“You bet.  I’m a jokey old bird.  Come on, Carrie; let’s beat it,” remarked Kennicott.

Raymie implored, “And what is your chief artistic interest, Mrs. Kennicott?”

“Oh——­” Aware that the traveling salesman had murmured, “Dentistry,” she desperately hazarded, “Architecture.”

“That’s a real nice art.  I’ve always said—­when Haydock & Simons were finishing the new front on the Bon Ton building, the old man came to me, you know, Harry’s father, ‘D.  H.,’ I always call him, and he asked me how I liked it, and I said to him, ‘Look here, D. H.,’ I said—­you see, he was going to leave the front plain, and I said to him, ’It’s all very well to have modern lighting and a big display-space,’ I said, ’but when you get that in, you want to have some architecture, too,’ I said, and he laughed and said he guessed maybe I was right, and so he had ’em put on a cornice.”

“Tin!” observed the traveling salesman.

Raymie bared his teeth like a belligerent mouse.  “Well, what if it is tin?  That’s not my fault.  I told D. H. to make it polished granite.  You make me tired!”

“Leave us go!  Come on, Carrie, leave us go!” from Kennicott.

Raymie waylaid them in the hall and secretly informed Carol that she musn’t mind the traveling salesman’s coarseness—­he belonged to the hwa pollwa.

Kennicott chuckled, “Well, child, how about it?  Do you prefer an artistic guy like Raymie to stupid boobs like Sam Clark and me?”

“My dear!  Let’s go home, and play pinochle, and laugh, and be foolish, and slip up to bed, and sleep without dreaming.  It’s beautiful to be just a solid citizeness!”

III

From the Gopher Prairie Weekly Dauntless: 

One of the most charming affairs of the season was held Tuesday evening at the handsome new residence of Sam and Mrs. Clark when many of our most prominent citizens gathered to greet the lovely new bride of our popular local physician, Dr. Will Kennicott.  All present spoke of the many charms of the bride, formerly Miss Carol Milford of St. Paul.  Games and stunts were the order of the day, with merry talk and conversation.  At a late hour dainty refreshments were served, and the party broke up with many expressions of pleasure at the pleasant affair.  Among those present were Mesdames Kennicott, Elder——­

* * * * *

Dr. Will Kennicott, for the past several years one of our most popular and skilful physicians and surgeons, gave the town a delightful surprise when he returned from an extended honeymoon tour in Colorado this week with his charming bride, nee Miss Carol Milford of St. Paul, whose family are socially prominent in Minneapolis and Mankato.  Mrs. Kennicott is a lady of manifold charms, not only of striking charm of appearance but is also a distinguished graduate of a school in the East and has for the past year been prominently connected