The Pulaskian., 1922-01-12
PART lI-continued.

AS he grew older, his insatiate cu-
 rlosity enabled him to expose unnum-
 bered weaknesses, indiscretions and
 social misfortunes on the part of ac-
 Quaintances and schoolmates and to
 every exposure his noise and energy gave 8 hideous publicity; the more
 his victim sought privacy the more
 perSistenby he was sought out by
 Waffle, vociferous 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- < datiEgly at intervals throughout her ! eleventh spring, because Waffle dis covered that Georgie Beck sent her a
 valentine; and the humorist's many,
 many squealings of that valentines
 affectlonate quatrain finally left her
 mable to decide which she hated the
 more, Waffle or GeorGe. That was
 the worst of Wallie: he never "let
 up"; and in Florence's circle there
 was no more sobering threat than,
 Tll tell Waffle Torbin r' As for Henry Rooter and Herbert filings worth Atwater, IT,, they would as soon have had head-hunter on their trail as Waffle Torbin with anything in his hands that could incrfminate them m an implication of love-or an ac- mowledgement of their own beauty.
 The fabric of civilized life is Inter woven with blackmail; even some of me nobiest people do fav0rs for other people who are depended upon not to lei somebody something that the no blest people have done Blackmail is porn into us all, and our nurses teach us more blackmail by threatening to tell cur parents, if we won't do this and that-and our parents threaten 10 tell the doctor-and so we learnt Blackmail is part of the daily life of q child; displeased, his first resort to get his way with other children is a threat to "tell'; but by-and-by his Experience discovers the mutual bene- 1t of honor among blackmailers. Therefore, at eight it is no longer tEe nckeT to threaten to tell the teacher; 1 and, little later, threatening to tell any adult at all is considered some thing of q breakdown in morals. No | 'oriously, the code is more liable to | nfraction by people of the physically | weaker sex, for the very reason, or | course, that their inferiority of mus ele so frequently compels such a sin, T tney are to have their way. But Tor Florence there was now no such | 'em0lation. Looking toward the de molition of Atwater X Rooter, an ex- posure before adults of the results O Truth" would have been an effect ol the sickliest pal.or compared to what might be accomplished by a careful use of the catastrophe Waffle Torbin.
 All in all it was great Sunday | TOT Florence. On Sunday evening 1t | was her privileged custom to go to | Me house of her fat, old great-uncle, joseph Atwater. and remain until nine aclcck, in chatty companionship with | ohcie Joseph and Aunt Carrie, his | Vile, and few other relatives who were in the habit of dropping in there VI Sunday evenings. In summer, enonade and cake were frequently | p'ovided; in the autumn, one still ., ,uund cake, and perhaps pitcher of ''car new cider; apples were always Certainty.
 This evening was glorious; there | 'ere apples and cider and cake and | perfectly cracked. and & s'ge open-hearted box of candy. l Satrrally. these being the circum- l