Smyrna times., 1932-11-30
WEEKLY STORY
AROUND TABLE
Reading to While Away Time
Under the Evening Lamp
When Days Work is Done
INTERESTING READING
DOWN HOLD-UP LANE"
BY Allen Coles

~ q prs. hulIeLIOIu lOOk Dul lllI1e
interest i'll society, in which his
mother shone and his father basked.
His interest centered upon science,
art, uplift work, exploration, liter
ature-he took them all in turn as
a horse hurdle in a steeplechase
and got over them as quickly.
II do wish. Rutherford" said his
fond mamma, that you would set
tie down. Here you are twenty-five
years old and ever since you left /
college you have been on a perpet-
ual intellectual spree. Paul Cliff
ford, who was graduated at the |
same time you were, got to hitting
up the synthetic and they sent him /
10 santtarium where they cured |
him. | wish there was some institu-
tion we could send you to and have |
a cure effected of your particular
complaint"
10 Rutherford slang was anathe-
ma. He looked a solemn reprOof
at Mrs. Arlington which settled
into a scowl when the up-to-date
lady carelessly lighted a cigarette.
Mother" said he solemnly. do you
think cigarettes are good for you
at your age?"
AT my agel" almost shouted Mrs
Arlington. What do you mean?
am not old-and as long as the
beauty parlors keep open l don't in
tend to be- Oh fudgel There, run
along" That night she said to her
husband, Mr.. Arlington. whom she
had nicknamed Buddie, 'Buddie.
what can we do with Rutherford?
He gets on my nerves. wish he
would marry-marry girl like
Clara Hampton; she might reform
him.
Not a chance" replied Buddie.
"Clara would scare him to DEATH
The Clara Hampton alluded to in
this little family dialogue was
modern-very. There wasn't a dar-
ing trick Of this most daringly tricky
age, socially considered. that she
was not UP to. Rutherford SHE'D
off from her every time they hap
pened to meet socially.
Still he had To admit that she
was a handsome creature, perfect
in her health and exuberance of
spirits. IF she only had more
brains she sighed, IF she would
drop her aimless ways and take a
serious view of life-what a wonder
she would be-" And then he would
sit musing, picturing to himself a
Clara transformed into girl such
as he would have her-One who
would be a proper and congenial
partner for a seroius-minded man
Of brains-such as himself. Then
the idea struck him that he might
be able TO reform her.
With this highly commendable
missionary thought in his head
Rutherford began to go out more
and more to social functions, never
missing one at which he knew Clara
was to be present. And so far from
avoiding her as he had formerly
done, he now sought her out.
Clara surprised him by the ex-
tent of her information on matters
deep and erudIte Of which he had
supposed her entirely ignorant. That
pretty head Of hers was not empty
after all. And il was his influence,
he felt with a glow, that was bring
Ing out all this latent intellectual
ity. Here was a field In which he
saw that he was a predestined in
fluence for good. And in order that
he might better exercise his benefi-
cent power he neglected no oppor-
tunity Of being beside her. Into
that maelstrom of society which he
so heartily detested he plunged
with a resolute spirit of a martyr
and having got there found, to his
surprise, that he rather enjoyed it.
It was Clara. now, who was al
ways dragging in the high-brow
stuff and insisting on discussing it.
Rutherford even got slangy in his
talk. dropping his "gs" 'after the
manner of the hunting set" and
found he could talk society fiddle
faddle with the best of them His
frivolous parents were in ecstacies.
Then one day he proposed to Clara.
IT would be much easier to reform
her. he thought If she were his
wife.
rutherford" replied Clara, 81
will marry you on one condition
that yon give up the frivolous and
aimless life which you have been
leading for the past Six months"
"Who--me?' gasped Rutherford
"Yes," replied Clara: "only yes
terday | heard you called an empty
headed. sporting society sap. The
man I marry must have some Sc
rious purpose in life. Now. here Is
nv proposition We will be mar
ried and go off to Yucatan and ex-
plore the ruins of the Mayan cities.
| You can make a name for yourself
as an authority on lost Mayan civ
ilization."
| "It will be rather dull-wOn't it
.