The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-07-27
realizing how crude the hasty Job had

realizing how crude the hasty Job had
been.
But he had not counted upon the
vivid imagination Of a little girl, one
starved for something almost anything
to love-. Nancy forestalled explana-
tons.
"a dolly! o daddy!" she exclaimed
IN a shrill treble of delight, crying as
she darted forward to clasp this new
conner to her child's breast. She did
! not eat a bite of breakfast. She was too
busily engaged on the floor, fitting a
red bandanna handkerchief about the
doll as a dress.
Mid-October arrived and with it a
visit from Gid. He came out with a
wrapped cardboard box. But the instant
he glimpsed Nancy, running out to
meet him, hugging the now dressed
up doll, he was wise enough to leave
his bundle in the truck. Christmas
would be time enough for such a pres
ent from him.
him. She was less the mature hostess
INV, d1lo HULL 1l1O1C WIG 6AAs
She climbed on Gid'S lap and showed
him her newest treasure, the doll. This
! was no ordinary az creature, better
believe it! The nose, ears, lips, and
eyes all came off. See, there we're other
holes, too. You could put them any
place you wanted to, and it was Won
derful how many different people you
! could make out of the one doll! Each
member, like an ear, for instance, had
a telephone plug attached which would
fit any Of the facial spots.
The girl expended fully, yanking out
her dolls eyes without trepidation.
"See, if I do this way it looks like
a mans face, like Daddy. If I put the
nose up here, and the eyes closer to-
gether. then it looks like you-"
Many minutes passed. Gil Mccall
had been tolerant-then suddenly in
terested. He carried several sidelines
of specialties and toys in season. He
knew the chances. H e was eager but
not smiling when he asked leave to ex-
anime the strange doll closely.
A queer, exciting bunch had g%erminat-
ed in his mind.
Gid's actions were mysterious during
the next few days. BY dint of some
persuasion he managed to get Odom
to make two more of the dolls, slight
ly improving the pattern. The sales
man declared he had two nieces he
thought would enjoy the dolls, and
insisted on paying a dollar apiece for
them. That was really a low enough
price, as ever Cass Odom thought to
himself, seeing that he had to provide
three separate sets of features for each
doll. Thus either doll could be any
one of three separate individuals-or
could be a queer hodgepodge when the
features were mixed and drawn out
at random.
The noses, ears, lips, and mustaches
wooden plugs; Odom had exhausted
the switchboard metal, but wood was
o practical, anyhow. And both
of these dolls were painted.
Gid Mccall drove away with them
carefully wrapped. Next day he had a
conference with a lawyer in Mobile.
Three days later one of the dolls start
ed a long journey to Washington. The
a toy manufacturing center in Ohio.
In time Jessie Odom left the hospital,
cured but weak and pallid. She wrote
that she would rest another week at
the house of a friend, and then take
a part time job she had been lucky
enough to secure.
Cass had sent her two more money
orders for small amounts. With the
buying Of books Nancy needed in or
der to start fourth grade at Blackjack,
he remained penniless.
The little girls clothes were thread
bare, but she did not mind. Letters to
her mother were enthusiastic, albeit
they stressed a note Of longing. Cass
had ceased to add postscripts. To have
Jessie again he had needed success, and
he had failed.
On the nineteenth day Of November,
Cornelius Stratton actually came. It
was nothing but a stop over for him.
He had wanted only to make sur that
Odom was only one Of these rich farm
ers from whom a comfortable sum Of
money might be wheedled. He soon
saw otherwise, but he was a man Of
the world, and took his Disappointment
with good grace. He spent a half hour
inspecting the sun machine, which Cass
oiled and started running for him.
The engineer found the continuance
just about as he had pictured it-use-
less, Of course. The condenser scheme
was clever, though patiently impractic-
able for industrial use.
I'm sorry, Odom," he said at length,
for once he could afford to be frank.
you've got hold Of an idea which in
time may be developed until it reaches
practically. If I were you and could
afford it, I'd patent the sun machine.
As 1t stands now, however, there isn't
a sou-marquee in it for any one. In
effect it's just an efficient water tur-
bine. Nobody wants one now. BY and
by-well, you can't tell"
In farewell he thrust out his hand.
Cass Odom grasped it dumbly. This,
then, was the end.
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