Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-23
DAILY NOVELETTE,
THE PRINCE OF INCORRI-
GIBLES
By Mary Hines
By Mary Hines
"VoU couldn't do a days work to
aaye your life ="


l. save your Ire
Ned Saunders. the victim of this I'M
complimentary %outburst, a cigar tip
ping carelessly from his lips. watched.
with an amused twinkle in his eyes, his
elder brother Tom as he paced wrath
fully NJ and down the room. Seeing
that this information was nothing new
and. therefore. uninteresting.. Toms
wrath reached the boiling point.
by Joye, Ned, you have no more
character in you than a-a-'
Ned Interrupted. gayly a~pplauding:
"Fine. Fine, old chap But don't let
a little thing like me and my character
get on your nerves! Lets talk of some
thing interesting. What's the latest
with a hopeless shrug. Tom picked his
hat up from the table and departed, ex-
claiming:
You're inCorrigible -
As an elder brother. Tom felt 1t was
his duty to put little ambition into
an indolent kid brother, but when
that younger brother happened to be
like this !!
you couldn't do a days work to save
FOUR life 80
The words ranked on his mind, Twice
today they had been spoken to him-both
times in tones of whitening contempt.
which hurt. The effort, he had been
but Dolly. the dearest little girl in the
world. had calmly informed him that
until he at least attempted such a her
Culean task, he could consider their en-
gagement as being all off. N now,
for the first time in his young career,
Ned lost his Self-Complacency and begged
fate to help him out OF his predicament.
Into the wee hours of the morning he
pondered and unused and seemingly set
tied a question in his mind before he
retired to lose himself in that blessed
oblivion. sleep.
During the night it had started to rain
and it still continued in a steady down
ppiIr pit NNhat puraI In for thn IN in .
He was going TO do a days work to-
day IL he died in the attempt; and
with the precision of well-formulated
plans, he called the janitor to his apart
ment and bribed that worthy individual
to bring him the oldest outfit of work
ing clothes he had. at once-also. a pail
of coal-dust.
The bewildered man quickly did as
he was told, and in a very short time
Ned stood adorned in a pair of greasy
o~veralls. a ragged shirt-which both
may have been yellow onCe-and a pair
of MISUNDERSTANDING shoes. His face
he a black and grimy with the coal
dust. while his lily-white hands were
no longer recognizable. Thus attired.
Ned made his way out OF the house.
After an hours walk over muddy roads
he arrived at a certain Miss Dolly Nc
PhersOn's house-seemingly his objeC-
tive point-and rang the bell. As luck
happened, Dolly opened the door. Had
it been the maid he would have been
ordered to the rear of the house but
Dolly was of a very sympathetic ma
ture.
will you please give a poor man some
thing to do to earn a bite to eat?" he
asked, in a hoarse. trembling voice, beads
of "perspiration tracing channels down
his sriTy cheek.
Why, you poor man. you must be
drenchcd to the skin" Dolly cried SYM
pathetically: .of course | will Come
right into the kitchen :" But Ned hest
tatcd. oh but Mum! l don't want
no charity, Mum! I want to earn what
| eat" And Dolly, somewhat k
abaCk by an offer unusual in a tramp
assured him she would give him some
work to do If he would only come in out
of the storm.
After a refreshing drink. Ned refused
ether food until he should earn it-SC
Dolly set him to work in the cellar. He
breaking, but what did he care? HIS
dear Dolly kept a wary eye on nm,
Several times she descended to the lower
regions. and once he heard her whisper
to the gardener, who was mending a
hose: Keep an eye on him. Michael.
You never can trust these men, even
though they do look honest" Once she
questioned him:
Have you been out of work long my
'Oh. yes'm. quite a long time! Yes,m,
a very long time with undue enphn-
sis on the very,
NO, Num-" he answered, meekly ;
but | intend to be- mean, Mum No
Mum II amt married at all at all
The bewildered Dolly gazed at him in
tentIy. What made him act so queer
and yet there was a curious fascination
about him.
When he had finished various chefs
and for the first time in his life felt a
greedy impulse to eat everything IN
sight. After a hearty meal Dolly again