Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1918-08-08
It Is the
Law
~
BY r. RAY BAKER
Copyright, 1918. by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate.)

1t was Monday. Fifteen minutes
! more and the Office force of John Ham
lin, attorney at law, would cease oper-
| ations until the round, red monarch of
| day had dived below the western hori-
zon and stack its nose up out of the
| east again.
| There was still considerable work
| piled up before the Office force, but
| John Hamlin was young and had
! blood-pumping device inside him that
pulsated rapidly and kept time to
tune of sympathy for the human race
I'm general. Consequently, he could not
bring himself to driving tactics In his
role of employer, even when neglect Of
duties was apparent Moreover, this
same Office force had been with Ham
lin four and one-half years and that
alone spoke of considerable leniency.
Neglect was evident The Office force
was gazing steadily at nothings that
fingered in the space outside the win
dow. Her hands were resting on the
typewriter keyboard but the deft fin
gers were inactive A puzzled little
frown wrinkled her forehead.
John Hamlin chewed meditatively on
the rubber of his pencil, watched fly
negotiate a Journey across the ceiling,
wondered why it didn't fall and break
its back, and wished it would and let
his gaze rest on that knob of jet-black
hair. He succeeded in chewing the
pencil eraser in two, spat the ampu-
4 LnuI ~
and resumed perusal of the brief that
argued for attention against the bright
August day.
"Poor Priscilla" he sighed inaudibly
as he ruffied his red hair and rustled
the document into n position where it
back. 81 work that girl to death, but
never saw her so detached before"
Priscilla had a right to be "detach-
ed" II is not often that a girl in a
little town like Pellston receives two
proposals from two very nice young
men in one day. Then, again, one of
the very nice young men was a bank
er's son.
Let's turn the clock back twenty
four hours and twenty-seven minutes
and see how it happened. The pro
| posal program opened at 3:1S p. M.
Sunday. Priscilla remembered the ex-
act time because she was looking at
her wrist watch while she sat under
the big oak tree in the woods and lis
tened to Cecil Melville say: you
could make me the happiest man in
the world if you would only say"
etc. etc.
1t had been one of those $50 sudden"
affairs. Priscilla had been courted more
or less consistently by Melville for
| the last six months. He had been eX-
| tremely nice to her, sending her flow
| ers, bringing her confectionery, taking
| her to theaters and for motorcar rides
J and paying her other attentions; but
he never had appeared to nourish any
| deep affection.
Like many girls, Priscilla had cher
| ished visions of marrying wealth; but
| as she grew older-especially since
| working in j. Hamlin's ofiice-she had
abandoned all such ideas. In the at
| torney's files were too many histories
of unhappiness in which money played
leading part. There were the writ
ten records of contented couples, sud
| denly become prosperous through
| some qulrk of fortune, then-too much
luxury, dissatisfaction with each other
| and as a result-alimony.
At twenty-three, working to support
herself and mother, Priscilla, despite
her proximity to the more sordid side
Of life which constantly thrust itself
into J. Hamlin's office, was far from
becoming cynical. She appraised
money at its real worth, but was not
dazzled by its glitter. She believed in
| love, and that is why she did not ac-
cept Cecil Mellville's proposal.
Neither did she refuse his offer of
marriage. Instead, she simply said:
Il cannot tell you now. I must have
time to think it over. Give me a week.
I must not act hastily; it would not be
| best for either of u.s."
Prisclllaknew that Jerry Hart cared
for her. He had shown it more strong
| ly each time they were together during
the year that they had been friends.
But Hart lacked the funds with which
to finance wooing contest against a
| person of Cecil Mellville's means. Also
he did not have as many opportunities
| of seeing Priscilla for his duties as
| passenger brakeman on the railroad
frequently kept him away from Pell-
| ston for week or more at time.
However, Hart had reached that
stage where something was bound to
happen; and 1t did Sunday evening.
Melville had insisted on calling on
Priscilla In the evening as well as af-
ternoon but she had declined, because
she knew Jerry would be at home then
after a weeks absence.
Jerry led up to the subject with
little skill. He would rather have
fought four members Of the section
gang and taken a sound beating at
their hands than to be obliged to go
through the ordeal Of popping the
question" However. after much cross
ing and increasing Of his legs and adj
justing his tie and running his fingers
along the inside Of his uncomfortable
collar he finally managed m SIAM