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Show ton MUMPS -KEEP OUT CORNER By Paul Tulien TTIGH UP in the apple tree ten- year-old Tommy Thome pon- 'MUMPS I dered on the ways of women. Why did his sister Winifred prefer George Butler when she could have a swell guy like Frank Stanton? Why was 1 1 she goint to the 311:.,.,. ball game in Ml Mile town tonight with Fiction George after she I I had turned down Frank? It didn't make sense. Next year probably she and George would be married. Now, had it been Frank it would be something to look forward to. It would be fun if he could think of some way to scare George when he came tonight. Not that it would change Winifred's opinion of George, but it would be fun anyway. Then he remembered a "MUMPS KEEP OUT!" sign he had picked up In a trash dump a few months before. At the time he hadn't expected ever to put it to such a good use. The more he thought about the idea the better he liked it. What would George do when he saw the sign on the front of the house? He bet the old fraidy-cat would leave in a hurry. But he must be careful. He wished he knew exactly what time George would come. If he put up the sign too early, one of his own folks might see it before George came. And that, of course, would be the end of it. On the other hand if he waited too long George might come before the sign was up. IN THE early dusk Tommy crouched behind a clump of "So, Smartypants, I'll have to sit borne tonight just because you must have your little Joke!" bushes. Slowly the minutes dragged by. At last a car turned into the driveway. George Butler got out of the car, started for the house, stopped and then hurriedly got into the car again and drove off. Tommy sprang up; his plan had worked perfectly, but he must not let Winifred Wini-fred see what he had done. But he was too late. Winifred was staring at the sign tacked on the front of the house. He started to turn and run, but decided he might as well face the music now, for she would get hold of him sooner soon-er or later. "So, Smartypants, I'll have to sit home tonight and twiddle my thumbs just because you must have your little joke!" Tommy was silent for a minute, twisting one leg around the other. "Maybe you could phone and explainhe'll ex-plainhe'll pro'bly go home." The words came reluctantly for he didn't want Winifred to telephone, and if she did he hoped George wouldn't be home. "I will NOT!" she cried hotly. "Not when he didn't care enough to see which of us was sick wny, 1 might be dying or mumps for all be knows or cares!" "People don't die of mumps, do they?" j "What difference does that make?" she retorted. "It doesn't excuse him from asking. ask-ing. If he didn't dare to come to the door, he could have stood in the yard and yelled. Surely, I couldn't have thrown the mumps on him! Anyway, if I had the mumps he ought to be willing to have them too!" It was almost too good to be true, Tommy thought Only one thing was needed to make everything perfect and that would be for Frank to come. j And then Frank did come. He jumped out of his car and asked anxiously, "Who's sick?" "No one. That sign's Just Tommy's Tom-my's little joke," Winifred explained. ex-plained. Frank laughed. "That's good! I Just saw Jack Martin in town and he said he had seen a mumps sign on your house when he drove by. So I thought I'd come out and see if you needed any help. Say, why aren't you at the ball game?" "How do you expect me to go? Walk? Our car's (n the garage for repairs." J "Why, I thought Well, you know I'd be awfully glad to take you in, if you care to go. And Tommy too unless three's a cbowd." "Not when the third one's Tommy." Tom-my." Winifred said, putting her arm around the boy. "He did me an extra good turn tonight" |