The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1922-06-15
Aunt Myrtle's
Legacy
By CLARA DELAFIELD

blooded liking for Aunt Myrtle, but
ne could never stand the atmosphere
Of her apartment, with its Victoria,
horsehair, it's stiffness, and the p;.
rot that shrieked invective at him
whenever he appeared.
Yet, as the only heir to Aunt Myr-
ties fortune, Higgins had tolerated
these things. He had fed the parrot
sugar, and had smiled when it nipped
him in return, as the beast had a habit
of doing. Their hate was mutual.
Aunt Myrtle died and was buried.
Higgins sat in the drawing room with
the old housekeeper, waiting for the
lawyer to appear with the will. Hig-
gins nerves were tense. I
There came the expected ring at the
door, and old Mrs. Field went to ad-
nit Mr.. Prentiss. At the same mo-
ment came shrek from the parrot.
"Sflly fool! Silly fool, Arthur Hig-
gins !" 1t called. "Think you'll get the
old woman's money, don't your
With sudden insane fury Higgins
rushed into Aunt Myrtle's bedroom,
where the green and gray devil
watched him from its perch, one eye
shut, it's head on one side, judging,
condemning him.
"Silly fool" it shrieked.
Higgins seized it from the perch,
wrung it's neck, snapped the chain that
held it, and tossed it into a corner of
the room.
He returned just in time for Mrs.
Field and the lawyer.
The will was read. Mrs. Field got
thousand dollars. Arthur Higgins
ITO my nephew, Arthur Higgins, in
consideration Of his attentions to his
old aunt during lifetime, my house
on Park street and capital sum of
forty thousand dollars, to be invested
in government bonds, the interest
thereof to be paid to him so long as
my darling Flou-fou, my parrot, re-
mains alive and well. Upon the death
Of the said Fl0u-flou, the said capital
sum to be divided between the Home
for Feathered orphans and the paro-
chial schools.
Even as he listened to the CHASTITY
jest Higgins felt sure his aunt had
imagined parochial had something to
do with parrots.
And Flou-fou lay dead in Aunt Myr-
ties bedroom!
'"Then this house is mine?" asked
Higgins.
1T is, Mr.. Higgins, and
HIIop1 coon 0on' folyo roceaocfo,, ~
it?"
Immediately" replied Mr.. Prentiss.
"rhe house is yours"
"Then," said Higgins desperately,
II want to be left quite alone for the
rest Of the day, in order to familiarize
myself with it. Mrs. Field, you can
take a days holiday"
He soothed the mystified and lit
tie indignant housekeeper who at
length put on her hat and departed
for her married sisters, leaving Hig-
gins instructions to be sure and not
forget to put out some sunfower seeds
for Flou-fou.
AS soon as the house was empty
Higgins rushed downtown to an ami
NAL dealers shop he knew. There,
among other feathered den1zens, was
an almost exact replica Of the devil
which he had killed. He knew Flou-
fou by sight, and this one was feather
for feather the same bird.
The only drawback was that it ap-
peared to be of a singularly gentle dis
position. However, there was no help
for r. Hirrinc oorpr1nfn1 hn
chase and, taking his acquisition in a
small, wooden cage, he hurried home
with it.
Rushing into Aunt Myrtle's bedroom,
he had soon affixed the new Flou-fou
to his perch. He was about to look
for the dead bird when there came a
tapping at the door Of the living room.
Hurrying out with muttered objurga-
lions, Higgins saw Mrs. Fields.
The good woman was GREATNESS. II
just hurried back to say, Mr.. Higgins,
that Flou-flou has to have her rest
every afternoon" she said "The
shades have to be drawn; and when
she wakes up she'll want little water
and"
"Bz-z-z-zz!" from Aunt Myrtles bed
room; and then sound as If all the
feathered devils in hell had gone on
the rampage.
"It's Flou-fou! A cats got in!"
screamed Mrs. Field, and, despite Hig-
gins efforts to hold her, she darted
past him and was in Aunt Myrtle's
bedroom in flash.
"Bz-z-zz! Ee-e-e-ee! Yow-ow-ow-
owl" came from the room, and, min
gled with the sound of screening and
the whir of flying feathers and the
rafting Of the chain, came Mrs. Fields
piercing shrieks.
Like a man who goes to meet, his
fate, Higgins walked into the room.
The uproar suddenly ceased, and the
only sounds now heard were the con-
vulsive sobs Of the housekeeper.
Upon the perch, the chain about it's
leg, sat the new parrot that Higgins
had bought, preening the bald places
where feathers had once been. The
carpet was strewn with debris of the
fight.
And underneath, killed for the Sec
Ond time, lay Flou-flou, one glazing
eye still cooked on Higgins in a con.
temptuous and ironical wink.
Hotel Facilities.
my FRIEND" said the professional
moralizer to the inebriated citizen, If
you don't mend your ways some night
you'll sleep in the gutter"