The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-01-28

T-~J- of friendly greeting. then he sud,
aenly made a luuge of about four feet
and strained, chokscg, at the end of
his chains on his hind feet, with his
tongue hanging out. From the rear of
the lot he had heard the bark of the
suspicious Smash.
where's Mfke?' demanded Molly
hastily and in some fear. -
Bert Glider and five of the eight
couples whom Molly had invited had
already arrived and were now, of
course, thronged eagerly in the door
ways. u ~
Whats your hurry, Molly?" snick-
cred loose jointed DickyE Reynolds.
Hold your caller till I 1un out and
get Smash. He knows me-
Don't you dare.' shrieked Molly,
distressing him with good reasc1.
Bob Ioosened his throat enough to
answer the challenge from the kennel,
and there wasn't a girl left in the
, doorways, except Jessie Peters, who
chung to Dicky's sleeve.
EI'll go with you, Dicky," offered cir
cuIar little Willie Walters, with an
echo of Dickys smoker.
eff you do he'll bark at you,'' hotly
retorted Molly, knowing Wee Wil1ie's
cautious propensities.
The rest of the boys were for keep
ing up the good work, but Sledge cut
short the incipient hysteria by picking
up Bob by the neck returning to the
door and booming into the night the
silent. potent SYLLABLE
Mixer
A squatty man, who looked so much
like Bob. even to patched eye, that
they could have. been taken for twins,
emerged from the darkness, Rugged
Bob to his bosom like brother and
hurried away.
Fern and Molly looked at each other
with dismay. If this was the start Of
the evening what else might they ex-
pect!
''Why didn't Mike take them both
away:" whispered Fern. You poor
girlr'
I'm mott" denied Molly fierceiy. st
said this morning that I'd ikesto see
Bob, and, of course. Mr.. 1Sledge hcought
him. Tie only trouble is he's so
quick
Hes instantaneous corrected Fern
''You have to admire it," laughed
Molly. csWel1, the only thing can do
is to be as game as he is And upon
Sledge's return from some careful di-
rections to an unseen companion of
Mixes she introduced him to her
friends with all the sprightliness of
which she was capable.
In that process she firmly intended
to make him the center of things and
to see that he had good time. He
relieved her Of that tremendous bur-
der, however. for after moving through
L. til
which not only delighted but surprised
her, until she was reminded that he
had been introduced toy more notables
than she would probably ever see, he
quietly disappeared into Mar1ey's den
and smoked fat cigars in calm com
fort, with a stein of cool beer at his ell
bow, leaving the young people to enjoy
their hIlaritg without the damper OF
his presence.
Molly, mindful of her duties as host
ess, dropped in occasionally to see that
he was satisfied, and each time she
found him in exactly the same position.
as pIacidly contented as he could pos
sibly have been in the little back room
of the Occident saloon. On one of her
i visits, after answering in the afdrma-
tive her inquiry if he was alright, he
rose from his comfortable nest in the
big leather chair.
81 suppose we eat he guessed.
81 think you'd call it bluff" she
laughingly returned.
"I get you" he replied. mostly dec
orations. Souvenirs?''
1.-THE usual"
"Hand 'em these" and he thrust into
her hands two bundles of small envel-
opes, red ones and white ones.
She looked at them blankly mo-
ment.
'T-get you," she smiled, flushing
slightly as she wondered whether her
adoption of his phrase was hattery or
ridicule. ''Red ones, in honor of the
roses, are for girls, and the white ones
for the boys. What are they?'
Ito Be Continueo.l