Show HIS HOUSE GOT AWAY the temporary mystery of a chicago when pete kissed his wife goodby good by in the morning ins little frame house rested on rollers the house movers gang was hitching clanking chains to the heavy square timbers and the f brown horse with a dejected droop to his long head was ready to circle around the capstan and haul petes cottage into the street dont you worry a bit mary said pete as he picked up his dinner pail the house mover told me that not an inch of plaster would fall so long ill pick you up six blocks south to sure thing replied the house mover to petes inquiry this is a dead easy job find your house in the middle of tha street six blocks down there to and your wife and kids all 0 K pete was an iron molder and the foundry eliere he worked was a good hours walk from home lie went to his bench in a cheerful mood the elevated railroad company had paid him a good stiff price for his lot and biad offered to move his house free of expense to him pete took the money and bought a lot cheap n a new street half a mile nearer the aundry oun dry two blocks from a school and v itah a ch urit aicard the corner taking it nil in all pet considered ka lifted made a during the dry petes thoughts were on the little white cottage its clean muslin sash curtains and light green shutters slowly traveling down the street lie could almost see mary acx I 1 noting progress through the wini dows and the children wild with the novelty racing and tearing around every molder on the floor knew eliat petes house was on the move they discussed the matter while grouped around the cupola waiting for the iron to run they were full of suggestions and pete received the benefit of the concentrated cent rated advice of 50 sympathetic men the foreman once had passed through the house moving experience and as he was the foreman and as his house was a two story brick his advice waa regarded as weighty and his suggestions treasured as words of great value after pete had filled and emptied his ladle a dozen times and had washed up he started merrily to find his home when he arrived at the corner where he expected to meet his cottage none appeared pete looked north and south through the dusk but as far as he could see the street was clear A policeman happened along say officer exclaimed pete have you seen a one story frame cottage go by here today to day the policeman stored at pete for a second then replied gruffly chuter Wh uter you givin me straight said pete with energy moving my house it ought to be here but it aint the policeman grew sympathetic at osee ive ewa no house goovin but theres tome red lights over there two blocks debbe its your house pete hurried for the red lights it was a house perched on rollers in the middle of the street but it was not his house he clambered over the timbers chains and skids to the front door for the steps had been amputated A woman with a hand lamp answered the knock have you seen a one story frame cottage white with green shutters and a little woman with brown hair go by this way asked pete hurriedly the woman shook her head no said she we re movin too my man got home yet dayoe hes hunting for me too and she giggled hysterically pete gave her no comfort but sprang to the ground near the house was a grocery and there pete inquired for his house doxine had seen it pshaw said pete its a light house and those house movers have got it on the lot lie almost ran to the new site and found it vacant he had spent an hour searching for the white cottage and alary he had asked a 50 persons if they had seen a white one story cottage on a tour and now he seated himself on the edge of the sidewalk in front of the new lot he had bought and tried to pull himself together lie could not understand it he could think of no other path over which the house might travel suddenly a new idea struck him abbe fire department has made them pull the house into a vacant lot so as not to block the street ill start from the beginning and if find it tonight to night ill sleep in the woodshed they moved that anyway only mary will be worried in a quarter of an hour he was on the old familiar sidewalk As he hurried along he closely examined every house on both sides of the street absorbed in this he forgot his whereabouts and he choked and gulped in surprise when he suddenly looked into the windows of his own white cottage and saw alary with her nose flattened against the glass watching for him the house had not been moved a foot something broke explained alary helping pete to a heaping plateful of liver and bacon and the man will be back tomorrow to morrow chicago record |