The log cabin Democrat., 1916-01-31

time, and just so as the folks at the | booths will know that you are among | the guests of honor today I'll ask the | lady to pin this little white bow on her coat somewhere. There you are, ma a'am"
 Well, he certainly was nice about it, said Madge, making her way at | Toms side into the busy hall that teemed with the mingled sounds and scents of food show in progress. T never knew that red hair was such a distinction as that, did you?"
 'Id bit rather have paid our way" | commented Tom, but I suppose it is | just part of the game. Why, here's my old school friend, Fred My, but he certainly does look tickled to see us! | Hello, Fred!" And before Tom had l had time to present his old chum to the young woman at his side another school friend, whom Tom addressed simply as Bill, had joined them.
 This surely is a surprise" grinned Bill, and the two young men expressed the rest of their pleasure in the meet ing in a series of pump-handle hand shakes. In halting manner Tom did manage to make the proper presenta- tions and went on his way with the pretty schoolmistress.
 They surely seem glad to see us,' Tom remarked later. after he had met and been greeted by several of his other oldtime friends. q tell you a fellow never knows what it is to be popular with the other boys till he's escorting a-a-" Here he stammered, for pretty speeches were not easy for
 him and it was almost in whisper
 that he finished-"a pretty girl"
 In the meantime, Tom and Madge
 had been greeted cordially by the dem-
 onstrators at every booth At one
 they were presented with a full-size
 package of various kinds of popular
 breakfast foods-not the small sample
 packages that were given to the usual
 run of visitors. At another they re-
 celved wooden rolling pin with a
 package of piecrust mixture. Among
 their other booty were small fiatirons,
 dish towels, vegetable cutters, nutmeg
 graters, flavoring extract and various
 kinds of soaps, crackers, tea, coffee
 and canned goods-all in large pack
 ages
 That's what fellow gets for being
 with young lady with red hair" Tom
 said as he was helping Made into his
 automobile with the various gifts
 tucked in at her feet in the first floor
 of the car. We've got enough here
 to go housekeeping with He sudden ly stopped short in embarrassment.
 Quite inadvertently he had actually bent the conversation up to the point
 where it would be most natural to make the long-dreamed-o proposal But words failed him. He tried as one tries in vain to speak in a nightmare. There was no use.
 After they had sped over several : miles of country road in the half light of approaching evening Madge quite out of clear sky began to laugh-one of those provocative, contagious laughs of hers that made Tom more than ever , her devotee.
 Wasn't it funny?" she asked coax ingly.
 No, "doAi ll' uSiCCd lOul, WdtCA- ing her face eagerly and then, after she had stopped laughing, Wasn't what funny, Madge?"
 About you thinking that it was still red-haired girls day and asking , to be admitted free without know . ing" G. Without knowing what, Madge?" Again Madge laughed, this time softly.
 Don't you know? Don't you know what they thought, and why they gave
 us all those things? Didn't you really see the paper and see that on the last - day of the show it was to be free day not for red-haired girls or yellow haired girls or girls with black hair as it had been on other days, but special day for folks that were-were going to be married? That's why your old | friends looked so tickled and why they
 congratulated us and why the people
 at all the booths gave us presents. I
 knew all the time"
 Fate had been indulgent to the limit : and even Tom had to take the cue. I'm blessed" he said at first and
 then, Whats the use of disappointing ' the boys? Say, Madge, you know what l want to say-but I duffer when 1t comes to things line this. But you know what I'm getting at." And ap-
 parently Madge did.
 !, Copyright. 1916. by the Mcclure Newspa- per Syndicate.)