Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1917-05-11

10 Jne SJaSe-naVe nVeu SOOu lives ana
become famous; but the ordinary run
why, it's such a haphazard. go-as-yOu-
please, impecunious kind Of a life
the last kind I'd want TO see you tied
! to-"
But, daddy, they're not all haphaz-
ard or fmpecuniOus.' Gerald isn't"
How do you knoN?"
"He said he had enough for us both
to live on comfortably"
"Huhv y shifted Dakin incredulously.
"Where did you meet 'GeraldT"
"At Grace Welby's."
bohemian studio, cigarettes, beer"
mol" broke in Sue. "At her own
home, with her father and mother.
They entertain some of the best people
in Chicago Sunday evenings"
"HOw long ago?"
"Nearly three months ago. He was
playing there, and"
"What theater?"
"In vaudeville. 1t was"
"Vaudevillew shouted Dakin, with
intense disgust. Il suppose he whacks
a fellow with a stuffed club and calls
it comedy"
"Not at ALL" protested Sue, now al
most in tears. "It's a beautiful little
SKETCH"
well, daughter" said Dakin, begin
ming on another tack, 81 hope you
won't take this matter too seriously till
till we know this young man little
better. Perhaps he doesn't mean"
"Oh, but he does! l saw him just
two days before 1 left Chicago-apd-
we're engaged He wanted to write
you at once; but / thought I would
rather talk to you first about it,
you'd better ask him to write"
With this, Dakin concluded the in
terview, leaving Sue with something
more than a suspicion that her father
was not going to give his consent. La
ter on he told Sue he had answered
Mr.. Fielding's letter and asked for "a
stay in proceedings till he could have
talk with him.
Sue went back in no happy frame Of
mind to take up her studies in Chicago,
and her father concluded to take a
trip to New York, mainly to see Mr..
Jacob Higgins, whom he had found
would be there, and to take a look at
his peach orchard. Arriving late in
the afternoon in New York, he decided
to look up Mr.. Higgins at his hotel the
next day. That evening he strolled
into a theater. 1t was vaudeville.
| A toin M
setting for a play. 1t interested him.
Presently a man entered. Dakin eX-
perienced q shock. He rubbed his eyes,
then slipped a coin in the slot and eX-
tracted opera glasses, which he hastily
raised to his eyes.
Most extraordinary resemblance"
he said to himself. 'Why, it's the i'm
age of Higgins"
He had no program. He called an
usher and asked the name. 1t was Ger
aid Fielding. Mr.. Dakin gasped and
asked the usher to take around his
card. Yes, Mr.. Fielding would see him,
and he went to the stage door. He was
cordially received. In answer to Da-
kin's query as to how he could be two
different men at the same time, he
said: "You see, Jacob Higgins was
an impossible name for the stage, so /
took another. l was trife more ro-
mantle then" he smiled. II am thirty
six now. l know 1 am considerably
older than-but perhaps you'd like to
see the peach orchard?"
| 70
the orchard, so they arranged to go out
Sunday morning. Fielding did not once
again refer to Mr.. Dakin's daughter,
and the other as determinedly tabooed
the subject. The peach grower showed
his fine, extensive orchard with pride
and suppressed glee to his host, whom
he could see was profoundly i'm
pressed.
you see," he said, 81 play only a
short season in the winter, and that
leaves me plenty of time to look after
the orchard"
The next day, as the two men sat
talking in Dakin's room at the hotel,
there came a knock at the door. To
the intense surprise of both, Sue en-
tered. She gave a kind of start at see
ing the two men together.
"Were talking business" explained
Dakin. "We're thinking of going into
partnership"
She gave a little ecstatic cry. Then
there was some more explaining.
Teaching the Family,