The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-10-20

son. Florence?"
II mean like when somebody says
They'll lose their reason" she ex-
planned. HAS. everybody got n rea-
son. and if they have, what is it. and
how do they lose it, and what would
they do then?"
"Oh, / seei" he said. "You needn't
worry I suppose since you heard it.
you've been hunting all over yourself
for your reason and looking to see If
there was one hanging out of anybody
else, somewhere, No; it's something
you can't see ordinarily. Florence
Losing your reason is just another
way Of saying going crazy"
"Oh," she murmured, and appeared
to be somewhat disturbed.
Al this, Herbert thought proper to
offer q witticism for the pleasure of
the company.
you know, Florence" he said, 'it
only means acting like you most al
ways do" He applauded himself with
burst of changing laughter which
ranged from a bullfrog croak to
collapsing soprano; then he added
ESPECIALLY when you come around
my end Henry's newspaper buildingi
You certainly lose your reason every
time you come around that ole place!"
swell, course l haf to act like the
people that's already there" Florence
retorted, not sharply. but in a muslng
tone that should have warned him.
1t was not her wont to use quiet
voice for repartee, Thinking her hum
BILE, he laughed the more raucously.
"Oh. Florence!'' he besought her
SAY not so! Say not sow
"Chiidren. children !" Uncle Joseph
demonstrated.
Herbert changed his tone; he be-
came seriously plaintive. well. she
does act that way, Uncle Joseph
When she comes around there you'd
think we were runnin' lunatic
asylum the way she takes on. She
hollers and bellers and squalls and
squawks. The least little teeny thing
she don't like about the way we run
our paper, she comes flappin' over
there and goes to screechln' around,
you could hear her out at poorhouse
farm ~
Nov. now, Herbert" his Aunt Fan
ny interposed. Poor little Florence
isn't saving anything impoIlte to YOU
not right now, at any rate. Why don't
you be II little sweet to her Just for
once?"
Her unfortunate expression revolted
all the cousinly manliness in Herbert's
BOSOM. " BE little sweet 10 herT' {"
he echoed, with poignant incredullty.
and then in candor made plain how
poorly Aunt Fanny inspired him. ~
just exackly as soon be little sweet
to an alligator" he asserted; such
was his bitterness on this subject.
"Oh. OH" said Aunt Carrie.
Il would :" Herbert insisted. "or
a mosquito I'd rather. to either Of
'em. because. anyway, they don't make
so much noise. Why, you just ought
to hear her" he went ON, growing
more and more severe. You ought
to just come around our newspaper
building any afternoon you please, af-
ter school. when Henry and l are
tryin' to do our work in, anyway. some
peace. Why. she just squawks and
squalls and squ-"
'It must be Terrible Uncle Joseph
interrupted. what do you do all that
for. Florence, every afternoonT
"Just for exercise" she answered
dreamily; and her placidity the more
exasperated her journalist cousin.
"She does it because she thinks she
ought to be runnin' our own news
paper, my and Henry's; that's why
she does it! She thinks she knows
more about how to run newspapers
than anybody alive; but there's one
thing she's gOin' to find out; and that
is. she don't have anything more to
do with my and Henry's newspaper.
We wouldn't have another single one
of her ole poems in it, no matter how
much she offered to pay usl Uncle
Joseph. think you ought to tell her
she's got no business around my and
Henry's newspaper building"
"But, Herbert Aunt Fanny sug-
gested. you might let Florence have
u little share in it of some sort. Then
everything would be all right"
''It would?' he demanded, his voice
cracking naturally, at his age, but also
under strain of the protest he wished
it to express. "It woo-wud? Oh, my
goodness, Aunt Fanny, l guess you'd
like to see our newspaper just utter
ably ruined Why, we wouldn't let
that girl have any more TO do with 1t
than we would some horse!'
"Oh, oh!' both Aunt Fanny and
Aunt Carrie exclaimed, shocked.
"We wouldn't" Herbert insisted. "A
horse would know any amount more
how to run newspaper than she does;
anyway, a horse wouldn't make so
much noise around there. Soon as
we got our printing press: we said
right then that we made up our minds
Florence Atwater wasn't ever goin TO
have a single thing to do with our