SYLVAN VALLEY NEWS
Cbaeing a
Bat
By C. B.
CopjTiglit, 1905, by llomctr Sprague
Arnold Thompson, bachclor of forty,
was bored. He was bored because the
warm weatlier had come, aud he must
go away to some resort; because he had
to buy a new straw hat; because he bad
tried the roof gardens and thej^ had of
fered nothing new; because he had in
dolently tried to flirt with a good look
ing girl that day on the street aud she
had exhibited her contempt; because of
a dozen other reasons belonging to
bachelorhood
When Arnold Thompson bought a hat
it was an event. He argued that the
fate of a nation depended on the ap
pearance of that hat when i)laced on
his head, and he was therefore a full
hour in making his selection. It was
an hour of anxiety to him and an hour
of misery to the salesman who waited
on him. On this day, however—on this
day when he strolled into his hatter's
and made his wants known something
out of the ordmary Avas to happen. The
!»achelor had tried on only nineteen dif
ferent hats and had posed before the
glass only nineteen different times,
when he made a discovery under the
sweatband of the nineteenth hat. It
a slip of pai>er. and on it was
ten in a feminine hand:
he buyer of thi.*J hat is a sin'^le man
f^c’itlomnn, ho may v,-rite to Clc-ne-
Burton.
ddrt'ss was added, aiul as tlie
held the slip in his hand a
•om:ince iiegan to creep into
lliat’s what he had been
for for years- romance. He
from twenty to thirty, but
thirty lo forty an;l came
>ion that his heart never
;d again.
•*r of this hat is a single
single. He was not ou-
called rather good look-
ad a fairly gond income,
gentleman’’—
e Avas a gentl(*man, and no
d be found lo dispute the fact,
should follow? lie v>’Oukl write
• imevieve liurtou. The name i)leas-
od him, aud as 1k‘ stood then* with the
nineteenth straw hat in one hand and
tlie slip in the other he called up a
vision of a handsom<' face and a curly
head and a willowy form. He had no
^]iess lo think (ienevieve good look-
^rly headed or willowy, but he
Jhe responsibility and said to
Jan, much to the lattei’‘s sur-
told that it might have been l ’In
any one of half a dozen places they
mentioned, and tlie only thing to do
was to give up further thought of Gene
vieve or pursue his quest.
lie decided at once to pursue. He al
ways had been flattered by women run
ning after him; now he was running
after one of tlie opposite sex. and there
was something L»ovel in the change. He
went to Massachusetts and was sent o •
to Vermont. There they sent him over
into Canada, and he reached Canada to
be told tliat Michigan was his likely
field.
Tills occupied a full month. The
bachelor did not travel by lightning
express. He stopped on the way to
think of Genevieve and take his Turk
ish baths and get his nails manicurcd.
He got around to Michigan at last,
l^wever. He hatl no sooner set eyes
the Maumee river at Toledo than
he began to be hopeful. During the
lide of eighty miles to Detroit he saw
many cattails and much marsh grass
and other things of v/hicl/ etiaw hats
are made, and his hopes continuetl to
increase.
Arriviug at the City of the Straits,
the bachelor located the only hat fac
tory in town and then went to his
hotel to make ready for an interview
on the morrow. He was alternating
between fear and hope when a drum
mer with Avhom he fell in reached for
his hat in (he familiar way <lrummer.s
have on two minutes' acciuaintauce
and look(‘d it o\er aud said:
“Oni-e in awhile one of you New
York fellers shows a little common
sense in articles of dress.”
“How do you meanV"
“This is the best straw hat made,
and it was made right here in this lit-
! tie burg.”
That scttk'd it, aud a blaud and
complacent smile broke over the face
of the bachelor. lie could forgive the
innuendo because his long chase was
at last ended. In the langujige of Sher
lock Iluhnes. he had run liis (juarry to
earth, ::nd the morrow would bring a
crisis. Mr. Arnold Thompson realized
that he was off on a tangent. He had
the rei)utation of being a cool and im
perturbable fellow, one who never lost
his head about women, but he had to
acknowledge that he had made a fool
of liimsclt in this affair—that i,-:, all
his frit'uds would s;iy so. H(‘ had
some eivcuses for his own ear. and if
they w(‘r(‘ not suIlici(Mit he wasn’t go
ing to iidiiiit the fact.
At 10 t)'clo<-k the next morning the
bac-helor started for the hat fat'tory.
He intended to walk right in and iaik
about hats ;ind perhaps pass hiins(*ir
off’ as a retailer. It was a small con
cern, (*iJ3i»Ioying only about half a do:^(M!
women to sew the braid luirchased
sonu'where else. The business oliicc
and the Avorkshop Avere in one. ;nid
the romancist entered to liiid a Avimiun
about forty years old in charge, t^lie
explain«'d that the boss h:ul just st(>;»-
ped out and asked what AA'as AvantiHl.
Mr. 'J'liompson began to talk ab;M!t
hats, and he Avas making slow Avork of
it Avlien one of the girls canu‘ forward
and said to the Avoman:
“Kxcusc me, Mrs. I’urtou. but am I
seAving this i-ight
“Are you Genevieve BurtonV’’ asked
the bachelor as siie turned to him again.
“I—I am." she replied as she tried to
blush.
“You—you Avrote your name and slip
ped it behind the SAveatband of this
hat ?”
“I did. sir.”
“W-what Avas your object?’’
‘Must a trick of the trade. I am paid
.‘'2 a Ave('k extra for that. That's why
Ave call it the ‘liomance' hat. We have
sent out iLMiOf) hats, and every one has
rny name in. Has it given you a back
ache to find out where the hat AA’as
made?”
“Never again, Genevieve — never
again Avill I believe in yroman or I'o-
mance:” exclaimed Arnold Thompson
in his uiost tragic tones. And an hour
later he Avas tleeing the town and try
ing to make himself believe that he was
traveling to broad(‘u his ideas on his
OAvn countrA*.
You’re the One We’re After!
You who keep your money hidden and at home where
it is not safe, instead of puttin.g- it in the bank.
Fanners, we solicit your accounts, whether largo or
small. We carrj’ insurance, so in case our bank is
robbed our depositors do not lose a cent.
Our policy is soiuid, liberal and just. We want your
business.
The Brevard Banking Co.
r
WHITMIRE & VEJRDERY
(Successors to T. W. Whitmire. )
A
Are now open and leaoy for business. We will continue to carry a full line of gen
eral merchandise. For the next 30 days we are going to give
Great Reductions on Winter Goods,
Our line of Shoes and Tlats has no equal in the town. Our line of Clothing,
Overcoats, Ladies’ Jacketr’ and Dress Goods are all of the latest style, and the prices
are going to be cut sufHcient to let them go. We want your business and must have
it if nice treatmrnt, honest dealings and low prices will get it—and it sure does. We
want all the 30-day customers we « an get and will give same price as if they were
[laying cash. Fall dating accounts we are not soliciting, but could carry a few good
WHITMIRe VERDERY.
T. D. ENGLAND.
Ji HAPPY NEW YEMR TO JILL.
I feel tliankful to all wlio patronized me in my business the past year and hope to
be able to serve you better in the future than I have in tlio ])a;-t. I h(>pe to still hold
youi' confidence and also to be worthy of it. I want lo tell you sometliiufx that I want
you to t^'ink about. It is tljis;
Some mei'chants. when c<.irmencing to do bus ness, put the news out that tliey sell
gor»ds cliea])er than the old-timer. After gettinj^ a trade es^tablished and the ])eoi>le
Fixed to that belief they will charge exorbitant prices for some things which the people
think they ai-»i gettiuii- chea])er than they could ^et anywhere else. Take this for ex
ample: I'have a can i)f goods in my store that came from one of the soealled cheap
stores and it is marked lo cts. and loi' which I hav’e neA'er asked but H>c for. Still the
peo])le ])av for it and think they are getting bargains. 1 am satisfied that if the pe<*])le
Avill take tlie timt* to investiiiaie tl)ey will hud it luueh the same all along the line.
I want to ])ut you to thinking, for I know that the merchant who sells staples
cheaper than I uo has to make it uj) somewhere else or he <*an t make a liA'ing. 1 want
to educate aou up to the itiea that it is better to Vuiy things at a reasonable prolit all
around than to get some thinoj; as you thinkieheap. and not know what you ].ay for
others. Think about this, and if you find th|t I lia\’e told you the truth, remembei- 1
r. D. EN&LA^lSrD
11 take this hat.
‘But is it a good lit?”
I said I Avould take this hat
lome.
s a matter of fact, the hat Avas not
d lit, and the l>achelor had meant
w over at least nineteen others,
struck him that he must have
t as Avell as the slip of paper
beneath its sweatband. The tAA'o
lly AV(*nt together,
oon as he reached his club he sat
to Avrite to GenevieA'c. He found
hard task. She Avas u braider of
lAA' hats; she liveii far away; she
innocent lioarted; she couldn’t be
d to taive a ride in his auto or to
tany him to the theater and diu-
[le Avas a coy. shy country blue
nd must not be startled. The
started three different letters
doned them aud then sudden-
red that he had no address
o. lUit Avhy Avrite sit all?
nse that hat down until the
Avas discovered?
:as reached in an in-
lour later the man
^asking AA'here
eferred to
said
ck
told vou so.
tempting to force 30U1I
na and New
s as-
s yymp
licited.
d to.
iins.
FEELING
IIVER-ISH
This Morning?
TAKE
olic. Cliolera and
arrtiof.i Keniedy.
, It luav save life.
A Gentle Laxative
And Appetizer
msBBssm