Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1927-01-13
The Mowby
Twins
Copyright,
.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'
By H. IRVING KING

EVERETT and Ernest Mowby were
- twins, and most people could not
tell them apart; but Ida Clarfdge said
there was very little resemblance be-
tween them: 1t was surprising people
could not see how superior Everett
was to Ernest. Ida was eighteen. The
Mowby twins had just come to twen-
ty-one-an age at which any normal
~ constituted boy knows more than
he ever will again. And both Everett
and Ernest knew that they were In
love with Ida.
AS frequently happens In the case
Of twins their mental processes were
connected by some mysterious link
which resulted in a similarity as
striking as their physical resemblance.
"By the Sacred Fire of Onondaga,"
said Everett one day; 81 am going
down to New York and make for
tune and come back and marry Ida
Claridge. There is no chance for q
fellow in this burgh." ~
"And I'll go with you," said Ernest.
So Everett had very tender parting
with Ida and Ernest had very for
NAL one-for had she not chosen
| Everett instead of himself and could
one twin be disloyal to another?
Everett and Ernest went to the big
city-and they succeeded In their
schemes for its spoliation. Also they
grew to look more and more alike.
Ida and Everett hadpromised to write
each other often.
But at the end Of the second year
the exchange of missives had become
| fitful and ntermittent-the pulse OF
love was skipping beats in an alarm
ing manner.
| The fact was that Everett had
looked upon Agnes Carr and had seen
| that she was fair. Also he had looked
up her fathers rating In Bradstreet's
and had found It more than fair. And
here came the first divergence in the
mental processes of the twins. Or,
maybe, the divergence had nothing to
do with mental processes. AS far as
| Ida Claridge was concerned their
egos were twins no longer. Finally
Ernest probed Everett as to the true
situation Everett frankly acknowl-
edged that his love for the fair Ida
had evaporated, or flown away, or
something-anyway he could not find
it lying around anywhere.
"And do you still correspond"
asked Ernest.
ooh. once in a WHILE" replied Ever
EFT. "But I guess Ida is as tired Of
the business as I am and is only pre-
vented from telling me so by fear
of hurting my feelings. I'd tell her
myself that we had better drop it
only a man can't do that very well,
you know. A proposition of that kind
has got to come from the lady,
LETS see-we have been here four
years now" said Ernest II think I
will take a trip up home next week.
There's none of our folks living there
now, to be sure-but I would rather
like to see the old place again." And
pursuant to this declaration up state
went Ernest. The first thing he did
upon his arrival in the old home town
was to seek out Ida Claridge. He
found her sitting in a hammock,
swung in the apple orchard, at one
side of the house-and the apple trees
were all in bloom. With the toe OF
one dainty little shoe just touching
the ground she swung herself to and
fro meditatively. The sunbeams came
dancing down through the trees and
tangled themselves in her hair; her
pink and white complexion We'd with
the blossoms swaying above her; her
dreamy blue eyes-in short four years
had transformed a rather gawdy girl
into beautiful young woman. But
to Ernest she had not changed bit
she had always been beautiful to
him.
ooh, Everett" she cried, show you
startled me. I should have known
you anywhere. I was just thinking
of you two boys. Sit right down here
and tell me all about Ernest-and
about yourself, of course"
81 am Ernest" said he.
For some reason Ida seemed rather
relieved and laughed pleasantly.
"Well," said she, "tell me about your
self then-and about Everett, of
course You know Everett and 1 used
to fancy we were in love with each
other-when we were children. My,
but am glad to see you"
Ernest stayed in the old town three
weeks; at the end Of which time Ida
told him: "It was only after you and
Everett had been away while, and
l began to realize that it was you that
I was thinking about oftenest, that
woke up to the fact it was the Ernest
twin and not the Everett one that
was really in love with"
When they wrote to Everett an
nouncing their engagement he sent
them a magnificent wedding present
and his blessing-and proposed to
Agnes Carr the same night.