The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-10-04
EVENING STORY
Starting Something in Pellton.
BY JANE OSBORN.

Starting Something in Petition.
BY JANE OSBORN.
"You see, Mr.. Pell, I'm trying to
start something in Pellton," was the
way Lucy Brown, reporter, society"
writer and second mate Of the Peil.
ton Sentinel" explained her call at
the old PelI homestead. 1.-The idea is
to send copies of the home town pa
pers to the boys at the front and there
are some hundred of our town boys
who will be getting the Sentinel.
Now, you know how it's been with the
'Sentiner-how it's been with Petition,
in fact. There's never anything doing,
and the boys over there don't want to
read Just a rehash of the news from
the front that was stale to them
month before. They want local news
They want to know what's going on
in Pellton."
FELTON," said Mr.. Francis Pen indul-
gently. ITS conservative little place
that stopped getting excited over itself
some fifty years ago. There's never
anything doing in Pellton."
mo, that's just it," said Lucy. the
color coming to her cheeks and the
brilliance to her eyes at the thought
that she was being understood. Moth
ing ever happens in this place-but
I'm going to make something happen
SOS to put Pellton on the map and
make the boys want to get back to a
real live. enthusiastic. human sort of
place. 1 thought I'd begin by getting
interviews with some of the local char
acters like you. 1 went up to see old
Silas Smell yesterday. He's hundred
and three-al1 the boys know him
used to call him Crazy ST. Well. he's
got some bullets and things from the
Civil war and some old clothes he
w. ixyn vi
persuaded him to put them on exhi-
bition down at the bookstore, and I
can make a story about shat. Then
there is Miss Hawkins that's always
kept the cent shop-used to sell candy
to the boys that are over there now,
and she's promised to do something
to make a. story, and there's the pot
cheese man and the old SEXTON
Mr.. Pell was hardly f1attered at be-
ing put in a class with these local &C.
centres, and had Lucy Brown had as
much tact as she had enthusiasm she
might have made her appeal in an
other way. But the fact was that Mr..
Francis Pell. whose ancestors had
founded the old town, was quite as
much Of a character in his why as
was either the toothless Silas Smell or
the little spinster who had always
forty, and altho no one had ever seen
him counting out bags of money, nor
had he ever been known to be crafty
or shrewd in money matters. he was
regarded as 'the old miser.r There
were fabulous accounts of the extent
of the Pe11 fortune which had once
glittered large in the minds eye of
Pellton mammas, but had long since
ceased to be regarded as in any way
availa BILE.
So Lucy paid her first call on Mr..
Pell and was very politely shown to
the door after she had made herself
quite clear, and she went away feel
inS as much confused and disheart-
ened as she had some seven years be-
fore, when she went out on her first
Lucy was not a native Pelltonite. If
she had been she would have known
better than to try to make news out
of any thing that Francis Pell might
be doing. But she knew he was one
of the most gossiped about personali-
ties in town. Failing to find anything
more fertile for discussion about him,
the women discussed the size of his
grocer bills-tho they were perfectly
normal-or kept close track of his
harmless old NANNY housekeeper or
the new coat of paint on his house or
But these things wouldn't make news
items for the Sentinel"
Lucy was rebuffed the first time, po-
litely but effectively. and went away
perhaps more upset over a certain
gracious courtesy that Mr. Pell had
shown toward her than because of the
actual rebuff.
But Lucy had not been a reporter
for seven years for nothing, and once
her cheeks had stopped tingling from
other. She would get some sort OF
story out of him-that she determined
It was on her third call that Mr.. Pell
showed signs of weakening.
You say you want me to do some
thing to make a story about" he be-
Lucy's eager face and studying the
nervous twitching of her still girlish
| lips. what sort of thing would you
suggest.not' of course. that intend
Lucy chose to take him entirely Sc
riously. Make some gift to the
! town." she announced. Every one
thinks you have loads of money
II know" smiled Mr.. Pell, "thes
| call me the old miser. 1t has al
keep my benefactions to myself ]
| will tell you confidentially that ]
| have just sent rather important con-
| tribution to an astronomical observa-
| tory in Labrador that my father en-
dowed, and the hospital for lepers ir
| Shanghai that my mother was inter
| ested in
| "Pelton people don't care about
that" interrupted Lucy. "They wan
| you to do something for Pellton, if il
| only a drinking fountain for the stray
dogs or new curbstone around the
town hall. Just think how he boy.
over there would suit up and read the
Sentinel if you were to do something
like that, and there would be presen.
| tation speeches and every one wou16
turn outa there would be big time
land then maybe If you did some
thing like that they'd put you up fol-
| mayor and-well, you can see what
lot you might do to keep things go
| ing" Lucy sighed, and somehow he
concern amused Mr.. Pell more thar
anything she had done before. Sh,
had already proved immensely di
| verting.
Then one day Mr.. Pell called at tn,
Sentinel office to see Lucy, and tina