The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-11-05
PLUM PUDDING BOY
BY VILLA BLAINE.


after he graduated from college. II
had not decided as yet ON his futuI
career, but since any kind of stat
In business as well as the law Studio
that he sometimes contemplated, wa
more or less dependent upon the po,
session Of some amount of capital, b
accepted his mothers proposition {
make plum puddipgs.
1t wasn't because Harry was exactl
ashamed of plum buildings that h
had hesitated-it was because o
Genevieve and Harriette and Mildre,
and Laura--grls in general rattle
than any girl in particular.
Bradley, the small town where Harr,
Tilson had been brought up, boastet
no very definite younger social set
but, so long as there were pretty girll
like Mildred Brewer and Laurs
Stevens in a town, and any young un
married men. there was sure to be ar
occasional picnic down the river, ar
1evening entertainment" Sunday aft
ernoon strolls through the woods OF
buggy rides into the adjacent coun'
ties.
In other years. on Harry Tilson's
short visits home In vacation time, he
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 ha rpaIa ,>l1p, uuddipu
One of the consignments of mate
rails having been delayed in shipment,
Harry sauntered forth one morning
to purchase from the local grocer
sack of -four, 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, don't suppose you'll have time
to come to the picnic tomorrow, now
you've taken to making buildings with
your mother?'
Mildred Brewer, gayly decked out in
d Powered hat and many-ruffied
dress, in spite of the early hour Of
the day. was giving her mothers pro-
vision order at the store when Harry
reached there.
"My word, Harry" she said. Don't
mind my saying so, but | certainly
thought you'd have got some sort of
an opening from your studies at col
lege without having TO come back here
to Bradley to take up pudding max
Ing. Honest, Harry, are you going to
do 1t all SUMMER"
The rest of the morning Harry beat
the pudding batter with unusual fer
vor, so much so that little Molly, the
SHRED girl" whom Mrs. Tilston had
recently employed, watched him with
something like alarm written on her
girlish young features.
do you see anything so very funny,
about man making puddingsT' he
asked her abruptly.
Funny? Why, of course not" she
said with conviction. "Why, some of
the most successful business men in
the country are what they are because
they managed to make something like
buildings better and in larger numbers
than their competitors"
So the summer passed-the |
strangest hardest yet, in many ways, |
most satisfactory summer that Harry |
had ever passed. As result of sew
eral trips to the big city he received
orders for four times as many pud-
iings as his mother had ever made be- |
fore.
The last pudding had been packed
away, and still Mrs. Tilston had not |
had the heart to mention to Molly that,
because the work was ended, she
would not need her services any
onger.
Harry had hurried off after their
simple supper for the usual walk In
he hemlocks. and within Is minutes
If the time they had left the house
Harry was filled with the wonderful
that the girl whom he
as the most womanly and
he sweetest of all the girls he had
aver known had agreed to be his
wife.
81 never thought college man like
lou would marry a poor little hired
,irl," she told him.
"And / never thought such a nice
,irl as you are would marry man
whose idea of starting a career was
o make plum buildings In his mothers
,itchen," added Harry with laugh.
Molly clasped and unclasped her
lands nervously. perhaps | look diff
erently at this plum pudding project
han most people" she began. "1n ,
act, it was those plum puddings that !
made me come TO work for you. I'll I
ave to tell you how il was. Really a
nd truly, l am Mary Louise Juxton- {
ury, daughter of Juxtonbury, the j
aker-" {
Harry iii concealed whistle of SUR a
rise, for that was the name of one
f the leading financiers of the state.
Those millions had been made by his :
hahn of bakeries.
II wanted TO do something-make
money all myself. instead of floating
round in society. So I asked dad what
rould be a good line, and he said
lum buildings. He knew there was
demand for them. and he happened
D get one of the buildings your moth
r sold. And-well. peEhaps dads
lethods haven't always been Just
hat vot1rS would ha He fold mo =