The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-06-13

rars andfender plant whisiinesds
ed aereryhff of the danghtgrs gem
tseroug@young souI fSr rs spiritual
ssustenance. has always
missed father y the poorSdeart
ELetty said to herself ever and
over again
point where she could find just a
wee bit Of amusement III the awk-
| wardly concealed wish of A1bert
Crafts that Mrs. MaxfieId would
go to bed and in the quite uncon
cealed determination of Mrs.
Crafts to do nothing of tf-> kfSaa,
i,She had an uncanhy way Of know
ing, had that lady. when one Of
| the occasions had arrived upon
which Albert Just naturally had to
propose to Lefty again. Only that
very day. with her very bost air
OF martyred abnegatfon, she had
said TO her daughter; Lefty, my
child, il your happiness demands
that you marry, pray do not con-
! slider me. ] am only your mother,
after all, you know And Lefty
in a burst of generous sympathy
had kissed her and made nelieye
to shake her, and said: stop it.
mumsie. I. am Perfectly happy
with youi" And at the moment
she believed It, the goose:
Albert was just on the point Of
giving UP and going homo in de-
spair when the door opened and
Mr.. S:ryker entered Dortentously.
Mr.. Stryker was six feet tall,
sixty years old and e~iaturateiJ
bearced. He looked like a tall as
we'll as portly Santa Claus. For
! more than a month he Mad been a
ledger in the Maxfield :lome, the
only one that establishment had
eyar entertained. He le:,r:red. be-
J ing tie herald Of an amazing the
! DRY about the entire u~1nccessity
| of ever dying eve Il physical
death; Mr.. Stryker beared on the
occupants of the DOM
"Ah-er, Mrs. Wakef1cid,~> he
detained, u have-ah-er-found
! that particular passage in Isaiah.
Shall 1 bring the book here 1t is
on the dining room table"
ooh, I'll come-that great Bible
is so h.avy!" And Mrs. MaXfie!d.
whose interest i'll the promise of
ph.Sicel immortality had lately De-
come very keen. ;ncoptjnenJiy
abandoned her obstructive war.
denship and preceded tins
lent looking Mr. Strykcr out o.:
the room.
Lefty kept on Knitting.
Pow did you ever j to take
| tia, old bird in?" asked Albeit,
wac IL all these years had
gotten over a vast efficiently Il
saying what he wanted TO say to
Lefty. He didn't care anything
about the reason for Strykcr's
presence. He only asked
Why. you know, al" replied
Lefty i'll PRETENDED surprise, she
knew well enough that Albert
didn't care. Mrs. Whipple in
| duced her~to. Mr.. Stryker cannon
| abide hotels and rooming houses,
and mother is keen about mis- the
Dry
WELL said Albert. getting q
grip on himself, "Strykcr be blow
ed What l want to say TO you.
! Lefty. is-won't you, won't you
| please. dear, reconsider? Bring
mother along. I'm ready to build
| now and we can make it Il peiEect
home for her.
But Lefty shook her head. And
when. after a half hours arguing.
! pleading. beechment. Albert Crafts
disconsolateIy took his hat and
went home, he was no nearer to
| winning Letty's consent than ne
had been any time these last ten
years.
In the usual course Of events it
would have been. week before Al
bert came tic soc Lefty again. but
the second day ~ er his latest dis
appointment he had the extremely
rare experience of hearing Letty,s
voice over the telephone wire. II
wish you would come up this even
ing" It said, and there was no
| Keeping from Albert the ia ct that
| this was not the old, self-controlL
| ed Lefty who was speaking, but
a woman with What the chemists
call a trace Of hysteria in her
vocal machinery. He shot out OF
his little builders office and into
his runabout and was at Letty's in
four minutes.
Letty's eyes were round and they
looked at Albert in the stransest
way. Then she grabbed the lapels
of his coat and buried her head
against his shirt front and first
she laughed and then she cried ard
then she laughed again.
"Oh CHI" she laugh-cried. ITS
mother! What do you think she
has done? She-sbe has -elopeGt'
"Stryker!" shouted Albert.
Betty nodded. laughing with hor
eyes full of tears And she's FL
try-three and she took every cent