Show the day of the prize award by JACK WOODFORD li l 1 1 M by newspaper syndicate 1 IT TT HAD been only dire necessity that 1 ande elleu ellen enter her name and supply 6 her photograph for the beauty contest that was being held by the metropolitan pickle company it was the only largo large firm in the small southern town where sir lived and it had come to the conclusion that a beauty contest would be an excellent advertising scheme people thought pickles were tunny funny they could not somehow associate the thought for instance in their minds of a pretty girl 1 ea eating ng a p pickle ickle so just na a the manufacturers of glasses had bad popularized glasses for ladles ladies by advertising ver through the pictures of beautiful ladles wearing them the metropolitan pickle company intended to popularize aleki ea by advertising them through pictures of beauty contest winners eating them the first prize was one thousand dollars to lillen ellen one thousand dollars would would mean everything in the world she was just eighteen and tier her brother had recently injured himself so that ho he could not work for several years at the least A thousand dollars would carry them over until slie she could find a job give up school and start earning enough to keep the wolf volf from tile the door until tier brother got back again their fattier father was dead tier her mother carried on in their small cottage keeping chickens to help out and raising much of the truck vegetables that they ate with some trepidation ellen visited the of the metropolitan pickle company and was interviewed by walter thornton son of alie owner the interview was waa not painful na as ellen lind had anticipated walter thornton was about twenty five dye ile had deep gray eyes and soft shiny black hair ile iio was tall and strong looking ellen remembered having rend read in the papers papera some time before that he had carried oft off football honors at the state annive university rosity in finishing up the interview after he had accepted tier her pic ture nna and registration lie it Is 13 rather unusual miss winslow for a young lady of your type to enter such a contest you come do you not from one of the finest old families down this way 1 I know ellen nodded but in this generation the will have to say goodby to pride grim necessity Is the dictator now too darn bad lie he said after she had outlined tier her reasons for entering the contest lie ile added youre the last registrant im going to see today im worn out gabbing with them they all claim the most beautiful girls in town its so unique to have had an application from a girl who vociferously insist that fines the prettiest in town 1 I consider that fair elten ellen told him since you are the final judge I 1 to try to influence your decision I 1 would that prevent your riding homo home with roe me lie he asked 1 I go directly through your neighborhood on the way home and it would be easy for me to drop you off it if you yo cared to go arriving at her home walter surprisingly i singly accepted her perfunctory invitation vi to come in for a moment ile he went in and soon southern fashion fash ton lie he was talking to her mother about relationships and people in town they both knew ile iio went into the room where bob elens brother lay sick and talked to him awhile when he had come out lie ho said to ellen id like to give you a job but you see the terms of tho the contest are that no entrant shall be employed by the metropolitan pickle company now how ever eer since youre looking for a jol job suppose you ride into town with me tomorrow and ill send you around to A place or two after first phoning to see if I 1 cant find you a position rhen ellen rode in with him the following morning but oddly enough she was not employed nt at any of the places where lie told tier her to go strange he remarked over the phone lets get together over luncheon and see bee wrong they did and that night lie droye drove her home again it became increasingly evident to allen that she would probably win the prize that walter had come to think a lot of her was p patent abent aad she he knew that bolie admired him could have loved him had she let herself but she he knew she must not let herself because lie ha was a millionaire in his bis own right s and then came the great day of the prize announcements ellen rose early boget to get the morning paper she file had not won first prize nor second prize nor third prize nor even bo honorable ment mention 1 her name appeared nowhere at all in the prize announcements that afternoon on the way home from work walter dropped in ellen received him cooly lie ile was hurt hart dr dropping piling all preliminaries he sald said huskily huskily ellen dear dont you understand I 1 1 rm fm wild about you I 1 want you tot for my wife and do you think for heavens sake that I 1 wanted a picture 0 of my possible future wife all appealing everywhere every ery where eating a pickle P hllen bile could not help herself site she laughed hysterically and then she cried and then she was in walters arms and before the rush of his words of la love e all the alarms of the past paia aielts weeks faded into nothingness |