on Madge! He sometimes got
it as far as the jewelry store when
he had planned to lead up to engage
ment rings, and there it would stick
or else glance of from jewelry stores
to the tea store next door and so off
again at a tangent. Then sometimes
when he thought of leading to it by
way of mentioning the fact that he
had enough laid aside to build a nice
little farmhouse it would get as far
as the bank where his savings were
kept, and again it would digress.
But on this particular evening when
Tom Wilbur. robust young farmer of
Timlow's Corners, was calling on
Madge Tucker, the pretty district
school teacher who boarded with
Toms nearest n%eighbor, matters pro-
crossed as Tom had hoped.
Il guess they have got quite a few
of those freless cookers over at the
food show in Mapleton," he said.
'D'you ever go. to a food show? Kind
o. interesting to 60, don't you think
so?" Here he was desperately afraid
that the fates would spoil it all and
Madge would change the subject be-
fore he could stammer out his invita-
ton. II see by the paper how they
are letting the girls with red hair n
for nothing. Sort of boost the show,
Il suppose. And the red heared girls
and their escorts have free samples
of everything at the show. If you'd
care to go some afternoon this Week
after school I guess I IAN make the
trip in my little a In about half an
hour. Would you care to go with me,
Miss Madge?" Yes, he had actually
asked her. He paused, GREATNESS, for
her answer.
"You asked me, I suppose" said
Madge, "because I'm the only girl you
know that has red hair" And then
she laughed in a way that at the same
time tantalized and delighted her rus
tic admirer.
"Well now, l don't know as I'd say
that you had real red hair he par
ried, and again Madge laughed delight
fully.
"You needn't hesitate about saying
So" Madge assured him. "for nova
days red hair is very fashionable n
no girl objects in the least to having
1t. In fact in the big cities the girls
actually color it red on purpose
"Yes. but let's talk about that 1000
show" Tom insisted. "Say we go TO-
morrow afternoon. Oh, we'll II you
can't go tomorrow We might go the
next day-Saturday. That is to be the
grand finale and every one will be
there. | guess we can start out a little
earlier since you'll have no school
that day"
81 haven't read the papers lately
Tom was saying as they sped IN his
small roadster over the country nigh
ways in the direction of Mapleton,
but I guess they are still on the look
out for girls with red hair all right.
expect We'll see a good many of the
bows and girls | used to know. It's
! only at times like this that | see the
old crowd I went to school with
81 should think"-Madge had a note
{, coaxing in her voice that Tom did
- $500 eva, ;p%orfi1no1-"T h011|n
think that you would go and see the
| girls you used to know oftener, al
though 1 suppose most of the boys ana
! girls you went to school with are mar
ried by now"
For one feeting second Tom
thought he saw the way to bend the
conversation abruptly to the engage
ment ring or the bank account or the
little new farmhouse he was planning,
but the vision of such an achievement
was dispelled as soon as 1t had come.
Instead he only gripped the wheel OF
his car more intently and starea
ahead of him in confusion.
AS Tom had foreseen, there were
many of his old acquaintance at the
convention hall, where the food snow
was in progress and several curious
ewes were turned upon him as he ap-
reared at the door with the pretty dis
trict school teacher at his side.
"Tickets, twenty-five cents apiece"
! said the man at the door and Madge
cast a challenging glance a her es'
cort's face, a glance that stopped him
as he put his hand in his pocket for
the requisite coin.
"The lady with me says" Tom Lex
planned to the ticket seller with an
embarrassed laugh. "that-that we