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Show I AT THE PARTYl Tho Chowlng Gum Girl Telia of Goorgo's Advonturoa. "I didn't seo you at tho party last night," said tho girl with tho chowlng gum. "No," said tho girl with tho soulful soul-ful eyes. "My cold wns so bnd 1 couldn't got out." Sho gavo'u few simple cougltB, Just to show, and snuggled her chin down in her feather boa. "Did you havo a good time?" she' asked. "Honest, 1 nover had a better time in all my llfo! Laugh? I thought I'd dlo! l'll'bct they could hear ua all tho way to Ilorso hill. Too bad you missed It." Tho girl with tho Boulful oyes coughed and snuggled ngaln, as Interesting In-teresting un Invalid as any ono could wish to see. "Who wns thnro?" nhn nnkpil. "O, overybody! Tco-hco-heo Georgo was therol" "Teo-hce Wns Georgo thore?" "Was he? You JuBt bet ho was!" And as Old Hates' train rumbled hotnoward over tho meadows tho two fair devotees of tho nrt of stenography an!l typewriting turned their faces away from each other and tittered bnck to hack, tho pno in reminiscence and the other In anticipation until nt last thoy suddenly bounced around and faced each other, whoroupon tho girl with tho chowlng gum Bhut her oyes, opened hor mouth nnd spnko' as follows; "First off, George says, 'Say, 1'vo got a new trick,' anil of courso we wore all crazy to know what it was. 'Now here's a penny,' says George, Til lay it flat on any girl's forohcad and I'll bet sho can't walk across the room without it falling off.'" "Teo-hco!" said the girl with the soulful eyes. "Doesn't it sound easy, though? The rest of the girls hold back, but you don't catch me with cold feet. 'Why, It's too easy)' 1 says. 'All right.' says George, 'try It.' And over ho came. '"Hold your head back,' ho says, and I held it back. Everybody was snickering and he took the penny and laid It fiat on my forehead and pressed It down hard. 'Now,' says he, 'let's see if you can walk across the room.' So up I got, with my note in the air as careful aa If I was balancing balanc-ing a feathersdUBter on my chin. Then I walked across the room, awful alow and gentle, not to Jolt tho penny off. Laugh? They screamed! "I never saw George .look so foolish fool-ish as when I got a squint nt him out of the corner of my eye". 'Geo, says Goorg'o. 'Sho did do it, but I'll bet sho can't walk back to hor chair and sit down again without knocking it off!" "Squealed? Wo nearly died!" "'Geo,' I says, 'This Is a cinch. I believe I could shake my head and keep the penny on.' So I shook my head, easy at first, and then hnrdor, and say I got wlso at last! When Goorgo pressed tho penny on my foro-head foro-head in tho first placo ho took it right off again and It only felt as If It was there. And all the timo I had been cutting up thoso monkoyshlnes tho penny hadn't been thorn nt nil!" "Well, sir," sho continued, "that was Just tho start! Noxt, Georgo says, 'If there's any gentleman hero present who enn put his heels against tho wall and lean over nnd touch his toes without bonding his knecB I'll pay nny forfeit he's a mind to name? Laugh? O! You know, some of tho fellows aro kind of Jealous of Ooorge and they all thought this was a chance. George lined 'em nil up ngalnst tho wall. 'Heady?' says ho. Tlmy all looked set In tho faco and nodded their heads. 'Ono! Two! Three!' snyB ho. Fun? Say, thoy all fell over together, and you know how fat Tom Smith is? Well, air, whon, ho fell ho bounced I" "Miss Pennywnto pretonded not to ko It," gasped tho girl with tho chow-ing chow-ing gum. "You know she's awful old and as homoly bb n brush fonce, ami when Bho moved around the room whispering that us girls ought to bo moro dignified overybody screamed again, for George hnd pinned a sign to hor bnck and tho sign said. 'Kiss mo, please!'" Thoy bounced npnrt, and whon thoy faced each other again tho flavor of Georgo's Jest was still bo rich with thorn that thoy had to hounco apart a second timo until tho paroxysms ot tholr mirth woro secretly spent. "Well, sir," snld tho girl with the chowlng gum, "wo all went Jn to din-uer din-uer then, and wo hadn't, got far before wo saw that Mabel Woolcy was awfully awful-ly nervouu. Sho'd look at her pinto nnd thpn sho'd look uway, and thon sho'd look at her pinto again, quick nnd midden. Of courso wo nil looked," too, nnd say! Every onco In a whllu hor pinto seemed to move!" "Movo? Really?" "Honest ami true, rind If there's anything any-thing moro 'uilsottliig to tho nerves than to havo n. pinto movo I'd llko to: know what it Is, Georgo gavo us all tho wlnk.'nnd wo found out Intor that ho hnd n llttlo rubbor bulb bunenth tho tablecloth under Mabel's plate, with n long tiny tube and another bulb, and every timo George' squeezed this other hiilh Mabel's pinto jumped. Thoy bounced, "I'll bet Jou all squealed!" Bald tho girl with tho soulful eyes. "Squealed? .Wo nearly died! Thoy got off nt Peapnck, still deep in Georgo's adventures, whllo over llio reached of timo a faint echo soinulod: " I know him well, Horatio; a follow of lnllnlto Jest; of most oi-ccllent oi-ccllent fancy!" |
