The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1918-09-05
Sugar
Shortage
o1
BY BERTHA cURRIE PORTER
Copyright, 1918. by the Mcclure Newsp'
per Syndicate.)

"What difference does tnat indhe'
Some Of our best families don't have
sugar nowadays"
"Well. I'll bet the Clarkson girls are
rolling In sugarw
shake them over the cups, and there
you are"
"You needn't joke about 1t, Anne.
have some pride If you haven't, ana
I'm not going to have those rich Clark
sons coming here and thinking we're
not as well able to have things as they
are, even If they do carry fifteen dollar
knitting bags, all covered over with
pin-cushlon fruit, and tassels."
81 don't know how you're going TO
get II. I've telephoned to every store
1 can think of and they all say the
same thing-'no sugar
"Telephonlng and asking face to face
are 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 fiat.
II was the worst day of that never
remembered-such winter. There had
been n heavy snow fall, thaw and
then a sudden freeze, with thick, black
ice over everything. And in the night
the weather had moderated and rain
had fallen I'm torrents on the Ice. This
morning 1t was still raining, with a
heavy wind. It was a day when sensl-
BILE folk wore creepers over their rub
bers, and other people lost their pride
in the good old Biblical way.
Josephine appeared, clad in a very
becoming brown raincoat and little tan
hat. She wore brown boots and ridicu-
lous low rubbers, 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
erratic sister might be doing. The
reality was this:
In the nearest store, Anne marched
bravely up to the counter.
1.-TWO pounds Of sugar, please" she
said, with her sweetest smile.
"No sugar in the store" growled the
harassed clerk for the one hundred
and thlrty-seventh time that day.
There's no sugar In the store" the
next grocer told her, "and more than
that, there's no sugar up to my own
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 corner to collect
her forces and decide where to attack
next. This particular corner was at
the foot Of a hill-this city was built
on more than seven hllls-and the side
walk sloped at an unpleasant angle 4;
also the building on that lot projected
In such q way that pedestrians coming
down the side street were completely
hidden from those on the main thor
oughfare. Josephine had seen so many
people fall that day that she now me-
chanically watched them all. 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 a
sight like that. She looked again. II
was absolutely true. In that basket,
camounaged by tapping paper cover
ing but with tell-tale 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 ten
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 up and
down. landing on the woman who had
| slid down the side street, and vanished,
I'm the midst Of arms and legs and
| bodies that came faster and faster IN
III they piled up In n slipping, stopping
| snnrl Of humanity. And high In the
| air, flying merrlly 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 tan
| 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 II. 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
ralncoat, 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
ner Josephine and Anne awaited the
Clarkson girls. In the little kitchen
cite teapot waited, with fat little
red jug Of cream and n plate OF nut
and cheese sandwiches. And -four
cheerful little red Chinese cups and