Smyrna times., 1932-04-13
WEEKLY STORY
AROUND TABLE
Reading to While Away Time
Under the Evening Lamp
When Days Work is Done
INTERESTING READING
BIRDS OF A FEATHER"
BY Jane Osborn

HERE was always something
cheerful about the atmosphere
OF OGrady's store that stood on
one of the corners where the state
highway crossed the old Main street
of the village called North Hill.
There were always plenty of peO-
pie waiting for the bus. young men
who bought cigarettes as an excuse
to hang around an hour or more,
Older men occasionally talking poll
tics, girls sitting at the tables gig
CLING over their ice cream. If you
had been resident of North Hill
and had had a son you would have
taken it for granted probably that
he would occasionally join the Ioi-
terers at O'Grady's.
But If you had had a daughter
you would have passed on to her
the unwritten law that girls didn't
hang about O'Grady's. They went
there for ice cream, or to buy a
paper or candy or a quart of milk.
But having made their purchases
| or eaten their ice cream they left
Even boys who spent too much time
at O'Grady's were looked upon as
idlers and loafers.
1t was at O'Grady's that Lois
Granger first saw Malcolm Kent.
| She had gone to buy bird seed and
Malcolm was with the loafers lean
ing against the tobacco counter
| ter. Lois cast a glance in that di
| rection just to see who was there
| and naturally enough noticed Kent
He was a stranger and looked so
different from the usual O'Grady
| frequenter, she assumed that he
was waiting for bus.
But when a day or so later she
went to O'Grady's with her little
sister to get an ice cream cone and
noticed again the tall, rather we'll
| dressed young man lettering there
beside the cigarette counter ap-
parently feeling very much al home,
she concluded that he had got the
O'Grady habit.
who is the good-looking stran-
ger that's been hanging around
O'Grady's lately?" Lois uncle
asked that evening at supper.
Lois tried to look Indifferent,
while her older brother informed
the family that the loafer was
named Malcolm Kent and that he
was a cousin or something of the
Robinsons
HE can't be much account" OBJ
served Lois mother, IF he's always
hanging around O'Grady's."
"Still. just because he goes there
isn't any sign he's like the other
O'Grady loafers." Lois said.
Birds of a feather flock togeth-
er." pronounced her mother.
You're right" said the uncle.
Every time I've been In there he
was having the time of his life"
Still 1t was agreed to permit Tom
to bring the young man to supper.
And that was where Lois met him.
Malcolm called again two nights
later and when he was told that
Tom was not al home he asked
whether he might see Miss Lois.
Yes, he had actually come to see
her. He had an idea that Tom
wouldn't be at home.
Almost every night at supper
when Malcolm wasn't present Lois
family spent some time In discuss
Ing Mr.. Kent. He had said some
thing about having had some sort
of job on a newspaper. But GER
tainly he couldn't be doing any
news gathering out here at North
Hill. And always Lois mother
would observe that birds of feath-
er fiocked together. II was q mat
ter of common talk that he spent
hours at O'Grady's.
Then. one Saturday afternoon.
Malcolm and Lois went walking
down country lanes In the mellow
autumn sunshine. and Malcolm
asked Lois to be his wife"
Il think I'd like to, but don't
know how my family will feel about
it They know you aren't work.
Ing. and you spend so much time
at O'Grady's."
"Just because hang around
OGrady's doesn't mean that I am
like other O'Grady habitues, does
it?" asked Malcolm.
Only mother says that birds of
feather flock together"
swell. 1t happens that the rea-
son why this bird hocks around
O'Grady's is because he is of an en-
tirely different feather"
Lois told him, In rather hurt
tone, that she hadn't the least idea
what he was talking about. "If
seems TO me that If you really care
enough about me to want to marry
me. you wouldn't hang out there all |
the time-that you'd be making |
plans to do something some time"
So Malcolm explained, but he
made Lois promise not to tell the |
others until be left He had writ. |
ten novel--a darned good novel |