The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1919-01-30

John Gates came out Of q trance
like stupor and stared In disgust He
had not been the victim of a bad
dream. No. he shivered, would that
life were like that dreami
Two minutes before there had
danced before his vision q picture OF
an old grist mill. He could see the
trees lazily and happily brushing their
leaves with every pun of wind. and
the little dam that laughingly dashed
its spray against Its rocky formation.
And his father, with his kindly old
eyes and stopped shoulders, pouring
into the mills grist fine whole wheat.
And then he saw the pure-white
flour. so much in keeping with the sa-
credly pure precincts about which he
had scampered years before. barefoot.
poor, but happy. And then the sweet
smile Of his mother-that dear. kindly
soul. whose happiest mission was min
istration to his boyish whims and an
appreciauve fathers wants And then
be woke upl
For a moment he surveyed himself
| sadly. Those bare toes Of his boy
hood were now encased In rich, com
Portable shoes, showing OF In marked
| contrast the worn carpet on which
they rested. He fingered nervously
the well-tailored clothes that long since
had replaced torn, ragged overalls,
and smiled bitterly. And then he
looked upi
An old man bent over a desk several
feet away seemed to remind him Of
the old miller. his father. with his
sparse gray hairs and stopped shoul-
ders-until he looked up. pair Of
rascally, cunning eyes met Gates fur
lively. and then darted TO rough
looking individual waiting. as was
Gates. on one Of the chairs In q row
about the wall Of the large outer Of
| fee. A buzzer sounded and the door
Of the inner sanctum opened.
ITS your turn next" huskily whis-
pered tie old man to the other. Leave
it to Jerry Bletzman. He'll fix You
up"
The man grunted unintelligibly and
rose hesitatingiy to his feet He, like
most of his waiting brethren. had
come to be fixed up" And Bletzmnn.
the far-famed P. Gerald Bletzman. self
styled counselor at law" was TO do
the fixing" or. rather. the 'uDfxiDg."
For Bletzman's many hired henchmen
proclaimed that no matrimonial knot
was too hard for their patron to un-
tie. tlef
"Jes' leave II Z me-" boopsed a rnu-
cous voice. which Gates recognized as
Bletzman's ms he hurriedly pushed a
To- 90 D. "a.
Office. I'll get somethin' on her They
amt none o. them too foxy fer Bletz-
man, are they. Peter
Pete, his assistant, acquiesced
speedily with chuckle. and Bletzman
bent beady eye on the man who stood
close to Pete's desk.
"Come right in," he welcomed the
other sUavely, laying sweaty palm on
the clients sleeve. Pete. bring tn
gentleman's card in-now.'
The door slammed and ngain the
outer Office subsidized into low muir
mur of voices.
So. unused Gates, this was what he
had come to. A place where the sa-
cred ties of marriage and motherhood
were banded about like packing boxes
and card-indexed like case Of
measles. Br-r-ri
And across the room. instead Of the
sweet smile Of his mother. gray
haired woman In gny clothes smirked
frsternally at him while waiting her
turn.
This drove Gates eyes to his lap.
on which rested a neat package, which
he ..I
lowish paper. he fell to reading II, and
again it coDjured forth visions from
out of happy past.
There was a great high-ceiiinged par
lor, smelling deliciously Of fresh.
picked blossoms, and echoing the
sound Of many laughing voices and
the crinkle of many stiff party dresses.
And q rose-bower In the center under
which an ecstatic couple were receiv-
ing congratulations. And Gates. as he
read his marriage license, heard anew.
pastors solemn warning, "Wbom God
hath Joined together. let no man put
asunder."
"Purty well prepared, amt yuh. mis-
teri" The voice at Gates elbow
caused him to thrust the paper back
In the packet. as he looked mp to
meet the jeer Of the man on his right.
MY old woman swiped mine" contin-
ued the other. enviously. 'Leastways.
she muster given II T. tn guy she
1oped with. Cost me fifty extrn Z get
new one. Aip't women tn darnest
yeggsr
Gates stared at him unseeingly, bnt
the last remark caused him to shiver
anew. Lucille, bis wife. yegg7 New