The St. Johns herald., 1922-09-28
A Successful Campaign
By Fl. IRVING KING


 (@, 1922 by Mcclure Newspaper syndicate.)
 That very attractive widow, Mrs. PembertOn Jones, had brought her two daughters to Midway Beach for strictly matrimonial purposes. Of the daugh- ters, GeraIdine-familiarly called Jer- ry-was twenty, and Margaret-Mar- gie for shOrt-was twenty-three. While not raving beauties, they were more than ordinarily goOd-looking girls, we'll brought up, with enough education for | their daily needs. Geraldine was tall and dark; Margaret was petite and blonde That was because she was of the submissive, clinging variety, while Geraldine was decidedly of the nOnsubmissive, self-reliant sOrt. In the Midwest town whence they came they had not wanted suitors, but among them had been no one whom they especially cared about and no one whom Mrs Pemberton Jones cared about at all as a sOn-in-law. But the good mother planned a war of conquest from which she determined to bring back captives if it took her last cent and at any sacrifice of health and comfort. She hated hotel life; but Midway Beach appeared a good stra- tegic position and, like a skillful general, she occupied it. She did not, of course, explicitly state to her daugh- ters the object of the expedition; but they suspected 1t.
 The season at Midway Beach was crowded and brilliant one. At night the great hotel blaZed with incandes- cent bulbs, the band blared from the pagoda-like bandstand in front of the hostelry and the fiddles sang in the ballroom to time the dancers feet. On the broad piazza young couples tlirted and old couples gossiped, while the sullen and disappearing ocean pound ed on the shore and announced to the shivering sands it's intention of sweep ing the whole frivolous place to de structiOn with the first winter storm.
 Mrs PembertOn Jones had calculated upon some opposition to her plans from Geraldine, but upon none from Mar garet. But as the season progressed the usually pliant Margie developed an unexpected obstinacy quite equal to her sisters, and as the season began to draw toward its close the girls were, apparently, no nearer catching rich husbands than they were at its begin hing. It must not be thought that the sisters made no cOnquests-they did. In fact, Geraldine had the honor of re- | jecting a mature millionaire and Mar garet rejected a gilded youth of the best Wall street standing, after each of which events Mrs. PembertOn Jones kept to her bed for a whole day. The good woman was in despair and in- dulged in remOnstrances and tears at the manner in which her daughters neglected their opportunities. "If ma is so set on marriage" said Jerry to Margie, after one of these family squabbles, why doesn't she get mar ried herself? She's only fOrty-five and looks ten years younger"
 But had Geraldine and Margaret come through the frivolous and fiery furnace heart-whole and fancy free? Not so!
 In a little fishing shack four miles away along the shore of the bay, two young men were rOughing it for the summer. They had a catboat, and they had an aged negro to cook for them. They sailed and fished and wore old clothes, smoked and lOafed. It was a life good for the health, and the young men showed it.
 Most gentlemanly and attractive young fellows" said Jerry to Margie, after their first meeting with the her nit fishermen. "They haven't money, though, apparently-which is too bad, or we might be able to soothe mothers feelings"
 'How shocking you are!" replied Margaret. Of course, we shall never see them again"
 "Of course not" said Jerry.
 This first meeting referred 10 had come about in this way. The girls took early morning gallOps, attended only by a groom. GeraIdine's horse attempted to bolt near the fishing shack, and one of the young men | sprang into the road and caught it, while the other sOOthed the sisters fears. When the groom came up, he | found the young ladies, who had dis mounted to recover from their fright, seated on the porch of the shack, in animated conversation with the stran- ger youths. After that, somehow, the morning rides of the sisters generally took the direction of the bay shore road, and generalIy-but always quite by accident, of cOurse-they met the two young men, so that it was inevita- ble that a most friendly acquaintance