The Lamar register., 1919-01-01
Iachesis
BY R. RAY BAKER
Copyright. 1918. by the Mcclure Sewspa
per Syndicate)


sometimes But does the accident hap
pen by accident? Not while Lachesis
is holding down that destiny job on
Mount Olympus.
Lachcsis. you know. is one Of the
tI,ree Mocrae who NEEDLE in the af-
fairs of mortals from the time they
are born until they pass into other
realms Three Moerae. or Fates. have
room all to themselves In the big Of
flee building of the gods. and they run
things with high hand.
one would think that, in these days
Of progress. Clotho would get some
thing to take the place Of that old
spinning wheel on which she spins
the thread Of life. and that AtrOpos
could lind an instrument less unwieldy
than that long pair of dull shears
>h. has been using to cut the thread
when she decides it's long enough.
However they seem to have got along
80 far without modern improvements
and they ought to know their business
by this time.
Anyhow, this story concerns Lach-
esis, who works without Instruments.
She simply stands near the spinning
wheel and dabs veal and woe on that
thread and twists il about her fingers
and ties knots In IL. to suit her own
pleasure II has been said that Clotho
! aud Lachesis and AtropOs are old and
ugly. OF course. as mortals reckon.
these fntes are old; but years don't
count on Olympus. And as TO ugliness
xxrnI all hat
Atr0pos has IA hldeous face. and it's
possible Clotho is not beautiful. be-
cause her back must be lame and her
eyes faded and her forehead wrinkled
from bending over the spinning wheel;
but Lachesis-there's no reason why
she should be ugly. because her job
furnishes lots OF variety. Moreover.
she's one of the heroines In this story.
so she has just got to be beautiful.
The hero is Jack Watson. II mere
mortal who defied Lachesis. She had
decided, soon after Cl0thO began to
spin the thread, that he should he mar
ried before he became twenty-elght
years old. and she had picked for his
bride a girl named Esther richards.
| They were born Ia the same little town
In Ohio and had one Of those school
kid" roinances; and then. when Jack
was only eleven and Esther eight. II
ended.
Jack moved with his parents to Co
lumbus. where they resided three years.
Jack and Esther wrote occasionally. as
children sometimes carry on II CORE
spondence, but they were too young to
tf.If I.ss 4.
things. and gradually they forgot about
each other.
When Jack was fifteen his mother
died and he moved with his father to
New York. The boy obtained job as
office boy with II broker and held It
two years. Then he was promoted,
and about that time pneumonia claimed
Mr.. Watson.
When Esther was ten she went with
her parents TO Vancouver. British Co
lumbia, and there they remained until
she was twenty-five.
I.nchesis stood In the workroom OF
the Moerae one day. holding Jack Wat
sons thread OF life In one hand and
Esther Richards In the other. My,
how far apart they have drifted." she
murmurcd. This Will never do. 1
have decided differently"
Jack was leaning back In his swivel
chair with his feet on his desk, In his
own real estate office In Melbourne.
Australia Was he thinking about
Estherf Decidedly not. His mind was
full OF business. or how to travel still
farther on the path OF prosperity,
which he already had found.
Esther was reclining on u lounge In
her home In Vancouver. reading "A Red
Cross magazine. Did Jack hold any
place In her thoughtsf No. not even
small corner. They had forgotten about
each other. as | have said.
That evening Jack went TO the Mel
bourne Business club for dinner with
three other prosperous young business
men. all Of them married. When the
meal was finished the conversation
turned TO matrimony.
How comes II you never got mar
ried, Jacki' asked George Clifford as
he passed cigars. You're old enough
and have enough coin TO make some
girl comfortable aud happy"
Jack laughed as he lighted the weed.
Not me-" he said as he puffed plac-
idly. "Fll never get married I'm GO
Ing tn be- n hermit. Do you know. fel-