Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1922-11-30
Hypnotizing
Anne
By CLARA DELAFIELD

|
Copyright. 1922. Western Newspaper Union
| Anne Porter was forty, plump, come
ly, and a widow. Naturally she had
suitors. But Anne Porter proposed to
surrender her liberty to no man, not
| even to Cyrus Boggs, who was fifty,
plump, uncomely, and childless
| widOwer.
For six months Cyrus Boggs had sat
beside the Widow Porter every Satur-
day night, watching her knit and
yearning to take that fair. plump hand
in his and hold it forever.
The Widow Porter had one special
virtue. She had inherited eight thou
sand dollars from the late Ephraim
Porter, whose virtues are recorded on
squarish slab with rounded corners,
standing bolt upright, and engraved
very large, so as not to be missed
when a certain trumpet sounds.
Cyrus Boggs had had twelve thou
sand-ronce. That was before the Pc
kin smash. Halliburton Pekin was the
shrewdest company promoter that ever
came out of Cyrus Boggs' home town,
which had given birth to several. It
was suspected that more than one Of
the home folks had been stung by
Pekin's land schemes. But they kept
very, very quiet.
Cyrus did anyway. Nobody dreamed
that his twelve thousand had gone into
Pekin's. bottomless boys somewhere
down the lower reaches of the Missis-
sippi. But after that the Widow Por-
ter seemed like ripe, sound peach,
little too high on the tree.
We now shift to Monsieur Eleazar,
the hypnotist, who spent one night In
Farmer Eli jerks barn, at twenty-five
cents q head, and held his audience
spellbound.
How they laughed when mean old
Ebenezer Briggs handed out million.
dollar bills to all and sundry! What
roars of laughter went up to the owl
infested rafters when old Miss Skin
ner, seventy-four and lame, hobbled
up and down the planks, under the
impression that she was crossing nj.
agara on a tight-ropel
What roars resounded when the Rev.
Philo Spratt, who had incautiously
lent himself to the experiment, en-
braced a dozen non-existent wives, In
the belief that he was the Grand Turk.
At the end Monsieur Eleazar stepped
forward.
= 'What 1 have done," he said, "any
man can do. 1t is not the virtue in
me, 1t is power possessed by ALL"
Cyrus Boggs did not remember the
rest Of Monsieur Eleazar's speech, but
he remembered the methods that he
had used. And that night wild hope
was born in him, and the aext Satur-
day night he said to the Widow Por-
ter:
You wasn't at the show last Tues
day. was you, Mrs. Porter? Say, you
oughter have seen 1t. Col darn It. I
nearly split my sides with laughing
Let me show you, Mrs. Porter"
"Oh, please do, Mr.. Boggs," said the
widow, looking up from her knitting.
MAY / hold your hand, Mrs. Porter
jest out of scientific feelings? You
see, take it so, and 1 look into your
eyes. Now watch me steadily. I
make three passes, so. Now your
eyes close"
And, by heck, the Widow Porters
eyes closed. Cyrus Boggs felt all the
thrill that comes to masterful man.
you can't open EN-" he said.
81 can't open Them" repeated the
Widow Porter, softly.
81 am your MASTER" said Cyrus
Boggs.
you are my MASTER" whispered the
Widow Porter
you love me-" said Cyrus Boggs,
feeling an extraordinary sense Of pow
er. you've always loved me, only
you've been hiding your feelings out
of coyness."
'I've always loved you," murmured
the Widow Porter.
you're fast asleep now, and yet
you can see me-" said Cyrus Boggs.
"You can see the love light In my
eyes, When you wake up you will
see me as the handsomest man you've
ever seen. You will be crazy to marry
me- You will marry me as soon as 1t
can be DONE"
Il shall marry you tomorrow" whis
pered the Widow Porter, and Cyrus
Boggs was aghast at the success that
attended him. He waved his hand
across the widows face.
awake up, and remember Jennie"
he said huskily.
The Widow Porter opened her eyes,
stared, and flung her arms about Cy-
rus neck.
81 love you. Cyrus" she murmured
TREMENDOUSLY.
Il cannot conceal my feelings any
longer May be yours"
"You may, Jennie" responded Cyrus
as he embraced her.
'oh. Cy, it's like a miracle" said
the Widow Boggs. 1--WE been so mis-
cradle with that wretched Mr.. Pc
kin taking my eight thousand dollars