The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-05-26
AL
81 OR STORY
! DOR P rognosticator
., I@roBODY had any faith in
~ r. RAY BAKER

~ n. RAY. BAKER
rOBODY had any faith in the
&lweather man. Nobody ever has
go 80 faith in any weather man, IN
less it is negative. see by the
paper tomorrow will be fa1r; tnat
means rain sure" says the cynical
dear public and the dear public
laughs sand congratuiates 1tseif Oh
being witty. But the joke is as an,
Sscient as Mount Ararat. You VIII
u remember that Noah's predlctloh
Y of&rain was treated with the sam:
s1acksof respect.
But this story is no discuss ION
of the merits or dement's OIL "ea ~,
s3s err men in general. 1t deals Win
one particular prognosticator' Wy
name of Hiram Lake AS mas oeen
said. nobody had faith in him; tnat
is, nobody except Julia Collins. anu
even she was beginning to weaken
s5sss;5I Julia. had lived all her life in
except for the time spent
In boarding school. and, having
finished her course in finishing IN
"A that institution she bod coS1e home
and settled down, ready TO set
CHARACTERIZATION some suitable mar
Ssriagab BILE man should happen alohs'
There was Jacob Hanaford whose
:; father owned "a Irvine factory ana
yhad tied up more than his snare
s6of wealth with his product JACOB
"a ", .willin"' where Julia was con-
}erned but there were things aoot'
s' I'm she didn't like. Hiram happen
Re. d along and he seemed to suit a
,%aYery particular until ne los1 cS1s =
by his professional record
-. d At,,r, hna 1Ed
weather headquarters for that part
553S,fTStI,e state and the government
Gent Hiram to preside at the proph-
ri esying. He met Julia and 70
nance started to bud-untll she
discovered he had become
he Joke OF the town. and her
n friends. by means of derision ana
asssarcasm. began to undermine EcF
regard for Hiram.
sssSsss4i7JI1lia struggled against this, out.
The friends persisted aided ana
M abetted by Jacob. and she "eah
ened. Jacob was invited TO an the
s parties, and nobody would na'e
anything to do with Hlram' anu
the young woman enjoyed partlss.
the rich mans son finally WORK
q ed his way into her favor 10 SON.
extent. although the weather man
S5EE,sti II called occasion allE-when
there was no social activity TO
require her attention.
Wesley folk were very exactinS-
The grocer who mixed sand IN
sugarNwas ostracized. as was the
lsdairyman who put water in mix
is, more than reasonable
amount. A jeweler who sold paste
yEfor# diamonds would lose popular
ssity. and the townspeople could not
make an exception in the case OF
who had it rain when ne
promised sunshine Hiram scat
med his daily reports with met1cu-
Gus care and made his deducnohs
with scrupulous caution, but when
;;y low pressure area seemed mead
gad for certain in the direction OF
wesley and he predicted storm
sssssason83the strength of it, mild weather
was inevitable.
The Sunday OF the big picnic
alike dawned as fair as the most
ssssHopeful could wish, and when the
walking club stopped for Julia
sFcrers m ember was in high spirits.
Stfll. Julia insisted on taking an
Umbrella until they laughed her
sout$o of the idea
s5ss.. e al said Jacob. "Why. look
atsthat sky-clear as a bell
..But, Julia faltered, the
paper last night predicted rain for
s8Stod ay.'
The suproar produced by this re-
N ark&made her.fee very sheepish,
szzsShileSJ acob's eXuberance, prompt
g. ed 8him to a witty remark to the
effect that the prediction of rain
syFasGa positive assurance of con-
Sgtinued sunshine. Julia. was down
cast on her own account as we'll
as#H Hiram s. She just couldn't help
#shaying5 some faith in her weather
I'm an, because because-well. she
did care for him, even though hei
was the joke of the town.
But she went without the umbre!-
Out on country road, through
he woods turning green under the
Zbreath Of spring, the mixers liked
lunch baskets and Great
\ ing sharp appetites for their con-
tents. Their blood was warmed by
the spirit Of the season and they
made merry.
;s Lunch was eaten at the edge of
the woods far from any ha bltatio1,
L with the sun shining brightly. But
while the dishes were being gath
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