Newspaper Page Text
y -- «"~V
An Exchange,
,
What Came of a Man's Unwit
tingly Appropriating
Another’s Coat
( i
By WALTER B. STURGIS
1 »-0
I never put on h winter overcoat un
til the days begin to lengthen and the
cold begins to strengthen. One morn
ing about the Ist of January, when
the thermometer had dropped to zoro.
1 took out my heaviest outdoor gar
ment and took it to the window to see
if the moths had been using it. It did
not look familiar to me. I get all my
clothes at Darby's, so I looked at once
at the tailor’s mark under the collar
and saw the name of a Ix>ndon maker.
1 was astonished. The coat was not
mine and never had been mine. The
most natural and probable explanation
was that the last time I had worn a
heavy coat the season before I had
gone into a restaurant or hotel and
hung it up. On going out I had taken
another man’s coat, leaving him mine.
Thrusting my hand into the pocket,
I took out an unsealed envelope with
a photographer's printed name and ad
dress on it Within was the likeness
of a girl, about which was folded a bit
of paper on which was written:
My Dear—l send the picture. Some eay
It Is very good of me; others don’t like It.
I'm curious to hear what you have to say
hbout It. Your loving MOLLY.
Monday evening.
There was no address on the envel
ope, and I inferred that either it had
not been sent through the mail or, if it
bad, it had been inclosed in another
envelope. The only clew I had to the
owner was the name of a tailor in Lon
don. I being in America and there not
being much likelihood that the maker
eonld tell for whom the coat had been
built, 1 did not think it worth while to
try to recover my property or return
what I bad taken.
When I first loofced at Molly’s pho
tograph I was not especially attracted
by it But I am free to confess that
the faces which have most impressed
me have at first made little or no im
pression on me. Possibly in this case
1 was later influenced by something 1
noticed written on the back of the pho
tograph in pencil and which escaped
my observation when 1 first discovered
ft. The words were. “A peach!”
However, I had changed from in
difference to interest in the face photo
gmphed before seeing this encomium,
which I inferred had been written by
the recipient. It was rather a con
flrmntion of my later impression than
a creator of 1L Being a bachelor and
fancy free, together with a bit of ro
mance in my nature, I confess I was
on the lookout for a mate. Indeed,
it is a question with me if both men
and women, unmarried, are not,
though unconsciously, always in their
hearts expecting the appearance of a
life companion.
At any rate. I pm Molly’s photograph
on my dresser and became very fond
of her. It grew upon me that she
was one to trust—oue who, in case of
need, would step to the front, a tower
of strength. One evening when I came
to my room Molly had disappeared
from my dresser I was surprised at
the disappointment I suffered at not
seeing her. I moved the dresser to
•ee if the photograph had not fallen
and found it on the floor. The inci
dent, though trifling, suggested to me
that if the photograph had become so
necessary to my comfort, what would
the original be.
One evening I went to a function—n
bridge party, if I remember correctly—
ami on leaving stood waiting in the
ball, hat in hand and overcoat on,
for my sister, who was putting on her
wraps above. On changing the direc
tion of my eyes whom should they hit
upon but Molly. She was standing in
a doorway looking at me curiously,
but the moment I fixed my gaze upon
her she turned away and passed out ,
of sight.
I did not leave the house till I had
learned her address.
Why had she looked at me. whom
ahe had doubtless not seen before,
with more than the interest she would
take in a stranger? I was puzzled for
a reason. I was interested In mental
telepathy, believing that there is some
tiling In it. and wondered if the inter
est Mint had developed In me for her
could have communicated Itself to her
through some mental process not yet
laid bare to us.
I had no trouble in making Molly’s
acquaintance and lost no time in doing
Be My sister Roth managed It for
me. first laying a plan for her own
acquaintance with Molly, then con
triving a meeting between Molly and
myself Molly said she would be pleas
ed to meet Ituth’s brother and would
like to have her own brother meet
Ruth Os course I cautioned Buth to |
•ay nothing about the photograph
iwhlch she had seen often on my dress- j
er. T proposed to announce my ac
quirement of it In my own good time
There was no reason for me to sup
pose when I was presented to Molly
that she had any knowledge of me
whatever eseept having seen me for a
moment in the hall after the bridge
party Indeed, she gave no evidence
of remembering having seen me then
I was certainly much more pleased
with her than with her photograph
and struck with the advantage or dis
advantage n living person has over his
or her likeness. Character may he
stamped on a photographed face, but
other attributes are lacking. Molly,
for instance, had an extremely pleas
ant voice, an honest smile, and when
her face lighted she was a very differ
ent person from when her face was at
rest. While she was sedate rather than
frivolous, at times she wus merry.
From the moment I Raw’ Molly in the
flesh I resolved to win her if possible,
and I wished to withhold auy mention
of having fallen into possession of her
pi, ture and keeping it on my dresser,
foiling gradually in love with merely
her Image, till my proposal. wheD 1 in
tended to make the most of it. Molly
accepted my attention. But most girls.
I believe, like to keep a suitor in doubt,
which they can do without the slight
est trouble. All they have to do Is to
frown occasionally or excuse them
selves when he calls on the plea of in
disposition and the bottom of his uni
verse drops out immediately. Molly
played these little games on me so of
ten that I was discouraged. I thought
that if I could only reach a point
where I could ring in my long adorn
tion of her photograph her heart would
warm toward me at once.
Meanwhile another little romance
that I cannot develop here was going
on between my sister Ruth and Molly’s
brother. Molly had noticed it and
spoke to me about it, but I was so in
terested in my own affair that I had no
thought for any others. I didn’t hap
pen to meet Molly’s brother, but I was
not slow in making up my mind that
he was the person to whom she had
given the photograph. A brother would
not be likely to write “A peach” on
the back of a sister’s picture, but the
brother in this case might have had a
friend who admired the sister.
One thing I noticed in Molly’s treat
ment of me that I construed favorably.
Whenever she would give me the cold
shoulder she would follow up her act
by being especially gracious. After one
of these fits of graciousness I resolved
to bring matters to a crisis. I did not
begin with so unromantic a matter as
an exchange of overcoats. I led up to
the subject by telling her that 1 had
been familiar with her lineaments be
fore I had ever seen her. She evidently
saw what was coming, not from my
words, but my manner. When a man
has a proposal on his mind and trying
to find words in which to make it there
are few girls who do not know the in
evitable result. 1 might just as well
have said nothing after making the
start, and what I did say was uot what
1 had intended to say. At any rate. I
forgot to tell her that her likeness had
been on ray dresser for a long while
before 1 had met her. Her reply to my
proposition was startling.
“Why haven’t you returned Bob’s I
overcoat?”
I drew aside to get a better view of <
her expression. She was toying with !
some ornamental work on her skirt,
her eyes cast down. Nevertheless 1
detected a slight quirk to the corner of
her mouth.
“Wh-a-at do you mean?” 1 asked.
•‘Come; don’t pretend what’s not
true,” she replied. “You know you
have had a picture of mine that didn’t
belong to you.”
My astonishment, my curiosity, went
down before the desire of my life. 1
told her that fate had thrown into my
possession a picture which from the
day I first saw it had grown npon me.
had enthralled me, had been the be
ginning of my first and only love.
Fate had thrown it in my way—
“ Yon mean fate threw Bob’s over
coat in your way, the overcoat happen
ing to contain my photograph.”
This matter of fact reception of my
outburst somewhat cooled me.
"How <fd you know about tbe ex
change of coats?” I asked.
’’Bob had his coat taken the day 1
sent him my likeness. 1 knew the pat
: tern of the cloth well and have been
I looking for it ever since. The moment
I saw you at the breaking up of tbe
bridge party, standing in the hall with
Bob’s coat on, I recognized it at once.”
“And Bob?”
“1 saw by the way yon were looking
at me that you had recognized me pud
bad done so by my photograph. I in
ferred that you would seek me and
kept my own counsel. I haven’t yet
told Bolt or any one else that you have
been wearing his coat.”
1 looked at her steadily for a few
moments, then broke out again, but in
a different vein:
• “I’ve Iteen nursing this matter for
months, intending a pleasant surprise,
and now you’ve taken the wind out of
my sails. Ever since I met you you’ve
known that I had been in possession of
your picture. There’s no use in a man
trying to impress a woman by chican
ery or concealment. She’ll beat him
i every time. When I saw you look at
1 me the evening you first saw me 1
j fancied that_ some _tel£pathie process
TilK LYONS ‘"KOOKKSS, FEB 9. Y'\ 2
ROYSTER FERTILIZER
HITS THE SPOT. EVERY T/MEJ
The explanation is simple;they are Iff® I
\ made with the greatest care and ij
j eveiy ingredient has to pass the & j
test of our own laboratories ; # I |
there'snobitormiss aboutßoyster a f J
Fertilizers . # # 1
Sold 3v Reliable .Dealers Everywhere m i i
F.S.ROYSTER GUANO CO./ f §
Sales Offices §j m jj
Norfolk Va. TarboroNX. Columbia SC. M jj ,
Baltimore Md. Montj3om.ery.Ala. Spartanburg 5G
Macon Ga. Columbus Ga.
•i«tt#iut***iitttutti*tmttmttttiM
j Are You a Woman {
j 8 j
| The Woman’s Tonic j
had Informed yoiTtbat t and you “were
destined”—
“It did. I saw admiration in yoor
glance.”
“Oh, that was it! Anyway, tbe game
has all been in your bands. I count
for nothing lam only a beggar."
She was touched by my disappoint
ment. the abject position in which I
found myself. She felt for my hand
and drew closer to me. My victory
came through defeat, but since I had
achieved all I had set out to achieve I
did not repine.
What was my gain was another’s
loss. The man—a chum of Bob’s—who
had written “A peach” on the back of
Molly’s photo was an aspirant for her
hand when I appeared on the scene
and was obliged to withdraw in my
favor. Bob and Ruth are married, and
Molly and I are engaged. It’s ail out
now. and Bob and I have re-exchanged ,
coats. As Molly’s likeness grow on me
before I had seen her and as she grew
on me before we were engaged, she la
now growing on me in our betrothal.
I wonder if she will contlnne to grow
on me after we have been married. I
believe she will.
Lyons Wood Yard.
We nre ready for business
and will supply both stove
and fire wood cut any length.
Send us your order and we
will treat you l ight. Good
i loads and cut right, oak or
pine.
Kicks & Blackwell.
El BfXTDIlf' TITE BEST TOK
LtL I KIV BILIODBNESB
BITTERS and kidneys.
W FROST PROOF PLANTsiff
f GUARANTEED TO SATISFY CUSTOMERS
i/L-O FROMTHE OMMNALCABBAGE PLANT GROWERS. ]|
\ V MllUrW flu Unn Urp.t an d Um C.bbM>. / /
b TRADE MARX COPYRIGHTED **'
' Established 1868. Paid in Capital Stock $30,000.00
We srrew tbe first FVOST PSlOf SLANTS in IMS. How hMeorer twenty thousand satisfied ‘
customers. V. e have growi and sold more cabbag* plants than all other persona in the Southern
ntetei. combined. WHY? Because oar plants mast ploaee or we send your monev back. Order now
It is time < set these plants oar section to get extra early cabbage, and they are the ones’
that sell for th e most money.
We sow three tons of Cabbage Seed per season Strawberry fUU I
Fruit trees and ornamentals. Write for free catalog of f£ost-proof plants of the best varieties
containing valuable Information about fruit and vegetable growing. Prices on Cabbage Plants—
la lot. of 600 at $1.00:1000 to 6000 $1.60 per Uxaauid; 6,000 to 0,000 *1.26 per thausand: 10.000 and over
*UX> por thousand. Lab. Yonjroa Inland. Our M>«oial . ip,.. a rat. on plant. Is vary law.
Wm. C. Geraty Co„ Box 16 Yonges Island, S. C. jj
t=n_" - ----- —— —: -J
§*& gEfißßi-* vsraaßSßt-- •-•sar^ssaßSßßr|
* /v j (Prickly Ash, Poke Root and Potassium)
Fmt- H Hla * rom Pt Powerful Permanent |]
•J til ’yi LV'«S >/ Its beneficial es- Stubborn cases Gord results a e jxl
IS rti IS U tects nro usually yield to P. P. P. lasting—it cut/s Hj|
MX TV H A BS felt very quickly when other rredi- you to stay cured RJJ
-- rj dues aro useless K t
U |p ip o y *
Yj lVL.kes rich, red, pure blood—cleanses the entire |fi|
jyi system clears the brain strengthens digestion and nerves. H
A positive specific for Blood Poison and skin diseases.
Drives out Rheumatism and Stops the Pain; ends Malaria; va
is a wonderful tonic and body-builder. Thousands endorse it*
y F. V. LIPPMAN, SAVANNAH, GA. U
FOR SALE BY NEW LYONS PHARMACY.