Smyrna times., 1917-11-14
PLUM PUDDING BOY
BY VILLA BLAINE.

1t was not without a struggle with
his pride that Harry TilstOn decided to
make his plum puddiRgs the summer
after he graduated from college. He
mad not decided as yet on his future
career, but since any kind of a start
i'll business as well as the law studies
that he sometimes contemplated was
more or less dependent upon the pos
session of some amount of capital, he
accepted his mothers proposition to
make plum puddings.
It wasn't because Harry was exactly
ashamed of plum puddingS that he
had hesitated-it was because Of |
Genevieve and Harriette and Mildred
and Laura--girls in general rather
than any girl in particular.
Bradley, the small town where Harry |
EilSOn had been brought up. bOasted |
no very definite younger social set, !
but, so long as there were pretty girls |
like Mildred Brewer and Laura
Stevens in a town, and any young un-
married men, there was sure to be an
occasional picnic down the river, an
evening entertainment" Sunday aft
! ernOOn strOlls through the woods or
buggy rides into the adjacent cOun-
! ties.
! In other years. on Harry TilsOn'S
! short visits home in vacation time, Ge
! had figured rather prominently in
/ these diversions. He wondered wheth-
er Laura and Mildred and the other
girls would be inclined to laugh at him
if he made plum pudding.
One of the cOnsignments OF mate
rialS having been delayed in shipment,
Harry sauntered forth one morning
to purchase from the local grocer a
sack of flour, so that the days energy
need not be thrown away for lack of
materials. He passed Laura Stevens,
who called to him: "HellO, Mr.. Til
StOn, 1 don't suppose you'll have time
to come to the picnic tomorrow, now
you've taken to making puddings with
your mother"
Mildred Brewer, gayly decked out in
a flOwered hat and a many-ruttied
dress, in spite of the early hour of
the day, was giving her mothers pro-
vision order at the store when Harry
reached there.
"NIy word Harry" she said. "DOn't
mind my saying so, but l certainly
thought you'd have got some sort OF
an opening frOtn your studies at col
lege without having to come back here
to Bradley to take up pudding max
ing. Honest, Harry, are you going tt
do it all summerY
The rest of the morning Harry bea
the pudding batter with unusual fer
vOr. so much so that little Molly, tn
"hired girl" whom Mrs. TilstOn hat
recently employed, watched him wit
something like alarm written on he
girlisb young features.
"Do you see anything so very funn
about a man making puddingsT h
asked her abruptly.
"Fmny? Why, Of course not" sh
said with conviction. "Why, some {
the most successful business men
the country are what they are becaus
they managed to make something iE
puddings better and in larger number
than their competitors"
So the summer passed-tf
strangest. hardest yet, in many way
most satisfactory summer that Harl
had ever passed. AS a result Of Sc
eraI trips to the big city be receive
orders for four times as many pu
dings as his mother had ever made b
fore.
The last pudding had been pack
owav. and still Mrs. TilstOn had n
had the heart to mention to Molly thi
because the work was ended, S
] would not need her services a
- longer.
- Harry had hurried off after thu
B simple supper for the usual walk
z the hemlOcks, and within 10 minut
z of the time they had left the hou
9 Harry was filled with the wOnder1
consciousness that the girl whom
regarded as the most wOmanly a
the sweetest of all the girls he
Z ever known had agreed to be
q wife.
z "I never thought college man l
z YOU would marry a poor little hi
2 girl" she told him.
"And l never thought such
girl as you are would marry n
whose idea of starting a career
z TO make plum puddings in his mOth'
8 Kitchen" added Harry with laugh
q Molly clasped and unclasped
hands nervOusly. "Perhaps l look
2 ferently at this plum pudding pro.
than most people," she began.
Z fact. 1t was those plum puddings
Z made me come to work for you.
have to tell you how it was. Re
and truly, I am Mary Louise Jux
E bury, daughter Of JuxtOnbury'
z baker"
g Harry i'll concealed whistle of
z prise, for that was the name OF
of the leading financiers oR the 81