The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-11-23
EOening Story
Introducing MIR. Grandage.
BY JANE OSBORN.

- eve might as well as ask Miss
Wynn" commented the elder of the
Emmett sisters. 1T isn't as if ii
was regular party, and she'll un-
derstand, OF course, that our asking
her to an affair of this sort doesn't
put her or us under any sort of fu-
ture social obligation"
well. all right" auoth the other
Emmett. "And she'll probably be so
f1attered to be asked that she'll buy
a lot of the pans and kettles.
| imagine she has quite a little mon
ey.'
\ So that is why Miss Emmett No. 1
telephoned to Mary Wynn that night,
something unprecedented in the six
months that Mary Wynn had come
| to live in Farnham.
Il thought perhaps you'd be inter-
ested in coming around to our house
| Wednesday, said shea taking pains
not to let her voice carry too much
icordiality. There is a young man
who is agent for the Gold Star Kitch-
en- Wear who is coming for a dem
onstration. He asked me to get to-
gether some Of the ladies in the
neighborhood. And he says" empha-
sized Miss Emmett. that if it will be
any inducemept there will be refresh
ments and that you're not to bring
your purse. He doesn't want to sell
anything now. He came to me nat
urally as president of the Farnham
woman's-~club and, wishing to help
any young man working his way thru
college, I told him he could have his
demonstration at our house"
Miss Emmett did not add that she
had consented most willingly as the
young man in question had agreed to
give Miss Emmett five per cent of any
sales that resulted from her demon
stration party, and that he was. more
ever. going to prepare and provide
materials for the refreshments served.
Miss Wynn tried to hide her ex-
element and happiness from Miss
Emmett on the telephone. She had
come to Farnham six months ago to
live in a. house that had been wilied
to her by an uncle who had lately
died But so far Farnham had not
received her very warmly. They eyed
her with suspicion. Old Mr. Wynn
was something of an eccentric There
were tales of Mary Wynns high flown
notions. She had lived abroad, she
could talk French as well as she could
English and she came to Farnham
with rather shabby clothes. There
fore Farnham eyed her with sus-
picion.
If the ice was broken, as If at last
Farnham were opening its arms.
1t was an odd enough party at the
Emmetts' that Wednesday afternoon.
Twenty chairs or more had been car
ried into the kitchen to accommodate
the guests and, late corners sat in the
open doorways to the dining room or
perched upon ti1e-drain board of the
kitchen sink. Mary Wynn, who had
arrived early in crisp summer frock,
sat close to the stove where nothing
that the young man from Hilton col
Iege said or did could escape her. To
the others seated farther back he may
have seemed Self-poSsessed and per-
fectly at ease, but to Mary Wynn 1t
was obvious that at times he felt the
awkwardness of his position-he
novice in the art of cooking, a green
horn in the kitchen, telling these sea-
soned housewives how to make better
omelets than they had ever made be-
fore, assuring them that coffee as
they had made it before could never
equal coffee as he was making it in
one of the new Gold Star coffee1 pots,
and. Mary Wynn thought. once or
twice as he stirred the eggs for the
omelet or measured the coffee to put
in the coffee pot that the boyish
hands trembled with confusion.
Apparently he was not entirely ia
miliar with his sales talk for he con- |
suited from time to time the notes |
that he had before him neatly writ |
ten on pages from a university note |
book. Once or twice when there was |
an awkward pause in his sales talk |
his eyes inadvertently met those of |
came into his eyes and Mary Wynn
flashed back a Iookof encourage |
that cleared the air.
Mary was thinking that it would |
be a very great thing for any woman |
to have a son so bent on getting his |
education that he was willing to |
spend his summers as an agent DEM /
onstrating in women'S kitchens. For |
Mary Wynn, tho not more than twen-
Ly-five, usually thought of herself as
much older Her VOIIth I
seemed very far away.
Then an end came to the demon
stration and The amber clear coffee
was poured in Mis- Emmett's second
omelet was cut in sample pieces and
passed around. Assurance came into
The face of the demonstrator when he
saw and heard the praise of the wom-
IN. Now" he said, I'll pass these
plank cards and a pencil. VIII you
Zach one write your name and address
1n a card?
Having collected the cards and hav-
ng looked them over with some in
crest, he went on, 'Now I want to
all on each one of you personally"
his was all, of course, only part of
he selling plan laid out at the head
quarters of the Gold Star office. Mrs.
Brown, when may I call on you? I i
want you to tell me your problems in
cooking equipment and then want to
lelp you solve them" There was al
tort of personal appeal in the words
hat made Mrs Brown giggle and say,
Any time"
And so on. Robert Grandage went
he rounds. making definite appoint
nent to call on each of the guests
present, with the object, of course, of
making sales of the kitchenWare for
which he was agent.
Have I arranged with every one?"
lie asked.
There was a pause and then Mary
Wynn looked up. fYou haven't ar
anged with me-" she said, then
flushed unaccountably. Robert Gran
age howed confusion too. "You are
Hiss wynn didn't really forget"
Ie said ct didn't have the ard with