The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-01-27
Not Exactly a
Proposal
copyright. 1912, by Associated Literary
Press
By John Philip Orth

And as this is leap year you may
| get proposal"
And it's almost time for rhubarb
| pie"
And baby has got over the measles,
and won't annoy you"
And the flowers and leeks and man.
brakes are coming up in the woods"
And perhaps you can shoot q wood.
pecker and blue-jay."
Mrs. Gather. living down in the coun-
try, wanted to get her brother Bob
Taylor away from the life insurance
ONCE for a few days rest, and the
above are sample inducements con-
tanned in her letter.
Bob got away and appeared with a
clean shirt and shotgun warranted to
XIII any old crow at distance of half
mile. He was told to Just loaf" and
he proceeded to do So When he hal
loafed couple of days, and as he
smoked his pipe on the veranda, the
sister asked:
Don't you hear it?"
The pig granting
mo, sir, I mean that internal old
crow cawing and shrieking. He has
kept 1t up for months, and want him
killed"
"A crow" replied Bob, as he leaned
back and pulled at his pipe, SIS a work
of Nature"
$50 are you"
Then comes the question, have | a
right to destroy him? AS take 1t, the
worst thing about him is his voice
That, my dear sister, can be said Of
three-fifths of humanity. We may be
Just as much Of nuisance to that old
crow as he is to Us. l don't think !
want to shoot him. I am in the life
insurance business, you know, and it
is our duty to prolong life. If the
crow must be killed let 1t be by your
own hand. Some bread soaked in
poisoned water will do the trick"
| 81 have tried that and other things
in vain. If you have become a crow
champion at least go out and give him
warning to go far and never return"
Brother Bob knocked the ashes from
his pipe and shouldered his gun and
set forth. The old crow gave him
every chance to fire fatal shot but
when II came it was miss by many
feet, and the man gave It up with the
one shot and proceeded to stroll
through the woods. BY and by he
reached mass of rocks piled in con-
fusion along the banks of brook and
| thnrn no down lnafinU
and smoking He was listening to the
babble of the water he could not see,
and watching the squirrels in the
beeches, when he heard the voices of
girls approaching.
life insurance man must study
voices as well as statistics. Mr.. Bob
Taylor wasn't two minutes deciding
that the voices belonged to two good
looking girls about twenty years old
each. and that they were making for
spot below him. The owner of one
voice would have golden hair and the
other dark chestnut. Both would be
good insurance risks. He heard them
cross the brawling stream on a log,
and he knew when they took seat
on a fiat rock 20 feet below him. BY
parting the bushes at his elbow he
could have gotten fair sight of both,
but he didn't do this He didn't quite
think it his duty to stand up and an
nounce: "Oh. girls, am here and
you'd better move on" but he didn't
intend to listen to a single word they
said
well, you've seen him, at a dis
lance, anyhow, and what do you think
of him."
about twenty-four years old?"
yep"
Good looking"
"Yep."
Good f1gure?"
Fine"
Thinks well of himself"
"All young men do that, papa says"
Probably engaged to some girl in
town"
Probably, and she thinks he's Just
the loveliest thing out"
mo chance for either OF u.s."
None for you, my dear, but as for
me"
sue Moreton, what do you meant"
was exclaimed.
"You are too scared to take chance,
but I'm going to propose to him. It's
leap year, you know. Yes, ma'am, I'm
going to ask for his hand and heart. ;"
There were merry peals OF laughter.
and then the question was asked:
"How are you going to get an intro
duction? That must come first, you
know. You can't walk up to him on
the highway and ask him to be yours
"Oh. Romance will bring 1t about
somehow. Yes. sir, If that young man
remains here for week longer he
will be mine, or shall be a Tilted
maiden"
You are Just in fun"
watch me and see No use OF hav-
ing leap year II our sex doesn't take
advantage of It. Let's go home now.
I'm ina hurry to plan my campaign
ard beengaged."
Bob Taylor heard every word OF the
conversation, and he wasn't bit con-
science-stricken. either. He had taken
chances OF hearing himself criticized
instead of praised. He had noticed
lean wear on the calendar, and had
read newspaper squibs about 1t. but
until this hour he had given no par
ticular thought to It. 1t was the girl
with the golden hair that was going
to propose to him. He had not seen
her, but some sort of instinct made
him sure of this. They were wrong in