The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-07-11

MAKING THINGS EASY

It was a notion store. Outside were
big baskets filed with jelly glasses,
scrubbing brushes, stoneware, toilet
soaps and other articles at what Ina
pressed Chassway as ridiculously low
prices. The windows displayed high,
ly decorated china, toys, stationery
and some odds and ends Of hardware,
among which Chassway noticed a card
Of padlocks price 10 cents. He re
membered to have heard Mrs. Chass.
way say that there should be a pad
lock for the storeroom door. Here
was an opportunity to please her and
at the same time crafty his curiosity
It hardly seemed possible that a real
~ good paddock could be obtained for
10 cents, but then everything seemed
so cheap.
Chassway entered the store and q
polite young man hurried around the
counter to wait on him.
eyes," said the young man, 1.-THE
padlocks are good padlocks-open
with a spring, as you will notice, sir,
and two keys to every lock, all differ
ent."
"Tll take one" said Chassway.
As he spoke his gaze wandered
around the store,
Anything else, sir?" asked the
young man, insinuatingly.
Chassway hesitated and was lost
"Let me see," he said. whats this?"
"That's an apple corer," said the
young man. "You simply push It
down through the apple and there's
your core extracted quickly and
neatly" .'. ,..'..
"That seems a pretty good thing"
said Chassway, admiringly. "Ho"
muchT
give cents, sir. That's a potato
slicer you have in your hand-works
this way-for Saratoga chips or any
vegetables you want sliced thin. Ten
cents"
"Tll take one of them" said Glass
way.
"That's a dandy furniture polish"
said the young man. II can specially
recommend it, because I've used 1t
myself. It's 10 cents q. bottle only.
I'd like to have you try it."
"Well, 1t won't hurt, I suppose, to
try a bottle" said Chassway. what
are these brass things"
"Picture hangers"
,"Oh, Of course. I didn't recognize
them" =
give cents a Dozen"
81 don't know that I need any," said
Chassway. "Still, at 5 cents a dozen,
I guess they'll come in handy"
To summarize, when Chassway tore
himself away he paid for q dozen
brass hooks, a towel rack, a box OF
soap, a long wooden spoon, six patent
gas tips, q closet clothesrack, a pair
Of rubber shoe heels, an egg beater, a
bath thermometer, the picture hang
ers, furniture polish, potato slicer, ap-
pie cOrer and the paQlocE.
He, exhibited his purchases with
pride when they arrived that evening
and Mrs. Chassway, after the first
shock Of surprise, was delightfully."- ap-
preciative. The cook cast a cold eye
upon them and merely shifted.
That evening Chassway went out
into the kitchen to put his screw
hooks in appropriate places. He
found that the woodwork was too hard
to get them In without a gimlet. Sim
ilarly the old gas tips would not come
out without pliers. All he could do
was to tie a piece Of string around the
wooden spoon and hang 1t up and ap-
ply some of the furniture polish to q
bureau top-and some to his trousers.
The next day, however, he made .
special trip to the notion store and
bought a gi1flet and a pair Of pliers.
While he was about 1t he also bought
"a corrugated steak mallet, q wire dish
drainer, a can Of enamel and a paint
brush, a wire potato masher, a salt
box, q gridlron, q tin bucket and q
set Of casters.
That time Mrs. Chassway was ap-
preciauve but not as intensely so as
the day before. Chassway took off his
coat, put in the patent gas tips and
the screw hooks quite successfully. 1t
was the cooks evening. off, so he took
advantage of her absence to invert the
kitchen table and put the. casters in
its legs. "They will make it so much
easier for her to move 1t around when
she wants it." he explained.
The next morning the cook said:
"Mr. Chassway, If it's all the same to
you, I'd like to have you take them
i.devilish little wheels out Of me table.
Sure, I.can't cut a loaf O. breaG with
out sending it skatin' clear acrost the
kitchen to fetch up wild a bang fer
ntnst the range"
One morning as Chassway was sur
reptitiously poking into the pantry
drawers he discovered pretty nearly