The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1928-02-09
WHEN THE
EXECUTIVE
SPEAKS
((G by d. j. Walsh1

NAMES CRAWFORD, lone clerk in
the Offices of Morrell u Bates,
with duties that ranged from office
- boy to bookkeeper, shook his head
obviously as the other man, large of
stature and ford of cOuntenance,
picked his finger at him.
Come, now" the other, G. Ham,
mon, spoke with jovial severity
come, now, own up! You feel little
guilty, don't you? l bet you do! L
know you, Crawford, and know you
want to do the right thing"
There was a pause. Both men
looked at a stretch of ground at their
feet. "Of course"-HammOn cleared
his throat-"Of course, if it was not
| like you as a neighbOr, why, then
YOU FnOw there are ways of forcing
the ISSUE
Surely" he tried to make his tone
offhand, bold, surely! 1 want to do
tie right thing" If he had only
stopped it might not have sounded so
bad, but lie had TO add pleadingly:
"vol know that. George" Clerking
in an office for twenty years, raising
sweet peas and flowers and getting
the grand sum of $50 every Saturday
night does not, however, inspire great
courage.
George Harmon nodded. 81 thought
So" He stepped forward, right
James nearly cried out protest-right
into the middle of the flower bed.
There he paused. He looked blandly
at Mr.. Crawford. 81 figure" he said,
"the line should be here. This will fix
things up so you don't have to move
the garage. Right across from the
garage" he squinted, ito here! Now
you and l will just drive stake or
two to determine the line"
"But,' Mr.. Crawford tried to sum-
mon up stern words like Get off"
Keep off,
81 remember" Mr.. Harmon, sQuint-
Ing, did not hear the but" "Remem-
her when Jim Lowell of the Arcade
fixed up a similar case in just the way
we are going to settle this"
"But," this time the panic in Mr..
Crawford's tone drew attention
"but," weakly, 81 want to think it over,
George! You see-I thought I owned
this"
Once safely at home Mr.. Crawford,
clerk in the Offices Of Morrell K Bates,
wiped the sweat off his brow and
sank Imply into a chair. He knew
what the end would be. 'Twould er'
the same as the painting of his -
rage-the same as the sweet-pea bed.
He would give in.
Mr.. Crawford reviewed the events
of the last month while looking
mournfully toward the back of his
suburban lot.
And then, complicating things,
G. Harmon had appeared. First, in
deed Mr.. Crawford had welcomed his
coming. 1t had been visible proof of
his own wisdom in buying and bIild-
ing at the Maple Grove subdivision.
1t meant that a development was tax
ing place. But-AIr Crawford him
self could not understand it-soo.. he
secretly found himself wishing Mr..
Harmon had never come. Secretly
openly he would not have dared to
state the fact. Mr.. Harmon with his
bold semijoyial ways, who knew and
talked freely about his friends, his in
nuential friends! Mr.. Crawford wished
he knew some influential people. He
would have liked their advice now.
OF course there was Alice. his wife.
But, then-Mr Crawford mentally
squirmed-he hated to alarm her,
and
Things had come to a climax
through the sweet-pea bed in the rear
of the lot. Mr.. Harmon had scoffed
"a friendly bantering tOne-about
the peas. 1t seemed he did not like
them. Dahlias, now-they were the
flowers for the rear of a lot James
knew the tone. He had heard it be-
fore when he wanted to paint the ga
rage white and Mr.. Harmon. quoting
big mems estate, argued for yellow.
The garage was painted yellow. So
nervously Mr.. Crawford agreed that
there were lots to be said for dab
lias-lots.
Sure" Mr.. HammOn's tone doomed
out. "And, Crawford. I'll just tell you
of course we would not fight over
it-but peas are id nuisance
near line, a nuisance! They fall
over on the other fellows land-you
see?"
Mr.. Crawford nodded. The sweet
pea along the back with its mass of
delicate blossoms was his pride. Yet
he nodded-judiciously.
you see?" A pause. 81 knew you
would" M. Harmon patted him jo-
vially. 81 knew you would! Now I'd
yank them up. A row of dahlias now !
Senator Norris-I lived next to him."
Mr.. Crawford did not pay much
attention to the story regarding Sena-
tor Norris He was sick! He had
agreed somehow, twas not clear how
it had happened, to devastate his bed
of peas-to plant dahlias! How or
why he had done it he could no. make
out But he had!
MY deed only calls" he had said
grandIy, ito here. But I've got" he
paced off to the back of the sweet
pea bed, ito herel"
Twas true Buying when Maple