The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1925-10-01
ONLY
A STRIP OF
CARDBOARD
BY RUSSELL p. ASKUE
90 by Short Story Pub. Coz

N EAUTY Is not always a quality
X inherent. The barren hill Is
IL ugly till glorified by the resplen-
l. dent rays Of the setting sun.
The crude decoration on a meal ticket,
viewed through the eyes of hunger, be-
comes artistic, beautiful Zone might
even say tasteful, and be guiltless of
anticlimax). Dost thou worship the
god Of chance, then to thee the spots
on poker chip as fair as the freckles
on the cheek Of thy beloved. Dost
thou enjoy church socials-then art
thou unlike Jack Smith.
Mr.. Smith was In the bathtub,
splashing vigorously and whistling.
The night before he had sat up until
one with Professor Gucker's "Hypo-
thetical Nebular Analysis" and a
pony; tonight he was planning to en-
Joy Harvey ]. O'Higgins and a pipe.
Wherefore he whistled while he
splashed. And pink teas and ladies'
sewing circles and church socials were
far from his thoughts.
There came rap at the door and a
voice called his name. 1t was the
voice Of Mrs. Thompson, mother Of
his roommate, and 1t babe him be
quiet a minute. "We want you to
come to the church tonight" it said !;
we're giving a little entertainment,
and"
20 shucks!" he muttered, and be-
gan to splash more loudly than ever.
But the voice, undaunted, waited pa
tiently for comparative silence, and
continued: 1,
II have tickets for you and George !;
here's yours. I'm going to put it under
the door,"
But, Mrs. Thompson, really-O,
all right, I'll go, of course. I suppose
you'd keep me in here all night If I
didn't promise"
THAT'S a nice boy; I knew you'd
want to come; Of course I would II
you. didn't promise; now remember,
dear" And the voice Of Mrs. Thomp-
son hurried away, while Jack, too de-
jected to splash, too angry to whistle,
sat in the tub and glared at the floor.
He spied the ticket, and picking it
up with q wet hand studied it with
disfavor. He also made some very
unkind remarks concerning 1t, finally
throwing it into corner.
Yet it was only a little strip Of
cardboard with nine very proper
words neatly printed thereon:
MONTHLY, SOCIAL
THE LADIES' AID SOCIETY
Admit One
To an ear accustomed to the Eng
lish which thrives in Ohio the variety
cultivated in New England Is anus
ing, and that imported from the Brit
ish Isles is funny. But the luxuriant
native growth Of the sunny Southland
Is charming.
Miss Dorothy Tyler was from the
South, and the words Of her mouth
were quaint and delightful. She stood
in the lecture room of a church in
Cleveland, the vivacieus center of an
admiring circle of men. During a lull
In the conversation she found herself
looking up into the steady blue eyes
Of an athletic young man and heard
someone humble an introduction. But
during the process the gentleman's
name became hopelessly lost. So she
asked him for it.
He bent toward her and informed
her very solemnly-"Jack Smith"
The girl threw back her head and
laughed, a wonderful laugh Of ire
pressible merriment; a laugh that rose
exultantly from sweet murmur to an
ecstatic crescendo-the very spirit Of
animated music.
Really, Mr.. Smith, you must for
give me-" she said, touching her hand
kerchief to her mirth-dimmed eyes;
"but 1t was so funny, the way you said
your name. You were so serious
about it."
"Im usually considered funny when
try to be serious. And Of course
I'm serious upon the question of
names. But I'm glad you were laugh
ing at me instead Of at Smith"
"But perhaps I wasn't" she an
swered. Anyway, what's in a
Manner"
THAT all depends. In mine there
seems to be rich material for the wag-
ging of tongues Of thousand testers.
And the thousandth man expects me
to laugh at his aged joke-old as the
honest name ITSELF"
Again she laughed, deliciously, mis-
chievously; which was exactly what
young Mr.. Smith desired. BY several
strategic maneuvers he had led her
to seat, so that he might enjoy that
laugh all by himself. And the admir-
ing circle, not being able to exist with
out center, had broken up in confu-
sion. Other groups were also dispers-
ing, and the people were seating them
selves about the room, in preparation
for the formal Entertainment of the
evening.
A stately blonde standing beside the