The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-01-01
$1,000 Insurance
Money
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1915. by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.

When Henry Davis was told by the
doctor that he was ON his dying bed
he called his wife, Eunice, TO him and
said:
..Eunice. we have no landed property,
but | have got 5000 insurance on my
life which will be paid to you within a
few weeks. 1t is quite a sum for you
to handle. You have no business head
on you. You never even bought a
wash dish Of tin peddler without be-
ing cheated. l have had to attend to
all the selling and buying because you
were like a child. You will be advised
to do this and that, and you Will not
know whose advice to take. l feel
much troubled about 1t"
81 shall get along all right, and you
needfrt worry" replied the wife.
Henry Davis died a day after his talk
with his wife, and there were scores
of people In the village in which he had
lived for twenty years who predicted
inst what he had feared-that his wife
did not know how to handle such a
sum of money.
Three months had gone past, aud
she had made no investment yet that
any one had heard of, when she sud
denly left her home, explaining thaf
she was going on a visit to distant rel
atiyes. 1t was known that she drew
her $1,000 out of the bank and took II
along.
The village Of Lincolnville had been
slowly dying for the last five years
and had now reached the point where
everybody said that something must
be done.
Things were in this state Of affairs
| at Lincolnville when the stage from
the nearest railroad point drove up to
the tavern one day at noon. The land
lord of the hosiery was asleep In his
chair in the office. A loud call from
the driver of the stage aroused him.
and he came to his door just as little
woman was descending from the stage
"Can you give me accommodations
for three or four weeks?" she asked.
81 guess I can" he replied.
| 81 want two rooms" she went on
land both of them large ones. Is there
any place In this town where ! can
buy desk and q table,"
He showed her two connected rooms
and sho accepted them at once and
told him what changes she wanted In
J the future. Then she asked him to
have the editor Of the weekly paper
call upon her on business matter and
she gave him her name as Mrs. Davis
Next morning after her arrival little
Mrs Davis, who had never bought OF
sold dollars worth of anything In
her life, was busy turning out copy
for the editor and trying her hand al
circulars and advertisements. Wher
the Lincolnville Tribune came out OF
its regular day Of issue there was
something like excitement when Il
contained a whole page Of advertise
ments of what was In store for the
toyn. Mrs. Davis wanted real estate
+. She wanted vacant property by thu
lot or by the acre.
There were a large number Of land
owners who were cheerfully willing t.
sell. They offered her lots and tracts
and they came in such numbers tina
some of them had to wait outside tn
door. To the surprise of the woul'
be sellers, Mrs Davis seemed to know
a good deal about what real estat
was worth in Lincolnville. She bea
their figures down about one-half, an
as soon as the deeds could be mad
out the seller had his cash. Then ar
other announcement appeared In tn
paper. 1t was query OF why tire
railroads should not make junctiO
at Lineolnville. 1t was logical poin
for railroad junction and for raj
road shops that would bring 300
| workmen to the town.
There was second query-Wh
shouldn't the government be asked
deepen the river until steamboats, coul
come up from the bay, twenty mile
away? The government would do 1t
, the right influence was brought abou
In the next big advertisement Of Il
Tribune was notice of an auction sa
on certain date. Mrs. Davis wou
resell all her lots to the highest bidder
The next batch Of circulars sent OF
q contained the next announcement al
: the further query:
Will you take $50 worth of stock
q a street railway from Lincolnville
j. Buffalo? The distance is twenty mil
!. to a thickly populated region, and it
!. figured that the dividends on this sto,
n will not be less than 20 per cent. G
In while you can!
a During the week preceding the au
r ton more than 1000 strangers appea
Il ed in Lincolnvil'e. More than 100 hi
h personal interviews with the Wide
Davis. When auction day arrived the
IT were 1900 men ready to bid. The wi
e ow was her own auctioneer, and In t
space Of two hours she had sold la