Evening star., 1941-07-13


with tongs - when quit"
When he returned home that evening, it
was with the air of an old grad coming to
present new gym to his Alma Mater.
BOY. oh boy, are you lucky" he enthused.
'You get not only rare seeds, but even rarer
fertilizer, whose ghost you seem to be shifting.
The real Mccoy is out in the yard"
Dramatically Bob placed the seeds on a
table. Peter picked one up and examined it
critically. Huh" he grunted They look
just like pumpkin Seeds"
Bob was shocked. you pain me, he said.
sadly. Here, read this
The envelope from Tasmania highly i'm
pressed Mabel Peter was secretly surprised.
but awaited further developments with a
poker face. He read aloud:
BLANK Seed Company
Gentlemen:
Il am sending on consignment thousand
seeds of that exotic plant. the Tasmanian
googoo vine. for you to sell and remit five
hundred dollars suggest retail price of a
dollar seed.
Lest you think this too high, allow me to
explain. The Tasmanian googoo vine is found
only in small area of the uncharted bush
country. and is regarded as sacred by the
natives, who are cannibals A few white men
have seen it, but only one has been able to
obtain its seeds - an explorer who was cap
tured and later escaped.
The googoo vine, he says. grows with un-
believable rapidity and luxuriance. and is
the most beautiful plant in the world. Its
large glossy leaves. its gorgeous orange BIOS
SONS and delicious fragrance, are only exceed
ed by the beauty of its fruit, of rich golden
color and incompatible flavor.
Although the explorer himself escaped
from the man-eating cannibals with pocket
full of googoo seeds, his two companions did
not, and hope for them has been abandoned.
The money paid for these seeds will help
care for the widows and orphans of these un-
fortunates. trust you will push the SALE
Yours truly,
Will l. Kidd"
In awe Peter laid aside this extraordinary
missive. Bob" he said, almost reverently.
"doggoned if l don't believe that letters
worth ten dollars"
''Of course it is. agreed Bob. Il mean -
of course the seeds are worth ten dollars
Mabel will knock those garden club danes
for loop: and who else will have porch
decorated like yours?"
mo one," ooncurred Peter. with supreme
conviction. Mabel, let's credit Bob with a
goal and plant these confounded seeds in the
ash can.'
Mabel. in whose mind the worm of doubt
had already begun to gnaw. was tempted to
agree, but it was an unwritten law of the
garden club that no member should ever ad-
nit that her husband might be right. So,
"I'll plant them by the front porch. she said.
firmly.
"Amen!" said Bob well. must bail out
now. Glad was able to help" Dextrously
appropriating a handful of cigarettes. he
withdrew.
The little plants grew rapidly, and, not
realizing their altered destiny as googoo
vines began to spread over the ground and
select nests in which to deposit future pump
kins. Thwarted in this impulse by being at
tached to vertical strings, they hopefully sent
out feelers to establish contact with Mother
Earth, but as their advance scouts were in
variably turned by Mabel to higher things,
they gave it up and climbed, with such sue
cess that by the end of June they had reached
the porch caves, overcome the rain spout,
and begun to encroach upon the roof. The
nOrch itself was trOpical Jungle