The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-10-28
PART lI-continued.

AS he grew older, his insatiate Gu
riosity enabled him to expose unnum-
bered Weaknesses, indiScretiOns and
social misfortunes on the part of ac-
quaintances and schoolmates; and to
every exposure his noise and energy
gave a hideous publicity; the more
his victim sought privacy the more
persistently he was sought out by
Wallie, vociferous and attended by,
hilarious spectators. But above all
other things, what most stimulated
the demoniac boy to prodigies Of sat-
ire was any tender episode or symp-
tom connected with the dawn Of love.
Florence herself had suffered excru-
ciatingly at intervals throughout her
eleventh spring, because Wallie dis
covered that George Beck sent her
valentine; and the humorist's many,
many squealings of that valentines
affectlonate quatrain finally left her
unable to decide which she hated the
more, Wallie or George That was
the worst of Wallie: he never 'let
up; and in Florence's circle there
was no more SOLDERING threat than,
"T1l tell Waffle Torbin!" AS for
Henry Rooter and Herbert nlings-
worth Atwater, Jr., they would as soon
have had a head-hunter on their trail
as Wallie Torbin with anything in his
hands that could incriminate them
in an implication of love-or an ac-
acknowledgements of their own beauty.
The fabric of civilized life is inter
woven with blackmail; even some of
the noblest people do favors for other
people who are depended upon not to
tell somebody something that the no
blest people have DONE Blackmail is
born into us all, and our nurses teach
us more blackmail by threatening to
tell cur parents, if we won't do this
and that-and our parents threaten
to tell the doctor-and so we learn
Blackmail is part of the daily life of
a child; displeased, his first resort to
get his way with other children is a
threat to "tell"; but by-and-by his
experience discovers the mutual bene-
III vi ..
Therefore, at eight it is no longer the
ticker to threaten to tell the teacher;
and, little later, threatening to tell
any adult at all is considered some
, ching of breakdown in morals. No
tori0usly, the code is more liable to
infractfon by people of the physically
weaker sex, for the very reason, of
course, that : their inferiority Of mus
Gle sd frequently compels such sin,
If they are to have their way. But
for Florence there was now no such
temptation. Looking toward the de-
molition Of Atwater & Rooter, an ex
posure before adults of the results
of "Truth" would have been an effect
of the sickliest pal.or compared to
what might be accomplished by
careful use of the catastrophe Wallie
Torbin.
I All in all, it was great Sunday
for Florence. On Sunday evening it
was her privileged custom to go to
the house of her fat, old great-uncle
Joseph Atwater, and remain until nine
o'clock, in chatty companionship with
Uncle Joseph and Aunt Carrie, his
wife, and a few other relatives who
were in the habit of dropping in there
on Sunday evenings. In summer,
lemonade and cake were frequently
provided in the autumn, one still
found cake, and perhaps a pitcher of
clear new cider; apples were always
certainty.
This evening was glorious; there
were apples and cider and cake and
walnuts, perfectly cracked, and a
large open-hearred box of candy.
Naturally, these being the circum-