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Show By "wr Kopvriqh.192i-byihcBllSundiCQc,Inc. "nifwlil" not take Ii buck. I already did tell him how you keep pokln' around tryln to run everything, and we Just worried our llfes out tryln' to keep you away. He said ho bet It was a hard Job; that's what Undo Joseph said. So go on, tell him unythlng you want to. You don't get yor olo poem In our uewspuper!" "Not If she lived to be two hundred years old I" Henry Uooter added. Then ho had an afterthought. "Not unless she pays for It." "How do.ypu mean?" Herbert asked, puzzled. Henry's brow had become corrugated corrugat-ed with no little professional Imprcs-slvcness. Imprcs-slvcness. "You know what wo were talkln' about this morning," he said. "How the right way to run our newspaper, news-paper, we ought to ihave some advertisements adver-tisements In It and everything. Well, we want mouey, don't we? We could put this poem In our uewspuper like au advertkemont; that Is, If Florence lias got nny money, we could." Herbert frowned. "If her olo poem Isn't too long. I guese we could. Here, let's seo It, Florence." And, taking the sheet of paper In bin hund, ho studied the dimensions of the poem, though without paining himself to read it. "Well, I guess, maybe we can do It," he suld. "How much ought we to charge her?" This .question plunged Henry Hooter Into a state of calculation, whllo Florence Flor-ence observed him with veiled anxiety; anxi-ety; but after n time he looked up, his brow showing continued strain. "Do you keep a bank, Florence for nickels and dimes aud maybe quarters, quar-ters, you knowt" be Inquired. It was hor cousin who Impulsively replied for her. "No, she don't,"' he said. "Not since I was about seven years old I" Florence utfded sharply, though with dignity. "Do you still make mud pics In your hack yard, pray?" "Now, see here!". Henry objected. "Try and be a lady anyway for a few minutes, can't you? I got to figure out how much we got, to chnrge you for your ole poem, don't I?" "Well, then," Florence returned, "you better ask me somep'm about that," hadn't you?" "Well," said Henry Rooter, "have you got any money at home?" "No, I haven't." "Have you got any money with you?" "Ys..I have." "How mucn Is in" "I won't tell you." Henry frowned. "I guess we ought to mako her pay about two dollars and n I. nip tin until ftirnfni ti hln nnrt. ( iiuii) - - - - - ncr. Herbert felt deferential; It seemed to him that he had formed n business association with n genius, and for a moment he wiih dnzzled; then ho remembered re-membered Florence's flnnnclnl capacities, capac-ities, nlwnys well known to him, and he looked depressed. Florence, herself, her-self, looked indignant. "Two dollars ntul u half I" she cried. "Why, I could buy this whole place for two dollnr.i aud a half, printing press, railing, and' all yes, and you thrown In, Mister Henry Rooter I" "Sec here, Florence," Henry said earnestly, "hnven't you got two dollars dol-lars and' a halt?" "Of course she Ifisn'tl" his partner assured him. "Sho never had two dollars and n haf In her life!" "Well, then," said Henry gloomily, "what we goln' to do about It? How much you think wo ought to charge her?" Herbert's expression became noncommittal. non-committal. ".Tost lot me think a minute," min-ute," he said; and with his hand to bis brow stepped behind the unsuspicious unsus-picious Florence. "I got to .think," he murmured ; then with the straightforwardness of his age, he suddenly seized his damsel cousin from the rear and held her In a tight but fnr from affectionate embrace, em-brace, pinioning her arms. She shrieked, "Murder I" and "Let me gol" and "Help! Hoy-yulp!" "Look In Iter pocket," Herbert shouted. "Site keeps her money in her skirt pocket when she's cot anv It's on the left side of her. Don't let her kick you I Look out 1" "I got It I" said tho dexterous Henry, retreating and exhibiting coins. "It's ono dlmo and two nickels twenty cents. Hits she got uuy more pockets?" pock-ets?" "No, I haven't I" Florence fiercely Informed him, nn Herbert released V -nraSBBBrafB? BBk' "Look in Her Pockst," Herbert Snout-ed. Snout-ed. "Don't Let Hsr Kick Youi" ,j v t. f ' her. "And I guess you better hand that money back If you don't want to ha arastri for utenllDal" ' Henry was unmoved. "Twenty eents," be said calculatingly. "Well, all tight; Isn't much, but you can have your poem In our newspaper for twenty cents, Florent. If you don't wnnt to pay that much, why take your ole twenty cents and go on awayl" "Yes." said Herbert. "That's as cheap us we'll do It, Florence. Take It or leave it." "Take It or leave- It," Henry Hooter ngrced, "That's the wny to 'talk to her; take It. or leave It, Florence. If you don't take It you got to leave It" Florence wus Indignant, but sho decided de-cided to tukc It. "All right," sho said coldly. "1 wouldn't pay another cent If I died for It." "Well, you haven't got another cent, so that's all right." Mr. Hooter re-mnrked; re-mnrked; mid he honorably extended nn open palm, supporting tho coins, toward his partner. "Here, Herbert; you con have the dime, or tho two nickels, whichever you rutlier Imvo. It makes no difference to ,me; I'd ns soon have ono ns the other." Herbert took tho two nickels, nnd turned to Florence. "Seo here, Florence," Flor-ence," lie said. In a tono of strong complaint. "This business Is all done and pnltl for now. What you want to hnng around here nny more for?" "Yes, Florence." his partner faithfully faith-fully seconded him, nt once. "Wo haven't got any more time to waste around here today, and so what you want to stand around In the wny and everything for? You ought to know yourself wo don't wnnt you." "I'm not In the way," said Florenco hotly. "Whose wny nm I In?" "Well, anyhow, if you don't go," Herbert informed her, "we'll carry you downstairs and lock you out." "I'd Just like to see you!" sho returned, re-turned, her eyes (lashing. "Just you dure to lay a finger onmc again 1" And she added, "Anyway, If you did, those ole doors hnven't got any lock on 'cm. I'll come right straight In and walk right straight up tho stain again !" ncrhert advanced toward her. "Now you' pay attention to me," he said. "You've paid for jour ole poem, and we got to have some peace around here. I'm goln' straight over to your mother and ask her to come and get you" Florence gave up. "What djffer- pi i if wontn tiis i mane, niitirr lantne-tale?" lantne-tale?" she Inipilrcd moeklnsly. "1 wouldn't be here when she enmc, would I? I'll thank you to notice there's some value to my time, myself; nnd I'll Just politely nsk you to excuse ex-cuse mi), prnyl" With tt proud air, she crunhlngly departed; and returned to her own home, fnr from dissatisfied with what she bud accomplished. Moreover, she began to expand with the realization of n new Importance; nnd sho was gratlllrd with tho effect upon her parents, at dinner that evening, when she Informed them that she hud written writ-ten a poem which was to bo published pub-lished In the prospective first number of the North End Dally Oriole. "Written' it poem?" said her father. "Well. 1 declare 1 Why, that's remark, able, Florence!" "I'm glad the boys were nice about It," satd her mother. "I should have feared they couldn't appreciate It, after being so cross to you about letting let-ting you have anything to do with the printing press. They must have thought It was a very good poem." "Where Is tho poem, Florence?" Mr. Atwatcr asked. "Let's read It and seo what our llttlo girl can do." Unfortunately Florence had not a copy, and when she Informed her father fa-ther of this fact, ho professed himself greatly disappointed as well as anxious for the first appearance of the Oriole, that he might felicitate hln- self upon the evidence of his daughter's daugh-ter's heretofore unsuspected talent. Florence wns herself anxious for the newspaper's debut, and she mnde her nnxlety so clear to Atwater te. Hooter, Hoot-er, Owners & Proprietor." every afternoon after school, ilur iij; the following fol-lowing week, that by Thursday further fur-ther argument nnd repartee on their part were felt to be Indeed futllo, nnd In order to have a little peace around there they carried her downstnlrs. At least they defined their action aa "carrying," and, having deposited her In the yard, they were obliged to stand guard at the doors, which they closed nnd contrived to hold against her until 'her strength was worn out for that day. Florence' consoled herself. During the week she dropped In on all tho members of "tho family" her grandfather, grand-father, uncles and aunts and cousins, her great-unclea and la mcb Instance, after no protracted .formal preliminaries, prelim-inaries, lightly remarked ' that she wrote poetry now; her first to appear ln the forthcoming Oriole. And when Great-Aunt Carrie aaldi "Why, Florence, Flor-ence, you're wonderful I I couldn't write a poem to save my life. I never could see how they do It." Florence laughed, made a deprecatory little side motion with her head, and responded t "Why. Aunt Carrie; that'a nothing! It Just kind of comes to you.'V Tills also served as her explanation when some of her school friends ex-pressed ex-pressed their admiration, after being told the news In confidence ; though to the teachers she said, smiling ruefully, as In remembrance of midnight oil, "It does tnko work, of course I" When opportunity offered, upon the street, she Joined peoplu sho know and even rather distant ncqualnt-uncos ncqualnt-uncos und walked with them it little way, and with unnffected directness led the conversation to tho subject of poetry, Including her own contribution to that art. Altogether, If Florence was not In it fair wuy to becomo a poetic celebrity It was not her own fault but entirely that of tho North End Dally Oriole, which was to make Its appearance on Snturdny, hut failed to do so, on nccount of too much enthusiasm' en-thusiasm' on the pnrt of Atwater & Hooter In manipulating the printing press. It broke, had to be repnlred; and Florence, her nerves upset by the accident, demanded her money back. This wbh Impossible, and the postpone-nient postpone-nient proved to be nn episode; moreover more-over It gavo time to let more people know of tho treat that was coming. Among tlieso was Noble DIU, Florence's Flor-ence's Ideal. Until tho Friday follow-Ing follow-Ing her disappointment she had found no opportunity to ucqualnt this being with Uie news; and but for an encoun-tcr, encoun-tcr, partly duo to chance, ho might not hnve heard of It. Mr. Dill was twenty-two, but that was his only per-ceptlblo per-ceptlblo distinction. He was kind, usually, and not unpleasant In appearance appear-ance or attire; yet ho had uelther beauty nor that look of power which Is said to Joggle women from their nuturnl poise. He was the most everyday every-day young man lu all tho town; nnd Florence's selection of him to be her Ideal still awaits a precise explanation. explana-tion. Nevertheless, It had happened; nnd a sentimental enrichment of color In her cheeks was the result .of her (niching sight of him. us sho wus on the point of opening and entorlng her own front door that Friday afternoon , m.i,.. .-.- anl.uU lt WAS passing the house, walking somewhat dreamily. Florence stepped Into tho sheltering vestibule, peeping round It with earnest ear-nest eyes to watch him ns ho went by ; obviously he had taken no note of her. Satlslled of this, she waited until he wns ut n little distance, then ran lightly to the gate, hurried after him, and Joined him. "Why, Mr. DIU I" she exclaimed, In her mother's most polished manner. "How surprising to sec you I I presume, pre-sume, as we both happen to bo walking walk-ing In the snmo direction, we might Just as well keep together." Noble looked puzzled. "'Surprising to see me?'" he said vaguely "I BsHHHsHrrnlBflM f ' WW Mpliji p. Noble Looked Puzzled. "Surprising te See Ms?" He 8ald Vaguely. haven't been away anywhere In particular, par-ticular, Florence." Then, at a thongM, he brightened hopefully, "I'm, glad to see you, Florence. Do you kaow',H any of your family er relatives1 have beard when your Aunt Julia Is coming knil" " "Aunt Julia? Why, she's out of town," sulii Florence. "She's visiting different people she used to know wiien hIic was away ut school." "Yes. 1 know," Mr. Dill returned. "She's Wen gone' six weeks." "Oh, I don't bellevo It's that long," Florence said, casually; then with mom earnestness: "Mr. Dill, I was goln' to ask you somep'm; It's kind of a funny question for mo to usk, but" "Yes, she has," Noble Interrupted; though' not sensible that his remark was an Interruption, for lie bud been unaware of Florence's voice In action ufter tho word "long." "Oh, yes. she has," he said. "It was sir weeks, duy-before-yesterday afternoon. I suw your father downtown this morning, nnd he snld he didn't know thnt any of tho family hod heard Just when sho was coming homo. I thought maybe boiuu of your relatives hail u letter from her by this afternoon's mall, maybe." "I guess not," sold Florence. "Mr. Dill, there was n question I thought I'd ask you It's kind of a funny question ques-tion for me to" "Are you suns nobody's heard from your Aunt Julia today?" Noblo Insisted. In-sisted. "I guess they liuveu't. Mr. Dill, I wus golii' to ask you " "It's strange," ho murmured. "I don't seo how people can enjoy visits (hat long. I should thluk they'd get unxlous about what might happen at home." "Oli, grandpa's ull right ; he suyu he kind of likes to have tho houso nice anff quite to hlutsolf; aud anyway Aunt Julln enjoys visiting," Florence usmired him; "Aunt Funny saw a newspaper from one of the places where. Aunt Julla'a visiting her school room-mute, that had her picture In it and called her 'the famous Northern Deauty;' It wus dowu South somewhere. some-where. Well, Mr. Dill, I was Just say-In' say-In' I bclloved I'd ask you" But a sectional rancor seemed to affect af-fect the young man all at once. "Oh, yes. 1 heard about that." he suld. "Your Aunt Fanuy lent my mother the newspaper. Those people In that part of the country well " Ho paused, remembering that It was only Florence he addressed; and he withheld from utterance bla opinion that the Civil war ought to be fought all over again. "Your father said your grandfather hadn't heard from her for several days, and even then she hadn't said' when sue was coming homo." ,- ''!' fell m 'i 1 "No, I expect she didn't," aald H j 'F-M ' J ence. "Mr. Dill, I wus goln to fts !; :, ' you sonicp'n It's kind of a queer klat i iH ! ',! of question for me to nsk, I guess-' j 1J '' 5 sho paused. How over, ho did not Inter Rill' ; rupt her, seeming preoccupied wltk tWiw ',? gloom; whereupon Florence permittee iII'hw 5'1 herself a deprecatory laugh and co4- Hii Vt tlnued : "It might bd you'd answer yea, ,,1R (,! or It might be you'd answer no; l,"l T ft anyway 1 wns goln' to ask you W J M Ifj kind of u tunny question for mo to askv 1; wj .tj I expect but do you like poetryf h SB wi "What?" i Iff I "Well, as thlugs hnve turned est I jf m lately I guess It's kind of a fty MV& j: ' question, Mr. Dill; but do you Ue vw '".' vorttyl" tilil'lf? it Nobto's expression took on a eel- ill'lnfl II ncss; for the word brought to hi flitfiifi lj mind a thought of Newlond Saunders. Ml I jlM ! This wus it poet of Noblo's age, wfce W llR J wrote vtttea to Julia that too-lovely, I UU A absent aunt of Florence's. "Do I IUm ,! , j;D ii poetry?" aald Noble. "No, I don't" j r. !; Florence wns momentarily dlsc0r- y I , ft yj aged but at her age people usually ft MliB 1 possess an Invaluable faculty wblefc i .r i they lose later In life; nnd It Is a pity 3 Y r B 8 thoy do lose It. At thirteen especial- i lt ; K jj ly the earlier months of thlrtee ! jUlI j they nro still able to set aside aa (I V IS I dismiss from their minds almost ay -II; iw . fuels, no matter how audibly thoge V -ll I fucts imvo asked for recognition. ObB- Ml Jl 'J drcn superbly allow themselves to be- j J i if j come denf, so to speak, to undesirable j M ; Jj circumstances; most frequently, of 1 ' t ) V course, lo tmdeslrablo clrcumstancea I ' i . & ; In tho wuy of parental direction; ) 4 ' 1 1 that fathers, mothers, nurses, or gov '! j t I emesses, not comprehending thnt thta I ', , j j mental deafness Is fur tho time being IB j Jj fi t entirely genuine, nro Jlablo to hoarse- I ' . II I 1 ncss both of throat nnd temper. Thlr- .a j teen Is an ago when the fading of tW R Ji 8 gift or talent ono of tho most beaa- l 1 j ', m j tlful of childhood begins to Impair. I K j Its helpfulness, under tho mistakes j lj $ stress of discipline; but Florence re- g Julf tulncd tiomcthlng of It In a moment R ' or two Noble Dill's disaffection toward jj ip poetry was altogether as It It did not Jj m exist. IE 'Hi Sho coughed, Inclined her head ijjift little to one side, In her mother i nmm manner of politeness to callers, aad, K MMm repeating her deprecatory laugh, re- i l'JM marked, "Well, of course It's kind of I HK it funny question for me to ask, ef ; I11E course." i I1H "What la, Florence!" Koble Inquire D "Well what I waa saying waa that JiU 'course It's sort of queer me ask In fjB It you liked poetry, of course, on at- im count of .my writing poetry the way t j UM do now." Ill She looked up at him with a brigM., ( kB readiness to respond modestly .t, , ? whatever exclamation his -wee, I VfJBj should dictate ; but Noble's atteMlea i j had straggled again. He falls , J&M comprehend what she hid set before JnieLl Mm. ! "'Has she written yoar, motkrWr late- hL'H ly?" he asked. h 11 Florence's expression denoted ' a tsH mental condition slightly Ateteafee. fTH "No," she said. "It's goto.' t M printed In the North End Dally Oft. V olo." I B "What?" I .., "My poem. It's about a vast amen I . H anyhow that's prob'ly the best thing f In It, I guess and they're goln' to fl have It tomorrow, or elso they'll hare n to settle with me; that's one thlag 'fl certain' I'll bring one over to year ffl house mid leave It at the doer for H you. Mr lIIL ., ;' Noble hud but n confused notion of whut she thus generally promised. However, he nld, "Thank you," and nodded vaguely. "Of course, I don't know as Ifa so j uwful good," Florence admitted Insln- cerely. "The family all seem to think " It's something pretty much ; hut I don't , know If It Is or not. Heully, I dqn'tl" g. , "No," said Noble, still confused. "I suppose not." S '? "I'm half way through another one ; I think myself'll bo a good deal better. i ( I'm not goln' ns fast with It as I. did ., with the other one, and I expect It'll bo . y 4, quite u ways ahead of this ono." She. I j$ ngntn employed tho deprecatory Uttla " laugh. "I don't know how I do It, ..,! myself. The family all thluk It's sort yj of funny; 1 don't know how I do kt j J myself; but that's the wny It la. They nil say If they could do It they're aura h- they'd know how they did It; bat' I fti.wj guess they're wrong. I presumo'fcf I'JS you can do It. why it Just comes ti i you? Don't you presume that's the ; i'&m wuy It Ib, Mr. Dill?" IW (Continued next week s |