Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-05-23
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
She Smelled Smoke


Well" said the Hyde Park man.
I'm sure don't know what Imog sne
is going to do for occupation now that
it is warmer and the furnace doesn't
have TO be fed and petted up TO a
white heat every minute. She had tha
best time while that was going ON
trying to find out in what spot the
house was afire.
According. to her, II stood TO rea-
son that any furnace thar was kept
white hot was going to set something
on fire If il knew its business. No
sensible furnace would miss such a
chance | pointed out TO her that our
furnace was sunk in cement, was
yards away from the wall and that all
the pipes were asbestoed, but should
have known better. A Woman's intu!.
ton is impervious to any attack Of
facts. She said She could smell it.
There we would be, sitting peacefully
By the evening lamp, when | would
look Up to see ImOgene with her work
dropped, nose in air, smiling like
young rabbit. Henry she would cry.
getting to her feet, 1 smell smoke.
Don't you? Just like wood burning
by this time she would have disap-
peared down cellar or kntchenward
and roam around for half an hour.
She would come back looking wor-
ried and unsatisfied.
Usually, just as sunk into the
first sound slumber Of the night she
would again smell smoke and shake
me hard TO waken ME. Don't you
really smell it?' she would beg.
Il am great believer in the pow
or of suggestion. because no matter
how hard | tried not 10 usually
could smell smoke. | would try to
delude myself that it was waited in
thru the open window from passing
trains or from some other building,
but the suggestion wouldn't 60 With
icy gales sweeping thru the room |
would have TO crawl out, search for
slippers and concealed bathrode, and
Immediately institute searching
party.
There wouldn't be a single thing
aiire and when 1 so reported to lmo
gene it seemed TO make her indig- !
nant. She acted as tho | were hold. !
ing something out on her. just as tho |,
l had nice blaze all to myself in
secluded corner Of the house which | |
sGlfishlv refused to share with her. |
She would say it was very funny and
If there wasn't something afire there !
ought TO be
Il demonstrated with her in vain.
She said even if | didn't care, she
didn't want to be hurled forth into
a snowbank in her night clothes and
perish and, anyhow, she had just
had all the curtains washed and she
couldn't bear to 90 to all that trou,
Bile simply to have them burn up |
told her that we had large insurance
to refurnish another house
in case We had to and she said that
that was just like a man.
How could she ever get another |
rubber plant with leaves at the angle |
she had trained her pres sent one. And
The monograms on those dinner nap
kins, The woman who did them had
moved out Of town and then there
was her manuscript cookbook with
all her LIES recipes, and the vege-
tables she had canned LIST summer
with great toll! Inhuman brute that
was.
'Imogene had such success smell
ng smoke in her own home that she
extended her field OF endeayor. When
ever she went out to d party she Il
made her presence felt by setting the
louse on fire at some time during
he evening. Ii she did not break up |
he deliberately nodded salad course,
which the hostess had expected would
simply knock EN- dead, by suddenly
-