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Show Received a Pink Invitation By JANE OSBORN U U (Copyright.) A PINK slip Buttered from the ea-, ea-, velope that Malsy fern had opened un abrupt announcement from the local bank that she hud overdrawn her account to the extent of six dollars dol-lars and three cents. Malsy sighed. lo a way she had been prepared for It. Pansy, her old colored cook-housekeeper, had brought It Into her little studio Efter the postman had come yesterday afternoon. She was too absorbed la her painting at the time to bother about It then. So she went on patiently patient-ly putting in the finishing touches on the lovely rose garden that was laler to serve ns the cover Cor a nurseryman's nursery-man's catalogue. After breakfast tlie next morning she opened this envelope from the bank. It was at least a comfort to know that tlie overdraught was no larger. She found ten dollars in her purse ten dollars find a few silver pieces. Well, she could buy enough food for the day with tiie change and the ten dollars would cover the amount due. It would be embarrassing embarrass-ing to go down to the bank with Just ten dollars, nnd there was no way of getting any more until she bad been to the city. Maisy sat and considered ways nnd means. She bated to face the receiving teller and It would probably be her luck to find the sour-faced sour-faced Mr. Granger at the window, but it would be worse facing Mr. P.erton, the very nice-looking young cashier, whose genial smile Malsy felt sure would have brought him fame and fortune for-tune in the "movies." Of course he doubtless knew of her mistake. They had probably discussed her at the bank said things about her. They didn't know that Mai'sy clung strictly to her self-imposed rule of saving three-quarters of all the money she earned. That amount she deposited with a trust company in the city,-where city,-where the money was Invested In the safest sort of security. Maisy was a curious medley of Improvidence nnd caution. From her mother sbe Inherited Inherit-ed this fixed Intention of providing lavishly for the rainy day and from her father a reckless thrlftlessness that made it apparently impossible for her to live comfortably within her self-determined self-determined allowance and even more Impossible to keep any sort of accounts. ac-counts. She didn't even try to keep any sort of accurate record of her bank account. , Maisy arrived on the stroke of nine and bravely made out her little deposit de-posit slip nnd approached the window of . the receiving teller with fast-beating heart. It beat a little faster when she saw that Mr. Berton was on duty. "I hardly bad courage to come down this mprning," she said a little shyly, handing In her small deposit with her book. "But I just haven't been able to keep track of my account I know It is stupid." Mr. Berton looked up with an amused smile. "Oh, so you got a pink Invitation, too," he said. "1 didn't even know It." "No harm done, anyway," said Mr. Berton, mechanically- recording her deposit In her book. "Perhaps I'd better bet-ter have your account balanced for you." "Thank you so much," said Malsy. 'I'll try hard to keep It straight afler this. I'm so stupid" "On the contrary," said Berton, 'from all I hear you are quite the opposite." op-posite." Then lie looked about to see that no one was within bearing "But If you have any diillculty in keening your accounts, perhaps I could show you. It is very simple. Perhaps I could call some time and show you, and help you balance up from time to time. Plenty of clever people have the same trouble." "How very good of you," sighed Malsy. "I am going to the city for the afternoon but I'll be home tonight." So Mr. Berton called and gave Malsy a beginner's lesson In account keeping he stayed to look at her drawings, and afler that stayed a little lit-tle laler because Malsy said she was lonely and wanted some one to talk to. After that he called twice n week and Maisy sat beside hi in ns he attended to her accounts and told him that as long as he was willing to do It for her she wouldn't try to learn. Then one day Berton made n suggestion not without a 111 lie embarrassment, lie told Malsy that he wondered why she didn't try to save a little. There were lots of ways Unit she could economize nnd If she had set her heatt on remaining re-maining unmarried all her life she ought lo think about saving for a rainy day. Malsy tpld him she hadn't sit her heart on remaining unmarried all her life then she looked up at blm timidly timid-ly and Berton looked back at her laughed a little and then toolt her Into j his arms and said, ".lust a little," when Malsy asked him If he loved her. Afterward when Berlon was about to leave Malsy said that ns long ns shs didn't Intend to remain single nil her life she supposed It wouldn't be necessary neces-sary to start saving. "I'll do the saving for the two," snld Berton. "I guess It runs In our family. fam-ily. I've always saved half my salary - and I've n fairly decent Inheritance, besides." Malsy tossed tin pretty head with nn air of mock Hiipciiorlly. "Buns In my family, too," she Raid "I've iil-wiiys iil-wiiys wived three ipon'lors of what I earned But I'm glad I knew you didn't know It. I might have thought you loved my rnlny day fund better than you did me." |