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Show The Schatchen ! By j GEORGE MURRAY (Copyright, 1916, by W. G. Chapman.) "No, I don't need anything today, Abraham," said Miss Lisa Quentin. The peddler sighed and began wrapping wrap-ping up his pack again. "It's a long lime since you bought anything from me, lady," he said sadly. "Them's lovely rugs. All grass, and only two-fifty two-fifty apiece. They'd brighten up your parlor so as you wouldn't know it. Miss." 'Not today, Abraham," said Miss Lisa, casting a glance at her floor, nevertheless, as the peddler was quick to observe. "Now, if you was only married, lady, what a good trade I'd do with you," said the peddler. "Go along with you, Abraham!" said the pleasant, comely looking woman. 'Want to get me married so as to sell me your goods?" "But that's my business, too, lady," protested the peddler. "Listen, lady. When my people wants to get married, mar-ried, they're too modest to go courting. court-ing. So they calls in a marriage broker, a schatchen,' as they calls it, to see the young people separate, and find out if they're suited. Then, if everything's all right, I brings the "All the Better, Lady." young people together. Vou ain't so old, lady, not forty, I guess " "Go along with you, Abraham! I'm only thirty-six!' exclaimed Miss Lisa, Hushing furiously. "All the better, lady. I've married worse ones than you. You got a better bet-ter chance than some. I married a lady of sixty-eight last month." "Abraham, how dare you!" "It's all right,'said the peddler "All the womans says that. They got to pretend they ain't never thought of marrying But they'll always al-ways take a chance. Now .et me marry you, miss, and you won't regret It. There':; a fine fellow in Sidmouth, only forty-one Mr. Frank Jones with a big farm and horses to breed. You'd like him, lady." "Abraham, will you go, or I'll never buy anything from you again?" "All right, miss," returned the Inexorable In-exorable peddler. "And maybe when I marry you you'll let me take the order or-der for furnishing your home." The cause of Miss Lisa's trepidation may or may not have been known to Mr. Abraham. The fact was that the said Mr. Jones had been an old sweetheart sweet-heart of Miss Lisa's, years before, one among a number, when she was a village vil-lage belle. Since then they bad met several times, but there had never been any thought of courtship. It was the following day that Abraham Abra-ham renewed his proposition, this time to Mr. Frank Jones, before whose door he stopped. "Mr..Jones, why ain't you never got married?" he asked, with a winning smile which could not possibly have given offense. "Why, Abraham 1 don't know, really. 1 suppose none of the girls wanted me." "Then 1 got just the girl for you," said Abraham. "Such a fine girl, Mr. Jones, in Hobart. S :e's Miss Lisa Quentin. S'ie loves you, Mr. Jones.' "What tho T,-cat do you mean. AbrahaaiT" exclaimed the fa:raer angrily. "It's all r'gfit," said the unperturbed Abraham. "All the mens says that at irst. They're skittisher as the girls. ,o, she didu t tell me she loved you. Mr. Jones, but I read it in her eyes. You can get her and then maybe you'll let me take the order for furnishing fur-nishing the home yes?" Left alone, Frank Jones began thinking think-ing over the old days of his wooing of Miss Lisa. Lisa Quentin had certainly cer-tainly been one of the sweetest girls in the neighborhood. The middle-aged middle-aged man found himself recalling in cidents that he had forgotten years before, things jquite unsuited to the reveries of a substantial, hard-headed farmer. In the end he took the occasion to pay a visit to Miss Lisa when he was buying cattle at the Hobart market. mar-ket. He dropped in for a pleasant chat, and, though he made no allusion whatever to Abraham, be saw that Miss Lisa was not ignorant of the peddler's scheme, as wan evinced by her red cheeks, and a sort ot timidity in her manner new to her visitor. When Jones left they felt like old friends again. "1 r.hall come often," he said, taking her hand. "You will always be welcome, Mr. Jones," answered Miss Lisa. - Nevertheless, when he had gone, she knew that Abraham had been speaking speak-ing about her. She resolved firmly not to marry Frank Jones. When the peddler ped-dler appeared the following week she vas furious. "How dared you mention my name to Mr. Jones?" she demanded. "That's all right, lady. All the worn ans says that," answered the-peddler. "It's going just the right way." "Do you dare to suppose that 1 am going to let you marry me to Mr. Jones, just to give you a commission on the furniture? Why, I hate him." "All the womans says that, too, lady," answered Abraham, dodging be fore Miss Lisa's broom. It was a week later when Frank paid his second visit. Perhaps be had seen the peddler in the interval; certainly he had done a lot of thinking, think-ing, and the upshot of it was that he had come to the conclusion that life without Miss Lisa would be a aorry substitute for perpetual bliss. Yet, when he called, he only sat in silenco a good part of the time, conscious of a forbidding atmosphere about his hostess. "May I make you some tea?" inquired in-quired Miss Lisa. "Cups and saucers! Fine cups and saucers!" cried a voice at the door. Both started and looked at each other oth-er guiltily. It was the pedv?.er. "It's that Abraham!" excaimed Miss Lisa, looking charming as the deep red dyed her face. "1 won't have him around here." But Abraham, his pack on his back, was already at the door. He looked imperturbably upon the couple. "1 got some lin samples of rugs here, lady," he said. "Just the thing for a young couple starting in." "What do you mean, Abraham?" shouted Mr. Jones, springing to his feet. "What, ain't you got It fixed yet?" demanded the peddler. "My, but you're both slow. No wonder you fiin't neither nei-ther of you got married before." "The man is crazy," said Miss Lisa. Abraham extracted Lomething shiny from his pocket and put it in Mr. Jones' hand. "Real diamond," he said. "Only Hfty. Put it on her finger. Do it now!" Suddenly Jon-s, as if hypnotized, moved toward Miss Lisa and took her hand in his. "I won't! I won't!" exclaimed Miss Lisa, nearly in tears. "Don't mind her," said Abraham. "That's what they all says. Put it on." ? And Frank Jones did. What is more, he kissed Miss Lisa in the presence of the peddler. But Abraham was looking" look-ing" at the furniture catalogue that he had brought with him. |