The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1922-01-12
PART ll-continued.

As he grew older, his insatiate Gu
riosity enabled him TO expose unnum-
bered weaknesses, indiscretlons and
social misfortunes on the part of ac-
.quaintances and schoolmates and to
every exposure his noise and energy
gave q hideous publicity; the more
his victim sought privacy the more
persistently he was sought out by
Wallie, vOcferouS and attended by
hilarious spectators. But above all
other things. what most stimulated
the demoniac boy to prodigies of sat
ire was any tender episode or symp-
tom connected with the dawn of love.
Florence herself had suffered excru-
ciatingly at intervals throughout her
eleventh spring, because Wallie dis
covered that George Beck sent her a
valentine; and the humorist's many,
many squealings of that valentines
affectIOnate quatrain finally left her
unabe to decide which she hated the
more. Wallie or George. That was
the worst of Wallie: he never "let
up; and i'm Florence's circle there
"T1l tell Wallie Torbin!' - AS for
Henry Rooter and Herbert nlings-
worth Atwater. Jr., they would as soon
have had head-hunter on their trail
as Waffle Torbin with anything In his
hands that could lncriminate them
in an implication of love-or an ac-
acknowledgements of their own beauty
The fabric of civilized life is inter
woven with blackmail; even some of
the nOblest people do favors for other
people who are depended upon not to
tell somebody something that the no.
blest people have done. Blackmal Is
born into us all, and our nurses teach
us more blackmail by threatening to
tell cur parents, II we won't do this
and that-and our parents threaten
To tell the doctor-and so we learn
Blackmail Is part of the daily life Of
get his way with other children Is
threat to "tell"; but by-and-by his
experience discovers the mutual bene-
fit Of honor among blackmailers.
Therefore, at eight IL is no longer the
ticker TO threaten to tell the teacher;
and, q little later threatening to tell
any adult at all is considered some
thing of a breakdown in morals. No
tOriOusly. the code is more liable to
infraction by people of the physically
weaker sex. for the very reason, Of
course. that their inferiority of mus
Gle So frequently compels such a sin.
IL they are to have their way. But
for Florence there was now no such
temptation. Looking toward the de-
moltion of Atwater & Rooter. an eX-
posure before adults Of the results
of Truth" would have been an effect
of the sicklieSt pal,or compared to
what might be accomplished by a
careful use of the catastrophe Wallie
'Torbin.
All in all II was n great Sunday
for Florence On Sunday evening II
was her privileged custom to 60 to
the house OF her fat old great-uncle,
Joseph Atwater. and remain until nine
O'Clock, in chatty companlonship with
Uncle Joseph and Aunt Carrie, his
wife. and a few other relatives who
were I'm the habit of dropping In there
on Sunday evenings. In summer,
lemonade and cake were frequently
provided; in the autumn, one still
found cake. and perhaps pitcher of
clear new cider; apples were always
a certainty.
This evening was glorious; there
were apples and cider and cake and
walnuts. perfectly cracked, and a
large open-hearted box Of candy.
Naturally, these being the circum-