Phillips County herald., 1923-07-19
The Way Luck
Goes
By CLARA DELAFIELD
20. 1928. western Newspaper Union,

healthy fat baby, then a healthy fat
boy, then stout young man. Not
monstrosity with half dozen chins
-just-well just fat.
Everybody liked Hubert He had
I the pleasant ways that fat men have.
! He wasn't the prize fat man of our vii
( lage either. Reginald Bogart-now
/ isn't it odd how that name suggests
1 fatness, tool Reginald Bogart was
| what might have been called the cham
| pion. He tipped the scales at two hun
/ drcd and fifty. Hubert was only two
/ hundred and twelve. Hubert went in
for tennis, too. Reginald couldn't do
anything hut swim. oh, but he could
/ swiml Not fast, but-well, such lot
/ of him swan.
/ But all this leads up to Mary Bay
I llss, Hubert was mighty fond OF her.
| When he was raised to forty-five
week he asked her to marry him. Mary
answered:
4 Hubert, my dear, Pm awfully fond
of you, but not in that way. I'll be
sister TO you"
This staggered Hubert; he had three
sisters and didn't want any more.
"Tell me frankly what's the matter
with me-" he said s.1
"The man marry must be heroic
figure in my eyes. He must be capable
of anything"
I'm capable of anything" said HUI
bert.
We'll, If you must know, could
! never marry fat man." said Mary.
Now Hubert adored Mary. Many
men would have accepted defeat, for
Hubert, like most fat men, had had
spells of resolving TO become thin
man. He had played tennis in
wicked sun, he had gone without lunch,
he had gone without breakfast, he had
gone without drinking, he had worn
mysterious rubber belts, and he had
given up sugar. Also he had taken
sixteen different advertised cures for
fatness.
The perfectly obvious result was
that he had grown fatter than ever.
Everybody knows that when you no
tice your fat II sits up and takes no
tice, instead of whiting away In ig-
nominy. Hubert had grown steadIiy
fatter.
But he adored Mary BaylIss., and he
resolved, ito grow thin or perish. And
he started In on Spartan regime dur
Ing his vacation, having succeeded In
Inducing his boss TO let him take a
whole month that year.
Hubert went up into the woods to
little lonely camp and started wres-
tling with his fifty pounds Of slperfiu-
Gus nyolrdupois. For diet he nte un-
leayened fiapjscks tone per d.em) and
timed meat or fish that lie caught
from the lnke-nnd that wasn't very
often. lie nbhorred butter. He re-
voked on sugar. Every morning he
ran three miles without stopping and
then rolled on Jog until he could
stand II no longer. Then he would
stand sldewlse In front Of n looking
glass and see how far he projected.
After two weeks OF this, steadily
persisted In. Hubert discovered that
he looked like n very ordinary person.
His clothes were getting too loose for
him. lie hnd taken In his belt three
times. He redoubled his exertions.
The third week the fat surrendered
md came on him In lenps and bounds.
At the end OF the fourth week he was
thin, II anything. Not noiicenbIy thin.
hut II anyone hnd asked you whether
you would have said he was thin
man.
Being rather sensitive about his
changed appearance, when his holiday
came 10 nm end he sneakcd home on
the night train. His three sisters had
Mysteries when they saw him. His
mother sobbed on his neck and wanted
10 know where her darling boy was
gone 10. But let vs. draw u veil over
that. rE rH
Hubert washed up. changed and
went TO pay n late call on Mary. Mary
didn't know him when she opened the
door. Then she nearly fnlnted.
MARY" said Hubert, when he had
brought her to. Il did II for your sake.
Marry me. II you don't believe II will
last, mnrry me when I've been thin
for year
"oh, my poor Hubert, ! didn't mean
what I said. ] could never marry II
thin man." sobhcd Mary.
'I-rll get fnt ngain" said Hubert
desperately. '1'll get anything you
sny." '''
''Ii's too late" snId Mary mournful.
ly. ''I-1'm engaged
'Mnryl" cried Hubert wildly. ",Yho
IL he1"
''jieelnald Bognrt."