Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1918-12-14

2en by accident? Not while Lachesis
$ holding down that destiny job on
Mount Olympus.
Lachesis, you know, is one of the
three Moerac who moddle in the af-
.airS of mortals from the time they
are born untn they pass into other
realms. Three Moerac. or Fates. have
a room all to themselves in the big Of
ice building of the gods. and they run
things with a high hand
One would think that. in these days
Of progress Clotho would get some
ming to take the place Of that old
spinning wheel ON which She spins
the thread of life. ard that Atropos
could find an instrument loss unwieldy
than that long pair of dun shears
She has been using TO cut the thread
when she decides it's long enough.
However. they seem to have got along
50 far without modorn improvements
and they ought TO know their business
by this time.
Anyhow, this story concerns Lath-
She simply stands ncar the spinning
wheel and dabs veal and woe oIi that
thread and twists it about her fingers
a2d ties knots in it, to suit her own
pleasure. Ii has been said that Clotho
and LachesiS and Aropos are Old and
ugly. OF course as mortals reckon,
these fates are old; but years don't
count on Olympus. And rs to ugliness
well, Tin willing to allow that
AtropoS has Il hidcouS face, aud it's
possible Cloth0 is not beautiful, be-
cause her back must be lane and her
eyes faded and her forehead wrink.ed
from bending over the spinning wheel;
but LachoSlS-thCre's no reason why
She should be ugly, because her Job
furnishes lots OF variety. Moreover,
she's one of the hcroincS in this story,
SO She has just got 10 be beautiful.
The hero is Jack Watson, mere
mortal who detiod LacheSis. She had
decided, soon after Clotho BEGAN TO
spin the thread. that he should be mar
Rcd before he became twcnty-ciEht
years old. and she had picked for his
bride girl named Esther Richards.
They We're born in the sahIc little town
~ Ohio aud had one of those school
hiG' roaanccs; and thea, when Jack
was only eleven and Esther eight, it
ended,
Jack moved with his parents to Co
ium5us, whore they resided three years.
Jack and Esther wrote occasionally. as
children sometimes carry on Il CORE
spondcnce, but they were too young to
understand about aiinities and such
things, and gradually they forgot about
each other.
When Jack was fifteen his mother
died and he moved with his father to
New York. The boy obtained job as
Office boy with a broker ana held it
two years. Then he was promoted,
uni about that time pneumonia claimed
Mr. Watson.
When Esther was ten she went with
her parents to Vancouver. British Co
lumoia and there they remained until
she was twenty-five.
Lachesis stood in the workroom of
thc Moerae one day, holding Jack Wat
sons thread of life in one hand and
Esther Richards In the other. MY,
how far apart they have driftcd." she
murmured. This will never do.
have decided differently"
Jack was leaning back in his swivel
chair with his feet on his desk, in his
own real estate office in Melbourne.
Australia. Was he thinking about
Esther? Decidedly not His mind was
fun Of business, Of how to travel still
farther on the path Of prosperity,
which he already had found.
Esther was reclining on a lounge in
her home in Vancouver, reading a Red
Cross magazine. Did Jack hold any
place in her thoughtsf No. not even a
small corner. They had forgotten about
each other. as have said.
That evening Jack went 10 the Mel
bourne Business club for dinner with
three other prosperous young business
men. all Of them married. When the
mcal was finished the conversation
turned 70 matrimony.
How comes II you never got mar
rleG. Jackf' asked George Clifford as
he passed cigars. you're old enough
and have enough coin TO make some
girl comfortable and happy
Jack laughed as he lighted the weed.
Not me-" he said a he puffed plac-
fly. "Ili never get married. I'm GO