The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1918-12-07
TIE DAILY
STORY
when Money Talks
81 aERTHA 3. MeooNALp..

BY BEHt IN he MSSS'tS-s %
Scouyrieht, 1918, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate1
DE litzle music teacher ran up the
sps Of the boarding house with a
iIftering heart, for she had see1
the gray coat OF the poStman dis
arfng around the corner. me
Srfng quickened into a brisk tat
IKE tie beating OF tiny hammers.
46y the tine she reached the hall
where the letters were always
81 was Ike the pulsation OF
~ engine
rs. there vas letter, but the writ
zaS not familiar. When she had
saed the sacred precincts OF her
rocsa She read it and had just
it aside with q most contemptuous
n when there came a timid KNOCK
the door. When she called Come
- ~ the maid brought another letter
tsch In her haste she had overlooked
4zafn- her hope beat high, but this
was more bitter disappointment than
the nrst-
"sickening-both OF thcm." she
muttred why must be made the
target for such pi61e?"
AneriIy she thrust them inside her
desk, closed It with a bang and went
down to dinner. That evening. after
4 brisk walk through little park near
BIZ, the keen october Gsr having sooth-
/ Cd her ruffIed spirits somewhat, she
I donned 4 comfortable dressing gown
and wrote thus to her old friend, Mrs
: De voss:
"Dear Mol1ykins-It rests me just to
write that name. It carries me back
70 the days when you were my sym
pathetic mother confessor, and, Mol
]. 1ysfns. rye go. to talk to you now, Tor
you are the only one who viii under
stand. I've worked so hard this past
year to build up my class and you've
heard how I've succeeded even be-
Tond NV widest dreams But success
isn't everything Even here seem de-
stined to be ranseated with impossible
suitors. I've Just had two OF the
most sickening proposals by letter
that any girl ever received. Possibly
7 might have read one or the other
second time had not been sure tnat
both men are counting on my income
! TO help support u.s. Peace TO the asneS
Of their unsolicited alteration! I tel
You, dear, I shall marry for money.
Nv seen the folly Of not preparing for
a. rainy day and It has colored every
thing in the world for me. When 4!
put my head into the matrimonial
moose It viii be when the future MI
check book on nice, fat bank ac-
Bess CORTLAND Is ready to hand me
count. AS It is, epistolary eftores'
such as reached me today, only serve
to frazz1e my disposition Buckets OF
sIush.' Billy would call them 1t Is
seedIess for me to tell you where my
heart lies, and he has never written
me a line In all this long year
thought. Of course, when our crash
came and father died that Billy would
be the first to come to me, and when
he left for Colorado without so much
as a goodbye was broken-hearted-
Now rye joired the ranks OF those
who believe that money talks. can
D heareyou call me dinty OF heart, but
eowiiI YOU be, Molly, If ever you come
TO feel the dull, sickening thud OF the
fan from the lap OF luSpry to the cold.
stone floor OF poverty. hope you
never may. Write me soon-your let
tiers are such comforts. LovinSly.
That night the little music teacher
cried herself to sleep and the next
morning she said to herself, as she
surveyed the pale face which looked
at her with weary eyes from her
mirror:
sDon.t you let me catch you weep
ing again over Billy Dempster. he
doesn t care hg about you and he
wouldn't weep over anybody.
BY the time she reached the studio
she had fully made up her mind that
she hated Billy cordially and that If he
should ever see ct to write her a letter
she would return It to Inn unopened.
It was several days later that a spe-
cial delivery letter, bearing Colorado
postmar1k. reached Miss Cortland, and.
after the messenger had gone, she
stood gazing at the envelope. scarcely
able to believe her eyes, while the
waiting pupil at the piano wondered
what was about to be disclosed.
"Bl1y's wr3ting!" gaSped the teacher
'No-no-rm getting foolish. OF course
1t can't be-he doesn't-2Sncw my ad-
dress, and yet -"
why don't you open it," suggested
her pupil, and forgetting her late de-
termination t. put Billy Dem9ster out
Of her life forever, Bess tore open ais
letter with fingers that treubled as
though she might have the palsy.
Dear Bess," she read. II wrote to
Molly De Voss two weeks ago for your
address and Just got 1t today. How arc
you, anyway? seems a lifetime since
] saw you. What are you doing and
now do you Ike living In Chicago!
Molly didn't answer a single question
I asked, so shall wait andously to
hear direct from you about your work,
you, anyway? Il seems lifetime since
fact, ten me an about everything.
AS ever, yours. BILLY"
Miss Co1rtland's black eyes snapped
and she crushed the letter in her hand
To write mea letter like that" she
gasped, 'Saftsr waiting a whole year to
even ask fo- my address!"
During the following week she wrote
SIX replies TO Dempster's letter AMI
tore each ona to bits almost as soon
g Il was finished. The seventh she
thought somewhat tart, but concluding
s was better than he deserved anyway.
she AnaIIy sent If