The Palatka news and advertiser., 1917-10-05

other members of the club like a
Greek chorus.
Anyhow Snigger was done for. His
mother said he had to go, San take
girl, too," sneered Groudhy, and there
was no backing out Of it or getting
around it. Club members as they
were, every man there realized that
when Snigger Jackson's mother spoke
she was going to be obeyed or Snig-
gers father would know the raeson
why. Her backing was too powerful
to go unrecognized.
Snigger realized it. AS he jammed
his feet into his patent leather pumps
on the fateful evening he was we'll
aware of his mother sitting in her
own room with the door open between
them. That open door always gave
Snigger the feeling that no matter
! what authority he had outside, in his
own home his power dwindled to the
size of a keyhole. With his door
closed Snigger was man. When it
stood open he sank to the level of
childhood again.
"Most ready, Thomas asked his
mother with an eye on the clock.
"You must learn never to keep a
young lady waiting, my son. Come
here and let me fix your tie for you,
and, Thomas, do 60 over your hair
again. It's perfect sight. What
made you soap it down like that?"
Snigger vouchsafed no other reply
than hollow groan as he got him
self into garment after garment, and
finally presented himself at his moth
er's side for the finishing touches.
His heart was full to bursting.
What did he care for parties any
way. Darn 'em. An he had to take
ole girl, too. Darn her. 1t was
hard lines that you couldn't never do
what you wanted to do and always
had to be pulled around by some men,
ber of your own family. Yes, even
if it was your own mother. Some
times he just doubted if she was a
own mother. Yes, he did. A own
mother to cut you out of the finest
fun the fellers had ever had at the
club( Bennie Smith had live snake
he was going to bring to-night) and
make you go to party whether you
wanted to or not, an with ole girl,
too.
Snigger was far too miserable to
care whether Mary Moore had on a
new pink dress or not, and that young
Iladv finally gave up every effort to
make him express himself on that or
any other subject as they rounded the
corner and marched stiffly up the Nc
Adams front steps.
There wasn't boy of Snigger's
gang in the room, and as the gang
was a close and exclusive corpora ton
Snigger felt more aggrieved than ev-
er when the others very pointedly left
him to his own devices as much as
they dared. 1t was a "game" party,
too. Snigger hated games. Check
ers at the club were all right, of
course, but stringing beads and play
ing jackstia avs and threading needles
for prize with lot of girls look
ing on and laughing at you like wild
hyenas, well, he was getting too old
for such things, that was all, said
Snigger> to himself, forgetting that
lust two months before he had con-
fided to Jew Baby Harris that he
thought game party for prizes was
about the hottest stuff there was in
parties, specially when Mary Moore
was in the game.
Well, Mary Moore was there now
wasn't she? and Snigger merely
looked upon her as an added griev-
ance.
Moreover, how was he to fish out
iackstraws and thread needles when
his eyes were constantly wandering
to the face of the tall clock in the
hall?
The raid had been timed for $3.50
coincident with the supper hour, wher