The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-11-30
Cousin Percy.s Little Joke.

still and quiet and normal, and yet
with the impression persisting that
there had been a tremendous crash Of
some sort just before the waking
senses were alive enough TO realize IT. /
II was some such razing jolt as this
that was given me on the morning
when was called In, with the other
members of the family. TO listen TO the
reading Of my grandfather's Will
But, FIRST, however, to give some
ides OF the conditions precedent, as a
lawyer would say. My father-good.
easy-going. comfort-loving Dad
never owned what Grandfather Dud-
ley, pursuing his thin lips and swapping
the words cut. called -the money
sense" AS an architect high In his
profession and with fine artistic feel
ing for the beautiful In buildings. he
earned q liberal ineome-and spent It;
or so much Of it that there was barely
enough left after his death to provide
for my mother and sister, and to keep
me going, as you might say, In an ex-
ceedingly modest manner. Without
work, I mean. may as well confess.
nj once. that I had never acquired the
work habit I was always "going TO-"
but IL was so fatally easy to keep on
postponing the chilling plunge. l sup
pose / had been ready on at least half
a dozen occasions to take dive into
some pool with a salary attachment;
but always some good friend would
bob up TO say, +Oh. come on. Stannie.
old man; we're lacking just one more
to make up the bunch. Don't he a
| clam. Time enough TO settle down
when you have to-" and then IT would
| be all OF.
Besides. you see. there was always
| Grandfather Jasper In the background.
He had money-lashings of 1t. so we
all believed; and It had been a family
understanding for years that he in
/ tended splitting the bulk Of 1t. fifty
| fifty, between my cousin Percy and
! me. Before we 60 any farther. let me
| set II down that Cousin Percy was
/ and is-all the seventeen different
kinds of things that / am not, and
never wished to be; smooth. neat, we'll
groomed, a grind" in college and a
perfect dear" with the girls. am
bilious as the very devil. and measur-
ing his friends by the amount Of pull"
they might be able to exert In his be-
half; there you have him from the
crown of his well-brushed little head
to his patent-leather pumps.
you're a fright. Stannie.' he would
say, In his carefully polished diplo-
. 1 hA haA of In =
Department of State at Washington,
and was In training for the legation
service abroad-"you are q perfect
fright Three whole years out Of col
lege, and you haven't done single
solitary useful thing yet. When are
you going to begin? And, incidental
: ly, how long are you going to KEEP
Llaette waiting?"
: Oh, Lord right there was another
: knot In the tangie-Lisette. We had
, agreed to agree-LIsette and I-sOmt
SIX months or so In advance Of Grand
father Jasper's death. and we were
both perfectly well assured. and haC
assured each other a dozen times, thai
: my income from Dads estate wasnl
more than half big enough to marry
I ON. You see, IL was this way: Lisett'
was one Of a family Of four girls In {
mighty expensive household, and there
wasn't anything to lean on on tina
side OF the fence Though. Of course
we never discussed II brntally in 81
5 many words, we were waiting for tina
2 ffty-hfty Io0k-in at the viii which fam
IIy tradition declared had already beer
f drawn MP, signed. sealed. witnesses
/ and put away In cold storage; other
: wise I'm the safe-keeping of Grandfa
ther Jasperis family lawyer.
All of which may serve to bring u
hack TO that nightmare effect regis
: tered at the start When the Dudle,
$ win was taken out Of the icebox an.
: read to the assembled members Of tn
e family. there were at least two shock
! ing surprises. Jasper hadn't been any
: where near as rich as we bad all bee
i. thinking he was: that his modes
manner OF living had been, perhaps, a
much a matter OF necessity as O
$ choice. Bad investments-of whie
d the family had never heard so niue
II as a whisper-had cut his forum
% down to something less than half
: million, all told. That was shoe
: Number One: and shock Number Tw
was strictly personal to me: Crane
farh-r Jasper had left me his love an
9 best wishes. aAd had wiIled the none
20 and property-al of IL mind you-t
Cousin Percy. giviRg as his reas0
chat he thought Percy would max
better use of Il.
OF course, had syeFybody's symR.
=. thv and eondoIence-eyen PeFcy's. n
= that matter. Ny mother wept: an
as recall IL, Lisette managed 10 con
= pass a tear or 50 when told her whi
had happened: or rather what had I
lancmalipualy failed 10 happen
= ls.Whateyer win you dog size q
!. tered. Il suppose you viii reailg pa
y 10 20 10 work now, won't you. Sta
4 nIe4'
3 Perish rhe rhought ?" | told he
B then gave the good Feas44s vi
B there vas no hope for as ip thai
B rectis.n. "a fat chance I'd have
Il earn any real money. ] can nayiga
81 yachr-a Hrtle.-drive a motor RI
" a polo pony. and play a fair hand
III bridge and the other great Americ'
X game. think these are the sum TOT
III anfaorY1p1fG hmQui