Evening star., 1924-03-16


~ dren came down to our town
from a farm in Vermont
where the soil was SO stony that they
had to cut the potatoes into thin
slices and stick them into the ground
edEeways. Take a Scotch family and
add ten years on a Vermont farm,
and you have folks that will neither
give up what they go after nor much
of what they've once got. Avery's
people We're that sort. Every Sunday
Avery was given one penny, which he
clutched in his chubby hand and
dropped into the collection plate at
the latest possible moment. Except
for this, he never saw any money at
all.
His father died of pneumonia, and
Avery set to workNto help his mother
keep the family together; and by her
washing and cooking for parties in
the big houses at the other end of
town and his moving lawns and
sweeping out offices. and what not,
they managed to make a good job Of
il. But being the son of such
father, and having to fight so hard to
eat regularly, Avery never developed
what you would call q generous dis
position.
We never had L nicer dozen boys
and girls in the high school than
were in Avery's class. The most
talented Of the lot was Tom Brecken-
ridge; and Elizabeth Armstrong was
the prettiest girl by far. Tom was
about as different from Avery as ice
cream is from ham and eggs. He was
a. full two inches taller. with big,
handsome features and a mouth that
was always laughing at a joke or
just getting ready to spring one. His
grandfather had owned a farm that
happened to be where Boston wanted
to move to, and no member of the
family had done any real work since.
Tom was captain of the foot ball
team, prize debater, and valedic-
torian of the class. Folks said he
had got everything in school he want
ed except Elizabeth Armstrong, and
that he would have her before his
college days we're over. l can re-
member now how they looked on the
platform-Tom with his new suit
from Boston and Elizabeth in her
white dress with the big sash around
her waist, and poor old Avery in q
coat and pants that must have been
two years old at least. I felt sorry
for him; but he needed no ones
sympathy. He squared away at the
crowd, stuck his chin into the air and
shot his speech straight at us. It
wasn't as polished as Toms. but it
hit, and hit hard.
Well, they went off to college, Tom
to Yale, and Avery to Boston Uni
sersity, where he could read a little
law on the side at such hours as he
wasn't tending to some ones furnace
or clerking in a shoe store.
Everybody gave parties in the sum-
mer and Tom took Elizabeth every
where and we all expected to read
some news from that quarter in al
most any issue of the ENTERPRISE,
but the summer passed and nothing
happened.
Then Tom took his way to New
York and Avery was already digging
into his law studies, and living in
some little back room in Boston
where the landlady didn't object to
cooking over the gas flame or drying
shirts over same. So more years pass
ed and then in the spring Betty
flashed into our midst wearing a
brand new diamond ring; and when
we asked her whether Tom got it at
Tiffany's. she said no, that Avery
bought it in Boston.
Whereupon we looked at it again,
and saw that it wasn't such a very
big diamond.
THEY were married in June, which
was Betty LOUIS idea, though the
town said it was so that Avery could
take advantage of the summer ex-
cursion rates TO Niagara Falls. When
they got back to town, Betty's folks
wanted them to live in the big house;
but Avery was just as Independent
as he was close. He rented one side
of a two-family house away down at
the further end of Orchard street.
\ few days later he walked into
my office and pulled up q chair close
to my desk.
You and 1 are Scotchmen," he be-
gan in an abrupt, busineselike tone,
land we know how to keep our
mouths shut" 1 looked at him in
surprise. He seemed still hardly
more than \ kid to me. yet here he
was talking like shrewd old man.
"Am I rightc" he demanded.
You are" ! answered, wondering
what would come next.
Good" said he, reaching into his
g.
an account in this bank"
I'm glad of that" I replied. How
much will it be-
six hudred dollars to start with;
but don't worry. it will grow"
L looked at him in amazement.
do you mean to tell me that you've
put yourself through law school, get
married. and still have six hundred
dollars?"
He treated the question as super
fiuous.
I'll be admitted to the bar in Sep
tember," he said. Then you keer
your eyes on this account. Once Tn
over that hurdle nothing. can stoI
me-" He hitched his chair up notch
closer. Now, this Is what's on my
mind" he continued, you know al
about my folks-what we've beer
through. That is you think you know
Potatoes-potatoes - potatoes-stev
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES any decent
clothes, never any fun" His eyes
flashed. "Do you know what hel
lisp, he demanded. "It isn't fire. IT..
= place where winter lasts the yea1
round and you sleep three in a Bee