The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1920-10-22
A SHORT STORY

WlaC ABOUT MILTON wider!
mot a peep from him." says I.
"H-m-m-m!" says Mr.. Robert, regis
term deep thought by pullin' his
right ear. 1--WE ought to know be-
tween now and tomorrow afternoon.
Couldn't you manage to run him down
somewhere"
81 expect So" says l. Hes gem
orally on the 5.13 going out. I'll
stretch an eye"
1t was nothing more'n a little deal
in club politics but that's about the
only kind Mr.. Robert goes in for at
all strong. He doesn't seem to get
much excited over which Ohio man
gets the job of runnin' the nation.
When it comes to bossin' the i'm
portant affairs of the Roarin Rock
Country Club, though, and appointin'
a new entertainment committee, and
decidin' whether to put a tiled floor
in the billiard room or lay down cork
mats, he's right there with the quick
action and the subtle strategy. Uh-huh.
He don't get reused up until the an
nual meetin' is only ten days off, but
inside of week he's worked up plan
to put the skids under the old fossils
who've been holdin' office so long as
they seem to think they've been
elected for life. And now he has
enough votes pledged to snow 'em
under when the time comes and slip
in an entirely new board. The only
uncertain detail is whether this Milton
will serve as a director
Course, he's only filler 1 expect
Mr.. Robert picked him mostly on &C
count of his looks. Kind of dignified,
imposin' party, Milton; mainly be-
cause of his A belt measure, his gray
hair and the wise look in his wide
set owl eyes. You know, one of those
guys who get rated a sbeing substan-
tial and important without ever open
in their heads. I'll admit that's the
way l sized him up, too, just from
seem him drift in and out with the
other commuters on the way to and
from Harbor Hills. Not that he'd ever
showed up prominent in any of our
civic or social affairs, but somehow
always expected he could if he
wanted to-. But about all he ever did
nightly dinner dances now and then,
bob around once or twice in an old
fashioned waltz with that slim, black
eyed wife of his, and fade away early.
He was never put on any committees
and never seemed to have much to say
when stag groups gathered in the
smoking room.
Yet he was sort of counted as havin'
it up his sleeve. So when Mr.. Robert
organizes this secret bolt from the
cut and dried lot the old nominatin'
committee has put on the official bal
lot, he states Milton Wilde as one of
the new directors. First off Milton
had agreed, sort of hesitatin' to be one
of the pirate crew. Then he'd sent
word next day that he'd have to think
over the proposition before he finally
decided, and since then he'd simply
been stallin' around.
AS Mr.. Robert had worked me in
as secretary of the boilers commit
tee it was really part Of my job to
trail down any sidesteppers. So in
stead of campin' down comfortable
with four-star evenin' edition in the
smokin' car 1 goes scoutin' through
the coaches until locates this Mr..
Wilde. And not until I'd draped my
self confidential on the seat arm did
l notice that the female party at the
window was friend wife. l hadn't
quite counted on that complication,
still such things are bound to be
family affairs more or less, So blazes
ahead.
Excuse me for crashin' in, Mr..
WILDE says I, "but how about that
matter Mr.. Robert Ellins has put you
down for?"
ooh, yes" says he, blinkin' at me.
kind of stupid. "Ah-er-yes."
'Meanin' you will" says l, "or just
indicatin' intelligence"
why" says He, Il really haven't
quite decided"
times gettin' short, you know"
says 1. We've got to have the ticket
made up by tomorrow noon. It's
merely case of you will or you won't
Course, if you're rootin' for the old
crowd, that settles it,"
mo-" says he, "it isn't that ex
actly II think l am in favor OF a
change. Decidedly. But whether
should act or not
ooh, it amt any Bolshevik revolt
we're springin'," says I. "Nobody's
going to be stood against the wall and
shot nor we amt going tn Scuttle the