The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, January 28, 1949, Image 6
THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY, S. C.
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FICTION
Cotnec
The Gentle Extortionist
By CHARLES STUART
Things have a way of working out for the best and giving you renewed
faith in people—people like Marty Stone, who fancied himself a pretty
hard-headed business man, and Doc Howell, who found that Marty's
heart was softer than his head, but who couldn't cure the lump in his
own throat.
E'ROM my small office I can see
" anyone who passes through the
wide front doorway before he can
see me. In that brief period I can
size up a prospective customer, and
that's how it was with Fred Miller.
He was small and frail-appearing.
There was nothing spectacular about
him except his tie, but it was an
eye-catcher. Like a nervous monkey,
he batted his eyes rapidly to adjust
them to the semi-gloom of the ga
rage. I had time to catalog him as
a cinch for a lot of extras.
Seeing me in the office, he came
over, hesitating at the door until
I said, “Come on in." I stood to
shake his thin hand. I
He had blue eyes that were deep-
set in their orbits; they hung on
mine like those of a dog that isn’t
sure of a kick or a caress. The flesh
beneath them sagged into pouches,
and his face was deeply lined. He
had the unwholesome pallor of a
man who spends a great deal of time
in-doors.
“What can 1 do for you?" 1 asked.
“Why,” he said, “I want to buy a
car.”
“So do a thousand other people in
this town," I reminded him.
“I know. That’s why I’m here now.
I want to get on your list for a fu
ture delivery.”
Even as I told him it would be at
least two years before he’d get his
car, the way things were moving, I
was remembering things that I had
heard about him—how his home
had been broken, how his wife had
taken their boy and gone out to the
the way, Mr. Stone, how much will
the car cost?”
“Hard to say, Fred, right now it
sells for eighteen hundred. But you
guess with me as to what it will
cost two years from now.” ^
I’m sure he only half-heard me.
He said, like he was almost talking
to himself, “Eighteen hundred. About
what I figured. I’ll have it”
He wasn’t like most of my cus
tomers; he didn’t keep harping on
me for the new car. Until summer
came, at any rate. Then one day he
brought the boy in. He was lots taller
than the old man, already, and de
voted to him. From then on until
the boy went back to the coast, they
were in the garage at least once each
day, poring over pictures of the new
auto, questioning my mechanics,
and discussing it between them
selves. Even after the boy had gone
back to the coast, Fred would come
in and pick up any new literature
I might have on the car. I knew
what he’d do with it, too; make notes
in the margins, write letters about
the auto, and send them all on to
that boy.
Time went along. The wife and
my boys went off on a vacation. I
never liked going home to ar. empty
house, so I would put it off to the
last minute, and hang around the
club till bedtime. That’s how I found
out that Fred liked the social life and
late hours. I sort of figured that ac
counted for the bags under his eyes.
But Doc Howell set i \e right He
and I got away for a few days hunt
ing, and somehow on the way to the
“Here’s something Fred wanted you to have,” I told him. His eyes
were so full he could hardly find the door handle.
coast. It was said that Miller had
agreed to some fantastic alimony if
only she would let the boy come to
him for at least a part of the year.
He had some sort of minor post in
one of the government agencies in
town; I knew it couldn't pay very
much. I didn’t see how he would
be able to pay me for the price of
s new auto, but two years is a long
time and much could happen in
the interim. Anyway, I could al
ways sell a new car. So I felt around
in my desk and finally came up with
the list. “What kind do yo" want?
Coupe? Sedan?”
“A coupe, please.”
“With or without wheels?"
Fred smiled, tentatively. He wasn’t
sure whether or not he was sup
posed to laugh.
“I’d like wheels, of course.” he
answered.
“Want to put something down?”
“Yes, I’d like to. How much do
you require?”
“Suit yourself. Even if you give
me the full purchase price, it won’t
bring your car any sooner."
He nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll leave
you two hundred.”
I took the bills and gave him a
receipt Then I asked if he had a
trade-in.
He looked startled. “No, Mr.
Stone, I haven’t. Is it necessary to
have one?”
“Oh, no. Not absolutely neces
sary.” A trade-in is still nice to have,
though, for there is money in those
used cars.
* “I don’t really have a car at all,”
he explained. “That’s why I want
this one. My boy will be coming to
visit me every summer and he’s get
ting pretty big now.” His eyes lit
up, talking about the kid. “In two
years he’ll be eighteen and he’ll
want a car. This is no town for a
boy if he has to walk everywhere or
depend on others for transportation.
I plan to have a nice auto for him
when he’s ready for it”
“Yeah, yeah. That’ll be fine.”
There was something holding back
in him when he talked about that
kid, and it made me uncomfortable.
As though he might talk about him
the rest of the day if he had any
encouragement But I wasn’t giving
him any.
“Well see what we can do,” I
said, and stood up.
He arose immediately. “You’re
busy,” he was apologetic, “and I’ve
taken so much of your time.”
“Not at all,” I said, “come in and
see me again.”
“Oh, I will,’’ he answered, “you’ll
get so tired of seeing me around
you’ll want to throw me out. By
mountains, Fred Miller crept into
our conversation.
Doc thought it a shame the way
his wife treated him. “That woman
milks him for every cent he can get.
He owes everyone, including me.”
I thought about all the times I
had seen Fred down at the club.
Now it costs money to belong, and
if one gets into the games very
often, that’s expensive, too. Fred
didn’t stack very high with me right
then, because I couldn’t see how he
could be broke and keep up the ac
tivities I had observed. I guess Doc
read my thoughts.
“Don’t be too hard on Fred,
Marty,” he said. “You may not know
it, but he isn’t down there at that
club every night just for fun. He
has a sort of job; assistant to the
steward. I rather suspect he lives
on what he makes there, and sends
his regular salary check out to the
wife, for that boy.” He watched the
road for a few moments before con
tinuing. “Fred is not at all well. If
he would take it easy, get a lot of
rest and stop drinking, he might
last a long time, but—” his voice
trailed off into silence. He rarely
talked about his patients, I figured
he thought he had said too much
already.
I forgot about Fred after that un
til one fine summer day I found that
the next car on my list was for him.
But I was dubious about the deal.
After all, I was in business to make
money; there was a lot of names
after his that would be a great deal
better business. It looked like Fred
Miller was about to get the go-by,
at least for a little while.
Then that same day I twisted my
knee and had to go to Doc’s office
to get it wrapped. Climbing the well-
worn stairs, I met Fred coming
down. He' looked just about all in,
and very sad. I thought to myself:
“Oh well, what can I lose?” and
told him about the car.
His face broke into a million
wrinkles as he smiled. “That’s fine,”
he said, “that’s good. The boy will
like that.” He went on down the
steps with a lot more life to his
tread. I went on up to Doc’s.
Just to make conversation, I asked
him what was wrong with Fred. His
answer was vague, as I might have
known it would be.
“Can’t understand the little fel
low; he goes right on doing all the
things I tell him are bad, yet he
keeps coming in here to have me
check him over. All I can do is
shake my head, tell him to get more
rest and stop burning the candle
from both ends.” He adjusted a
couple of pads around my leg,
plugged some wires into a machine,
and flicked a switch. “Doesn’t seem
to worry him. Can you tell me
why?”
Neithet; of us knew then, but we
got the answer later.
When his car was being unloaded
at the railway dock, I called him
Most of my customers like to be on
hand to get a first glimpse of the
car for which they have waited so
long. After awhile, he showed up,
and I was shocked at his appear
ance. He was walking slow and
easy, like the old man he looked
to be. His cheeks were hollow, his
sunken eyes deeper than ever. The
pouches below them hung away
down.
But he was surely happy about
the car. I told him it would take a
couple of days to get it into shape
for delivery.
“Good enough,” he said, “I expect
the boy over about then.”
I never saw Fred again.
Doc let me know. He called me.
“Come on over, will you, Marty?”
I knew from his tone it was impor
tant, so I hung up and went right
away. He was sitting in his private
office.
When I came in, he pushed a
bulky envelope across the desk to
me. It was addressed to me in an
unfamiliar hand. Opening it, I found
a two-thousand-dollar insurance
policy with me as the beneficiary.
The name of the policy holder?
Fred A. Miller!
I showed it to Doc. “Yeah,” he
said, “Fred died last night Natu
ral causes, yet he could have lived
a lot longer. Only eventually he
would become an invalid, and his
son would want to take care of
him. On the other hand, he could
duck out now and leave the lad
something. I guess he chose to have
the boy remember him as something
other than a sick old man.”
I could see the picture. But you
just don’t know what to say in such
cases. So I guess I sounded a little
irrelevant when I said, “Cars have
gone up. Doc. This two thousand
won’t cover it now.”
Doc looked as though he were
disappointed in me. He pulled out
his check book and picked up a
pen. “Well, I want that boy to have
that car, Martin. How much is the
difference?”
“Put that stuff back. Doc,” I said,
“you don’t have a corner on soft
hearts and softer heads.”
He grinned then. “I want to share
it, at least”
After old Fred had been decently
tucked away—and it was amazing
how many friends the old boy had—
I called the kid over to the garage.
Doc and I led him to the car.
“Here’s something Fred wanted
you to have,” I told him. His eyes
were so full he could hardly find the
door handle. “And here's another
thing he told us to give you.” He
took the slip of paper I handed him,
and I was glad he couldn’t read it
right then. He only nodded; he
couldn’t talk, although twice he
tried. He put the car in gear and
backed out.
Doc and I stood on the sidewalk
to watch him drive down the street.
About a block away, he pulled over
to the curb and stopped. My guess
was that he couldn’t see through
the tears that must have been
tumbling down his cheeks. After all,
he was only a kid.
I shoved my hands into my
pockets and looked at my feet, not
talking. For a minute. Doc didn't
say anything, either. Then: “What
was that you gave him?”
My tone was defensive. Hadn’t
Doc treated Fred for nothing? “You
really didn’t think I could keep that
policy, did you?”
Doc's voice was sort of soft and
strange when he finally answered.
“Fred sure knew a soft-hearted
sucker when he saw one didn’t he?”
He turned and started off. “Now I’m
going down to the office and see if
modern medicine provides anything
for a lump in the throat”
by NANCY PEPPER
CLASS CONSCIOUS
We like to report your kindness
to less fortunate teens in foreign
countries—because it proves that
you teens think with your hearts as
well as your heads. Most of you
/O
have been mak
ing collections
for “Care” pack-
ages in your
home rooms, but,
as an extra ac
tivity, foreign
language classes
in lots of high
schools are send
ing packages and
letters to teens in the countries
whose language they’re studying.
Of course, you must write the let
ters in the foreign language, which
is good practice for you and good
reading for the grateful teens who
receive and answer them in their
native tongues. It’s lucky for you
that Latin is now a dead language,
because after you’d written that
“all Gaul was divided into three
parts,” there would be nothing else
to say.
SPEAKS
1 1 I > iliil International Uniform -
UypTl SundATSchgj Les»on« |T|1
SCRIPTURE: Luke 4:1-13.
DEVOTIONAL READING: James 1:1-
12.
‘Yet Without Sin'
Lesson for January 30, 1949
Dr. Foreman
V/ - OU will never feel the current if
you never swim upstream. If
you are a drifter through life you
can hardly know what the
word “temptation”
means. And Jesus
was no drifter. If
ever a powerful
purpose, devotion
to God, a noble
mind and a pure
heart could set a
man free from all
temptations, Jesus
would have been
that man. But he
had his tempta
tions all the same. After the great
day of his baptism, when the
heavens opened and he felt the
Holy Spirit as plainly as a bird
from the sky alighting on his shoul
der, we are told that he was “full
of the Holy Spirit.” Surely no temp
tation could reach him now! Yet
the Spirit led him to the wilderness
where Satan waited for him.
* * •
The Devil Is Smart
S ATAN is a persistent devil. He
never takes No for an answer,
he will be back again with the
same temptation in another pack
age. It was so with Jesus. We must
not think that Jesus was tempted
to low and ugly sins. People are
tempted on the level where they
live.
After the Baptism, if not be
fore, he was fully awake to the
fact that he was God’s beloved
Son, that it was his respon
sibility to begin the “Kingdom
of God;” he knew he had a
position and a power that no
one else on earth had ever had.
The problem was: How should
he use this position and this
power?
Each of the three temptations in
the wilderness had something to
do with that problem. Two of the
temptations, at least, were not to
do anything wrong in itself. Each
time Jesus was tempted to choose
something less than the best. And
choosing less than the best, when
the best can be had, is sin.
• • *
All Temptation Sounds Good
unpURN stones into bread,” the
A tempter said. And why not?
People were hungry all around;
Jesus grew up in a land where
most people were lucky to get one
square meal a day, let alone three.
Jesus would be the Divine Leader
of the Kingdom, the Founder of
the New Age. Why not make it the
Age of Plenty? Why not abolish
hunger from the earth? It could
,be done; it sounds good.
So does that other tempta
tion — “Throw yourself down,
the angels will see that you are
not hurt.” Perhaps many wor
shippers at the Temple expect
ed that the Messiah, God’s
King to be, would fly down out
of a cloud.
Then that temptation which
seems at first reading so ridicu
lous—fall down and worship Satan.
It was not so ridiculous as it ap
pears. What did Jesus want but to
be King of Kings and Lord of
Lords? What difference does it
make how we attain our ambitions,
if we only reach them? All other
world - conquerors had achieved
th:ir pinnacles of power by “wor
shipping Satan,” that is by using
violence and trickery.
But Jesus, being full of the
Holy Spirit, knew that not
everything that sounds good, is
good.
He saw clearly that not even he
could bring in the Kingdom of God
simply by feeding people, or as
tonishing them with aerial stunts,
and still less by using those ancient
methods of the world-conquerors,
the tools of Satan, violence and lies.
• * *
Defense Weapon
J ESUS met his great enemy and
beat him down with a single
weapon. Every time, Jesus comes
out with a quotation from the Bible,
incidentally always from Deuter
onomy, evidently a favorite book
with him. We have the same wea
pon at our disposal today, and more
besides.
There is nothing magical in a
Scripture quotation. The point
is not that Jesus had memor
ized these verses so that he
could quote them; anybody
could do that even without be
lieving a word of them.
What Jesus did was to make
those truths his own, they were part
of his mind, actually his own con
victions. Do you really want to rise
proof against temptations? Do as
Jesus did: make God’s ideas your
own. The sharpest lie will blunt
itself against the keen edge of
Truth.
(Copyright by the International Council
of Religious Education on behalf of 40
Protestant denominations. Released by
WNU Features.)
Silence Proves •
Golden in Films
Recently Made
HOLLYWOOD.—After 20 years of
the talkies, Hollywood again has
discovered silence is golden. This
is the year of the great quiet.
Players are scrambling for roles
wherein they don’t say anything.
Now we’re right back where we
started, to the silents, where a
movie moved and not stood still to
the tune of 40 pages of dialogue.
Movie fans are happy over see
ing players who don’t yakkity-yak
their heads off, too. Every dumb
role has won its player back-pats.
A decade or so ago billboards
shouted, “Garbo talks.” This year’s
notable event is, “Wyman shuts
up.” Jane plays a deaf mute in
“Johnny Belinda.”
Silent Patient Takes Over.
Olivia De Havilland was noisy
in “The Snake Pit,” but in a couple
of scenes another mental patient,
Betsy Blair, took over. Miss Blair
no spika nothing, having forgotten
how, until she gasps, “good-by,
Virginia” at the end.
Strong men wept at Ivan Jandl’s
silence in “The Search.” The
Czech boy played a war orphan
shocked into dumbness. After a
couple of reels around Montgom
ery Clift, the boy chattered away,
though. Another player who got off
easy with no speeches to memorize
was Ann Blyth. She flopped around
in a fish tail in “Mr. Peabody and
the Mermaid.” This being the first
silent lady he’d met, William Powell
promptly fell in love with her.
Dorothy McGuire Starts Cycle.
Una O'Connor spoke only in
grifiits in “Cluny Brown.” Henry
Morgan was the silent villain in
“The Big Clock.” And Dorothy Mc
Guire started the cycle by keeping
her tongue tied in “The Spiral Stair
case” until she yips the life-saving
telephone number in the last reel.
Tarzan, Harpo Marx, and Frank
enstein have been doing all right
without benefit of dialogue for years,
too.
Now that talking’s been done
away with. Fox studio is eliminat
ing seeing in “Three Wives,” Ce
leste Holm, a central character,
prattled all the way through but
wasn’t seen once.
Danish Professor Thinks
Vikings Vanned Columbus
NEW YORK. — Norsemen prob
ably established settlements in
America at least one to two hun
dred years before the arrival of
Christopher Columbus in the new
world, in the opinion of Prof.
Johannes Broensted, director of the
National Museum at Copenhagen,
Denmark, and one of the world’s
foremost scholars in Viking and
medieval archeology.
Dr. Broensted has completed a
three-month study tour and exami
nation of important historical and
archeological finds—the first such
examination of all available evi
dence by a recognized expert—
under auspices of the American-
Scandinavian foundation.
His study tour, the professor said.
Included an examination of the
relics, visits to the sites of discov
ery, and conversations with lead
ing scientists and archeological au
thorities in this country and Can
ada, as well as an examination of
available pertinent recorded data
here and on the continent.
Dr. Broensted explained there
are three principal Amer
ican archeological evidences rela
tive to Norse colonization before
the arrival of Columbus. He said
these are the Viking Find from
Lake Nipigon, near Port Arthur in
Canada, the Newport Tower in
Touro Park, Newport, R. L, and
the Kensington Stone, which was
found in Minnesota in 1898, and
which now is on exhibition in the
Smithsonian Institution.
The Canadian find, consisting of
a sword, an axe, and a supposed
shield handle, all of iron, he said,
“is without doubt a genuine one.”
“The axe and the sword are cer
tainly real Viking weapons of Nor
wegian (or Danish) origin,” Pro
fessor Broensted continued, “dat
ing from about the year 1000.” He
added that all the other evidence
was equally reliable.
Girl Player Lands Spot
On Boys’ Hockey Team
COLORADO SPRINGS. — When
fans see a blue-eyed strawberry
blonde scoring goals or bashing the
opposition to the ice with vicious
body checks on the Broadmoor Ice
Palace rink this winter, they won’t
be "seeing things.” The sight will
be real, for it will be a blue-eyed
strawberry blonde named Andra
McLaughlin.
Andra has given local hockey a
new twist this year by being the
first member of the fair sex to play
on an organized boys’ team in the
Colorado Springs junior hockey
league.
Ever since practice started for
the Cheyenne Mountain School ice
sextet late in October, the 15-year-
old sophomore has not missed a
workout. She’s been banged and
shoved and bruised and bumped, but
she was ready to take over at right
wing for the Indians. Andra is one
of the nation’s top hands in fancy
skating, so the roughest, toughest,
fastest sport of them all comes nat
urally to her.
SEWING CIRCLE PATTERNS
(^ne-'Ljard (J^fouAeA (ddaAy to ^Ylctln
12-20
TP HIS trio of beauties will do
-*■ wonders to perk up your win
ter wardrobe! Each of these
blouses can be made from one
yard of colorful fabric jn the
smaller sizes. Nice gift idea.
NATURE'S REMEDY (NR) TAB
LETS—A purely vegetable laxative to
relieve constipation without the usual
griping, sickening, perturbing sensa
tions, and does not cause a rash. Try
NR—you will see the difference. Un
coated or candy coated—their action
is dependable, thorough, yet gentle as
millions of NR’s have proved. Get a
25c box and use as direaed.
FUSSY STOMACH?
REUEF FOR ACID
INDIGESTION,
GAS AND C
HEARTBURN
THE TUMMY!
Pattern No. 8384 comes in sizes 12, 14,
16, 18 and 20. Size 14, 1 yard of 39-inch
for each style.
The new Spring and Summer FASHION
is bigger and better than ever! 68 pages
of smart new styles, special features—free
pattern printed inside the book. 25 cents.
SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT.
530 South Wells St. Chicago 7. HI
Enclose 25 cents in coins for each
pattern desired.
Pattern No.„
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-Size-
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For Quick Cough
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Here's an old home mixture your
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Now put 2 Vi ounces of Plnex into a
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It keeps perfectly and tastes fine.
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Plnex is a special compound of
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Money refunded if not pleased ft
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times more methyl salicylate and menthol—two pain-
relieving agents known to every doctor —than five
other widely offered rub-ins. Ben-Gay acts fast where
you hurt.
Also lor Pain duo to COLDS, MUSCLE ACHE, and STRAINS.
Ask for Mild Boo-Cay far ChHdren.
BenGay
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Regardless of what make tractor tires you have, you can get
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See Your Nearby Firestone
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Listen to the Voice of Firestone every Monday evening over NBC