Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1927-07-29
Sent on a Fools
Errand
By ANNA ABERCRoMBIE


~ said her sisters, cousins and
aunts-and others. That seemed to
be the consensus of opinion In regard
to Corinne Snow.
From the time she was little girl
had she insisted upon having her own
way, and as her mother found 1t easier
70 follow the line Of least resistance,
her daughter grew up a wlllful and
disobedleht child and very often a dis
agreeable one.
AS she approached womanhood, she
vented her moods upon the young men
of her acquaintance. But because
When she was good. she was very
And whsh she was bad. she was
horrid,
and so very charming when she chose
to be, they put up with her tantrums
all but one young man who had just
moved into the town and whom
Corinne had but recently met.
AS usual, she proceeded to charm
and then to manage him, but the lat
ter didn't come to pass. 1t plqued her
vanity not little, and when, on one
or two occasions, he made 1t plain
that what she had In mind couldn't
be dope she felt greatly chagrined.
Corinne did not take kindly to dis
appointments, and when anyone inter-
fefed with her plans, vindictiveness
came strongly to the fore.
March was drawing to close and
April was hard by. Still smartlng
under the last rebuke that Saunders
had given her, she decided that the
coming holiday was an opportune time
to square matters with him.
For two weeks It had ralned almost
necessarily and at times the water
literally came down In bucketfuls.
The effect Of such fioodlike rains upon
unmacadamized country roads may
well be imagined.
On the morning Of that day, Saun-
ders heard a voice tell him over the
telephone at his office that his dog had
run away and that he could be found
at Mrs. Webb's home on Salem street,
q small white cottage at the end Of
the road The voice added that Mrs.
Webb was very deaf and not entirely
responsible mentally, so that she
might possibly deny having the dog.
Saunders thanked the person and
said he would call for the dog that
afternoon.
CorInne chuckled as she hung up
the receiver. She could see him park
ing his car at the boulevard and trudg
ing the full length Of Salem street, as
It was utterly impossible for anything
on wheels to pull through the mlre.
OF course, Saunders did not know
that old Mrs. Webbs sense Of hearing
was as keen as his and that shouting
at her would greatly irrltate her none
too amlable disposition. Arguing with
her was sheer lunacy, too. It prom
ised to be an unpleasant session for
him and Saunders would by no means
emerge victorious.
Meanwhile he would be greatly wOr-
ried by the supposed disappearance Of
his prize alredale.
She thought the Joke was such Il
good one that she told several of her
friends about It. In time It reached
his ears, but he gave no sign Of his
acquaintance with the fact.
Several weeks passed and COrinne
decided that at her dinner party she
would let him know who had sent
him on his FOOLS errand. Then they
would all make merry at his expense
and COrlnne knew he hated to be
laughed at. That would teach him
lesson. He would then understand
that she was the kind Of young lady
whose slightest within should be re-
garded as important.
ut Is riding over him bit rough
shod," she soliloqulzed, "but any hap
penng on a holiday should be accept.
ed good naturedly."
The truth Of the matter was that
men Of her acquaintance, but first
scores had to be made even then she
would be kindly.
Accordingly she asked him to call,
which he did. When he was about to
leave, she said: by the way, / am
giving dinner party on the evening
OF April Is and / would very much
like you to come"
"Thank you, Miss Snow" he said.
Nothing would give me greater pleas
ure, but previous engagement pre-
vents my being here. You see, very
strange thing happened to me few
days ago"
COrlnne felt the color leave her face.
Someone, wishing to play Joke on
me, told me on tie telephone that my
dog had run Off When called at the
house where was directed, nurse
met me at the door. She had been
sent for to take care of Mrs. Webb,
who was Ill.
"The nurse happened to be n school
mate of mine Of whom had lost track.
It was a happy coincidence, and am
truly grateful to the one who sent me
on such a delightful FOOLS Grand"