Evening star., 1926-11-28

aware of an earnest young man who
gazed at her with frank astonishment.
''Well!' he protested. Wait till !
get hold of Brick McGovern! He told
me you was an old Portagee lady with
nine grandchildren! Can you imagine
that old fox tryin' to shoe me away!
Why. bet you ain't even married.!
Vernie's bushes confirmed his sus-
picions. Then it's Miss Norton, not
Mrs."
Miss vernie Norton" she affirmed,
noting with rising color the admirae
ton in his eyes.
'Tnree cheers!" said joe This ia
Joe Dugan battin' for himself. Say,
listen, Miss Norton--I m awfully sorry
you got hurt. I brought you some
flowers and candy, but. of course, that
won't square 1t. Let me take a look
at that eyer
10000, no! Please!"
But he insisted.
Gee. ats a pip. Looks like the one
Bull Feeney got when he missed a
third strike on Indian Smith. Cost
the Indian lot Of wampum. but he
said 1t was worth it. Would you like
to take in a picture show tonight, Miss
Norton?"
With this eyer" she gasped.
"Why, I can't see!"
'Oh. that's all right" he assured
her. "Ill tell you all about it. Please,
Miss Vernie''
Toe was a good ball player. He COW
cred ground fast, and his heart
and soul were in the game.
Literally speaking, Vernie had been
knocked of her feet. Her nerves
were shattered, her composure gone;
her head ached and the world was
topsy-turvy. Papa Pierrot's feminine
trade mark had no power to resist the
whirlwfnd attack OF Dusty Dugan. Nor
did she try. She clung to him as
though he were a life preserver. and
before the evening was over soft hair
was brushing his cheek, and she was
telling him who had sprayed perfume
on his uniform.
We'll, what do you know" he mar
veled. "And you had me pegged all
picture is in the street cars? Well,
amt a fool for luck! Say. how far
down do l come in the batting order?
How many fellows do have to lick +?
What? You mean to tell me"
He reached for her left hand and
satisfied himself that there was indeed
no ring thereon. Holy cow" he COM
mented. well. that's easy flxedr'
You said you were going to tell me
about the picture" protested Vernie.
"Oh. that's out" he answered. IT
got something else to talk about"
Whatever 1t was, Vernie seemed
reasonably content to sit there and
listen, Perhaps 1t was just as well
that the bandage over her eye pre-.
vented the vision of Joe Dugan chew
ing 'ball-players' gum" Love is
blind, and so. for the moment, was
Vernie Norton.
Being wise in the ways Of the ball
field, Joe Dugan took advantage of
the breaks" in the game. When
Cupid is throwing 'em waist.higi1 and
squarely over the plate, there is no
sense In waiting him out. Far better
set yourself and crash the first one.
pEEWEE PATTERSON burst into
4 the clubhouse. Hey. listen" he
implored. Here's a yell! Remem-
Der the girl 1 was tellin' you about?
You gave ME the laugh. didn't you?
Well. Dusty married her last night.
Me and Brick McGovern were in the
coachers' box! Mrs. Dugan is going
to make the trip with us to Portland.
Now, laugh that off,
To the best of their ability they
tried. Lefty Sullivan rolled on the
floor. Rube Ferguson wept In the
arms of the trainer. Even Tombstone
Nelson howled.
You can't top it"' sobbed Lefty.
That's the funniest play l ever
heard. I'll bet he paid the preacher
with a plug O. tobacco! Was he
scared. Peewee?"
Shaking all over" said Patterson.
II never see guy so ratified. Me and
Brick was tryin' to give him signals,
and he was all crossed. Didn't know
whether to try a hook slide or go in
standin' up! He couldn't tell the home
plate from the water bucket. And the
bride still had black eye! Some
game. believe me!''
OF course. when the news reached
Papa Pierrot's laundry there was an
other explosion. The proprietor
And Tillie went around demanding
did I call the turn on Miss Touch
me-not? Did she fall hard, or am
mistaken? Yea. sister-thats what
comes of not practicin.' Far be it
from me to gloat. but when / copped
my diamond ring, I didn't get black
eye doin it,"
But what matters it whether the
world laughs or weeps or sneers, SO
long as two young people, who love
each other truly, are drifting dream.
lily on the sea of romance. lit only by
a honeymoon? But---daylight comes
sooner or later, and things assume
their normal perspective. The time
arrived when Mrs. Joe Dugan. out of
the natural fondness of her heart
decided that her husband needed ten
der, wifely counsel. She wanted to be
proud Of him in every way. and that
meant almost complete reformation
Love, you see. can be blind in more
ways than one. Almost before he
realized it. Dugan was in harness. and
it was not long before the harness
began to gall. He stood 1t for q while
in a dazed sort of way: then he began
to sulk, and finally. one rainy morn
ing, without any warning, he kicked
the harness to pieces and made dasf
for liberty.
Dirt is, after all. very fundamen
tai sort of thing. and marks the differ
ence between the sexes. Ever since
Eve first inspected the ears of Adam
man has protested and woman has in
sisted on her rights. AS a girl she ad.
justs the necktie of her boy friend and
picks imaginary lint from his coat; as
a wife she urges upon her spouse the
necessity Of clean collars and q daily
shave, and as q mother she interrupts
the pastimes Of her small boy with the
terrible command: Johnny. come in
the house this moment and get cleaned
up"
Vernie meant 1t all for the best. The
little fiat that they had furnished so
prettily on the installment plan was
the first home she had ever known.
To her 1t was sacred and should be
spotless. And Sir Lancelot, with sub.
Time masculine indifference. was break.
ing her heart.
Il 4
DEEWEE PATTERSON was the
- first to hear the news. He spread
1t among the others when the team
piled into the train for a night trip
South. They were all in the buffet car
with the exception Of Dusty Dugan