The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-09-21
Blame the Fire
Lighter
By JANE OSBORN


e. 1923. by Mcclure Newspaper syndicate.)
Marjorie Peters had hurried home
from school that afternoon, for just as
she was leaving her small apartment
after lunch the parcel post man had
come in with a package for her.
She had met him In the hall end had
Just time enough to hurry back up TWO
flights of stairs with the package, un-
lock the door and slip it into the front
hall. To have stopped long enough to
see what the package contained would
have meant tardiness at afternoon ses-
sion.
So Marjorie changed her mind about
keeping Bobbie Smith and Tommy
Taylor in late, and as soon as the chill
dren had filed out of the room at three
o'clock she turned the key in her desk
drawer and hurried out of the room,
down the school corridor and Off to her
little apartment as fast as possible.
So she had full half hour to open
the package and examine its contents
before Grace Baldwin-also school
teacher-returned
"Its a Cape Cod fire-lighter," Mar
garet explained, holding up the little
brass tray on which rested the brass
tankard and torch. "You know-you
keep kerosene oil in here and keep the
torch soaking and then, when you want
to light a log in your fireplace, you
don't need any paper or kindling. Just
set the torch under the log, light the
torch and let 1t burn. The heat from
the flame starts the log burning"
"But 1t would be angerous-having
the kerosene standing about that way.
/ mean If there were any dogs or chill
dren about-they might upset it,"
But we haven't any dogs-or chill
dren," defended Marjorie.
"And we haven't any fireplace,
either,' replied Grace.
NO" sighed Marjorie, ''but, you see
when specified Cape Cod fire-lightel
I didn't know what high rents were
| asked for apartments with firepaces
I'd hoped we could have one. You see
| It was last year when / was off at my
aunt's summer place in Massachusetts
! and we had bet.
II said wouldn't be engaged by No
vember Of this year and she said
would--so we bet an embroidered bu
reau cover to a Cape Cod fire-lighter
| and"
"But It isn't the first of November,
said Grace. Its only the first of Oc
tober. You've a whole month"
Marjorie looked vexed. Doesn't 1
amount to the same thingT she de
manded. "How In the world could b.
engaged when there's no one to be en-
gagged to? And you know, yourself, tina
people don't meet other people here Il
this city. SO last week 1 wrote m
aunt and told her I'd won the bet an
she might as well pay up. Really, It
lovely, isn't itY'
YES" agreed Grace, rather slowly
"What can we use 1t for? II we too
the torch out II would do rather NIGEL
for maple sirup-that Is, II either of u
used maple sirup."
"Don't be absurd" warned Marjori,
"We're not going to use II at all unit
we can use II for fire-lighter."
Home to Marjorie seemed like som
place where you could sit before al
open fire. She saved the real estat
sections Of the Sunday papers an,
looked carefully through the adver
tisements Of apartments for rent hav
ing open fireplaces. Usually she fount
that the rent for such apartments wal
at least twice what she and Grace were
then paying.
Meantime the Cape Cod fire-lighter
untried, rested on top Of Marjorie's
bookcase. Thus two weeks passed
Then Marjorie saw an advertisement In
Sunday paper of "open fireplace
apartments" in the very house where
she and Grace lived.
So Marjorie visited the agent Of the
apartments, thinking that perhaps the
rent of the apartment advertised would
not be more expensive than she and
Grace wished to pay. The agent was
not encouraging.
"The rent for that apartment Is $10C
a month";" he said-Marjorie and Grace
paid $50. "The. party that rents 1t is
anxious to get out--and his lease ex'
pires the hrst Of November. But he
won't let It go for dollar less than
$100--Sorry. We can get that much on
account of the fireplace. Fine II you
like them, but I'd rather sit In front OF
a radiator myself"
Marjorie knew the rent was prohibi
tive, but she felt curiosity concerning
the apartment. She figured out how
long 1t would be with the present scale
Of salary Increases for school teachers
before she would be justified In such
extravaganza.
She asked the agent Il she might
look at the apartment, and he referred
her to the janitor, who had the keys
The janitor told her that the party