The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1918-08-22
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Il dsn, So >.,l.t YOU said we'd a,...
| tllm >a foa Nnsn you know W.
lli NJ any snesr."
'Nhat di&~"ncc Goes tna1 make?
SNHe q o;. ho. tgud3ies Cont have
sugar novad,5S'
wei t3 t lhe GARRISON girls are
rolling la >gar.'
l1.ey. ~ Y aeed 10 dris 20
f" I'LL" or ;i'e e.nA ana taare
F, Ieu aH2!'
Won nneta't f'&a aDout it, .innc.
/ have sSmc lDt'a T. y:n h&reN't. and
I'm moi @oing 10 iidVa those rich G}arE-
sons coming hRp and thinking we're
not rs We'll able to have things us they
are, even if they do carry fifteen dollar
knitting bags. all covered over with
pin-cuShion fl'nit. and tassels."
Il don't know how you're going to
get 1t. I've trlepiloued to every store
l can think of and they all say the
same thing-'no sugar."
"relcphoning and asking face to face
ar" two different things. I'll run out
and see what can do"
Josephine Bruce, not In this bad
weather."
But Josephine had vanished into the
bedroom of the little flat.
1t was the worst day of that "never-
remembered-such-a" winter. There had
been heavy snow fall, thaw and
then sudden freeze, with thick, black
Ice over everything. And in the night
the Weather had moderated and rain
had fallen in torrents on the ice. This
morning 1t was still raining. with q
heavy wind. 1t was day when sensi-
BILE folk wore crcepers over their rub
bers, and other people lost their pride
In the good old Riblical way:
Josephine appeared, clad in very
becoming brown raincoat and little tan
hat. She wore brown boots and ridicu-
lous low rubbcrs, and carried brown
umbrella.
Sister Anne stood Mt her tower win
dow and watched Josephine slip down
the hill. using her folded umbrella as a
staff. Anne began to chop nutmeats
for sandwiches, wondering what her
cratic sister might be doing. The
reality was this: 81 NJ ~,
In the nearest store Anne marched
bravely up to the counter.
Two pounds Of sugar, please" she
said. with her sweetest smile.
mo sugar in the store" growled the
harnssed clerk for the one hundred
and thirty.ss .s! q IT,! time that dry.
"There's no sugar in the store" the
next grocer told her, "and more than
that, there's no sugar ID to my Owl
house. and I'm in the grocery business
What was yours, MADAME" to sleek.
haired italian woman in red shawl
Josephine went out on more ice. -.
For an hour she slipped and slid
from one store to another, and heard
the same story in fifty-seven varieties.
Josephine paused on a corner to collect
her forces and decide where to attack
next. This particular corner was at
the foot of hill--this city was built
on more than seven hii1s-iind the side
walk sloped at an unpleasant angle ;
Mise the building on that lot projected
in such a way that pedestrians coming
down the side street were completely
hidden frG1n those on the main thor
| oughfare Josephine han seen so many
people fall that day that she now me-
chemically watched them ali. Perhaps
that was why she noticed the gray
; raincoat behind the big market basket.
! "New style coat" she thought. and
looked again at the basket. She gasp
| ed! Not for months had she seen n
! sight like that. She looked again. It
was absolutely true. In that basket,
cumouflngcd by fapbtng paper cover
ing, but with tell-talc little yellow
sharp corners sticking out, were six
two-pound cartons of sugar. And the
food commissioner had ruled that no
dealer should sell more than ter
pounds to any one person. And she,
Josephine Bruce. had not one single
grain!
SHE looked above the basket to see
who this plutocrat might be- and met
pair Of serious blue eyes staring
straight into her brown ones. She had
only time to realize that this law
breaker was young and very good.
looking when his feet appeared where
had been his face-he bounced IN and
down. landing on the woman who had
slid down the side street. and vanished,
in the midst Of arms and legs and
bodies that came faster and faster un-
til they piled up in slipping. stopping
snarl Of humanity. And high in the
air. flying merrily toward the blue sky
before descending to the soaking side
walk, went the six packages Of sugar.
Josephine lodged. She escaped the
pedestrians because they all slid into
the gutter, but couple Of pounds of
sugar landed on her stylish little tn
hat and bounced down into her yawn-
ing knitting bag. Josephine had no
recollection of opening her bag, but she
knew exactly when she closed it. And
then, with the most outrageous polite
ness, she stopped and picked up two
Of the other packages. She handed
them to the young man in the gray
raincoat. crawling out from the chaos.
'Your sugar, SIR" she said, smiling,
and went on her way, entirely unre-
pentant.
Perhaps the precious ballast In her
bag preserved her equilibrium. She
hurried toward home. and after din.