The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1917-10-22
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Mrs AIApes always referred 10 her
/ two Bokhans and lie Royal Baluch.
/ istan as "the rugs thnt Dustin ate up.
nnd lest anyone who heard her might
/ surmise that Dustin was sort of car
pet noth, she would go on TO exphln
I lgsi how on chat August day half
dozen years before Dustin had first
come up her poplar-lined driveway
staggering and STOPPING under the load
Of the rugs.
lie approached her Ike any other
/ peddler and proceeded 20 open his pack
before her as She and Tie golden-haired
Llda eat stringing beans for dinner.
! But right from the FIRST Mrs. Mapcs al
ways Insisted She could see that there
was something different in Dusnn's
face. There was honesty ana nmbi-
ton. She knew il from the start
Mrs. Mapes had heard the tale OF the
student working his way through coli
lege so often that there must have been
something unusually earnest about
Dustns appearance TO have made him
rouse her sympathios as he dd.
"You wanted 10 enter this year9" she
asked, feeling Of the silky fineness OF
the rugs before her.
"Yes, yes,' he faltored. 81 am a lit
tie older than the average freshman--
but you see | am alone in the world !;
genuine vegetable dyes all the way
through, he continued more gibly. ~
can let you have the large one for a
hundred dollars-just what it would
cost at wholesale, That smaller one
could 20 at fifty. III give you the lot
for $400."
Mrs Mapes tried to conceal the look
that must have indicated her despair
even at the thought Of possessing that
much ready money. Then the inspi-
ration flashed through her mind She
gave look at her daughter was
seventeen then.
II can't afford to pay you that mon
ey for them," she said. "But l feel
that ! must have those rugs How
would this scheme strike you? We have
a large house here and we are near the
campus. could take you in and give
you board and lodging for two years in
payment You could eat out the price
Of the rugs"
Dustin was embarrassed, especially
because he knew that the golden
haired blue-eyed girl was watching him
intcntly. He hated to reject the offer
II am afraid that wouldn't go very
far he said, however. q had hoped
to make enough on these rugs to put
me through college"
Mrs. Ahpes, with her glasses on, was
Inspecting the threads of the reverse
side Of the rug. Apparently the weave
suited her "Well. then, make 1t board
and lodging for four years" And be-
fore giving the poor student time to ac-
cept or reject this offer Mrs Mapes
was dragging the rugs through the long
French windows that opened between
the yeranda and the drawing room OF
her old-fashioned house.
So Dustin Lorrey went to board with
the Mapeses and so the romance that
was inevitable began between Dustin
and Ida. Ida was just the sort Of
blue-eyed, golden-haired lassie that
might have been a college-town belle,
between the ages OF seventeen ana
twenty.three or so, had it not been for
Dustin.
After graduating Dustin induced
Mrs Mapes to listen to his story,
which was about as follows;
'Nvhen you made that offer TO take
me in, he said, looking between
phrases back to Ida for encourage
ment Il tried to get out of it, and
then-then looked at Ida sitting be-
side you. II came to me that the best
thing | could do was to accept your Of
fer and stay right here, So I let the
gang know-told them If they made
any fuss about the rugs I'd have them
an exposed. And so 1 stayed. The
rugs-well, they aren't exactly what
l cracked them up to be. They aren't (
antiques and they We're smuggled. /
Ida knew that-I told her But III
was liUa lndt lbhNc lic NtiNh A. WY
and finish here before | told you. and
when l graduated and left here I told
Ida that / wouldn't come back till
had made good and until ] could pay
YOU on the level for that long board
bill"
Mrs. Mapes had thrown her fat arms
around Dustn's neck. II always I
knew you were an honest lad she
eaid. Il knew it the first time I saw
Won II wasa't half SO bad TO stick me
with those rugs as It would have been I
ia go off aud leave Lida here with T
broken heart That's what people
here say you did. But knew you'd
cor,e back. But don't you fret about
lhe l.oafl bin. Unless you've got 80
s,,d NJ, rugs back 20 the customs
:, ,nle they're eooc 1nouzh for ae'
,opvrirht 1917. by the Mcclure Newspa-
per syndicetel