The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1922-02-16
John Is Put to
the Test
By CALVIN HENDRICKS.
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Opyright, 1921 Waatarn Nauysuauar Trotor


ture the dashing and beautiful Mar
garet FfoliOt nobody ever knew.
John left school about the same
time did and went into banking of
ice. He used 70 toll there for eight
hours day, when he might have
been playing tennis at the country
club. or hunting, or amusing himself
travelling. And yet that slow coach
won Margaret Ffoliot and they went
10 Europe for two-mOnths' honey
moon.
You can imagine that we fellows
looked forward with some interest to
Margaret'S return. They came back
and rented a small place at Forest
Glade.
Bob Flinders had been Margaret's
best friend before the marriage, and
we were all anxious to know whether
he would go TO her house or not
happened to be there when Bob called
for the first time. and II was evident
from the way John shook hands with
him that he hadn't the remotest idea
that people used 70 wag their heads
when Bob and Margaret were spoken
OF.
After the return Bob seemed quite
recOnciled To his fate. He was the
most persistent caller at Johns house
usually at times when John wasn't
around. The heads began TO wag
again as before the marriage and
some people wanted to give John
tip that Margaret and Bob were get
ting too friendly. II wasn't that they
had any sympathy with John, for we
all felt that he had done a dirty trick
in cutting poor Bob out but we want
ed to see how John would take 1t.
John will take 1t as he takes
everything" said Jim Allen. Hell
say, oh, really' and dismiss the sub
iect. Can you imagine John playing
a mans part in anythingT
We soon found out that Margaret
was dissatisfied with John She was
ashamed of him.
IL was a few weeks after their re-
turn that some of the boys fixed up a
joke on John. 1t seemed that Mar
ters in the old days. and she had
wanted them back. Bob didn't want
to give them back, because they APP
pealed to his vanity, and they gave
him sort of hand over Margaret. He
didn't show us the letters. but he did
tell us the bargain he made with Mar
garet. He promised to give them back
II she would give him a kiss, said
kiss to be delivered on the first con-
venlent occasion.
OF course, Bob didn't really mean
that, because he was a good enough
sort of fellow, but still, he wouldn't
have been averse from taking one II
he had had the opportunity. He told
us that Margaret had laughingly &C.
copied his proposition, and that the
transaction was arranged 10 take
place in the little garden at the back
of the Country club, where nobody
ever goes. Bob was to be there with
the letters and Margaret with the
kiss, and Bob arranged that those Of
us who wanted TO see the fun should
watch from the windows of the bill
lizard room, which would be sure to be
empty, because the tables were being
repaired.
There was grape arbor just at the
side adjoining the place where Bob
and Margaret were to meet, and at
first we had thought Of hiding In
there But Bob was afraid our mirth
4 h. al Ia crak
into trouble, and, as we found that
we had perfect view from the win
dows, we were very well satisfied. II
was as good as a play.
Margaret was the first of the actors
TO arrive, and we saw her pacing up
and down the garden in an agltated
sort of way.
Bob had the letters In his hand and
he gave them to her.
"You see, l trust you, Margaret"
he said, and he thrust his head up so
that he could wink at us. Margaret
was too much agitated TO see what he
was doing. She kept looking right
and left, as though she were afraid,
and at last, when she had TO deliver
the goods, she looked into the grape
arbor instead and--John came QUA
Bob stood smiling at John in
foolish sort Of way, and when John
spoke his voice had a rasp i'm it,
you dirty BLACKBOARD" he said,
peel off your coat and look alive. I'm
going to thrash you"
Bob whipped off his coat and, run
ming at John, suddenly ducked and hit
him a fiendish blow just under the
belt 1t wasn't sport, but 1t was fun
ny to see John double up suddenly.
We thought that he WAS done for,
but all at once he seemed to straight
en- and came back at Bob with a
thump on the nose which started the
blood. And after that Bob didn't seem
to have a show.
Bob was sight when John got
through with him. He was coated with
blood aAd filth, and he was yelling
murder" so loud that all the wait
ers had come up and stood round