The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-02-13
For the Love
Of Pete
o0
By INES MACDONALD

-J$
Jeeeeesseeaee4eooe4aeeoeec>oeoooocoan3
Copyright, 1918. by the Mcclure Newspa.
Per Syndicats.)
Mable Wells was as winsome %
twenty, as buxom as thirty, and az
wise az forty. and yet she was none
o. these. A woman would have said
she was thirty-five-a man, twenty
dye. but as q matter Of fact she was
none Of these. either. She was en-
trely twenty-eight, admitted every
year. month and day Of 1t, and smiled
when she did 20. serensly and brightly
smiled. whether you looked skeptical
or doubtful
In her graver moments, or hours, I
should say, Mable was private score.
tary to the Honorable Peter Hobb, one
time senator In the legislature Of the
great state Of Ohio, and for all time
the richest man in Bellington. The
Honorable Peter Hobb, although only
forty-one, was also the most dignified
man north Of the equator and south Of
the North pole. He radiated dignity
he oozed 1t. He lifted his hat with the
/ same precise lift every time he met a
woman OF his acquaintance, and bowed
his head at just the right angle, with
never a variation. And during the
four years in which Mable had been
his secretary he had never treated her
other than as If she were a duchess
at a diplomats ball, with all the cour-
tesy Of Chinese mandarin.
And yet notwithstanding all Of this
perfection of treatment on the part Of
her employer, Mable had disgraced
herself. She had chewed the dignified
hand that fed her, as it were, she had
but what's the use?
When a friendly. sprightly, here-I-
am and here-Tm-not sort Of a girl, as
was Mable Wells, rises up in the Office
Of her employer, shoves back the chair
from her desk, slams book down on
its paper-littered top with a bang and
yells out in disguised tones right in
1.-The face Of a dignified man like the
Honorable Peter Hobb-"for the love
Of Pete you make me SICK" and then
marches out Of his Office In the middle
Of the afternoon and doesn't come
back the next morning, you may know
that something would be liable to
happen.
II just couldn't help it." she told hel
mother that night. "He just let's that
nephew of his work him to a stand
still. It will ruin the boy, and he's
too nice youngster to be ruined tina,
way. The idea! With all those bill,
coming In every month and gettin,
bigger all the time, and he never say'
world"
"But, Mable, just think what yol
said. His name is Peter, dear, ant
you said, for the love of Peter Hell
think-oh, my, what will he think? o.
course, you're fired"
II don't care if I am" said Mable
spunkily. "The nerve of him asking
me If I'd take Billy Hobb in hant
and marry him just to make him be
have-even supposing ! could!"
But Mable's voice was as calm al
a kittens slumber as she answered
the telephone at ten-thirty the next
morning, and I regret to say that she
slipped her hand over the transmitter
and giggled, when she heard the voice
Of her employer on the wire.
"Are you i'll this morning, Miss
Wells?"
"Oh, no." blithely.
"Well-er-you were late-and-I-
er thought you might be ILL.,"
II thought l was fred" said Mable.
"Fired? Oh, no, and you see, I can't
seem to find anything this morning.
If you could arrange to get over as
soon as possible, Miss Wells. would
appreciate it."
Thirty minutes later Mable entered
the Office and pitched into her work.
There was a pile Of bills to be checked
off, and checks to write for each bill,
besides dozen letters. The bills were
statements from Billy Hobbs cred
itors, and one of the letters was to
Billy himself. The letter was Of Ma
J bells own composition, and 1t was to
the point:
"My Dear Boy Needless to say,
I'm covering your accounts as usual.
Also I'm sending you check for hun
bred, which will be enough and more
to get you home. I'm expecting you
to begin work at the plant on the first
of the month.
GAS you know, II you had displayed
any particular talent In any line at all
would be glad to extend our pres
ent arrangement to that end, but such
has not been the case. As far as i
can see, your only talent lies in spend
ing money and feeding chickens.
81 want to have good time my
self one Of these days, and If I'm ever
to have 1t, you've got to be able to
take things In hand here. In order
to do that, you'll have to get in now.
"Y0ur affectionate uncle"
The Honorable Peter looked over
the checks hurriedly and signed them,
but he signed the letters without look
inc at Thorn at all while his secretary