The Little Red Chimney: Being the Love Story of a Candy Man — John Shaqi
The Little Red Chimney: Being the Love Story of a Candy ManLeonard, Mary Finley
General
The Little Red Chimney: Being the Love Story of a Candy Man
Leonard, Mary Finley
Fiction; Love stories
The Reporter, who wasn't listening, here exclaimed: "I have it! It was
this A.M. Maimie McHugh was interviewing Mrs. Gerrard Pennington over
the office 'phone in regard to a luncheon she is giving this week in
honour of her niece. Said niece's name me-thinks was Bentley. You will
see it all in the social notes later. Covers for twelve, decorations in
pink, La France roses, place cards from somewhere." He paused to laugh.
"Maimie was doing it up brown, but she lacks tact. What does she do but
ask for Miss Bentley's picture for the Saturday edition! I tried to stop
her, but it was too late. You should have heard the 'phone buzz. 'My
niece's picture in the _Evening Record_!' 'I don't care, mean old
thing,' says Maimie, when she hung up. 'Nicer people than she is do it,
and are glad to. 'That's all right, my honey,' I told her, 'but there
are nice people and nice people, and it's up to you to know the variety
you are dealing with, unless you like to be snubbed.' Still," the
Reporter added reflectively, "Mrs. Gerrard Pennington and little McHugh
can't afford to quarrel. After the luncheon Mrs. G.P. will probably send
Maimie a pair of long white gloves, and when their pristine freshness
has departed, Maimie will wear them to the office a time or two."
The Candy Man wished to know who Mrs. Gerrard Pennington was, anyway.
"She, my ignorant friend, is a four-ply Colonial Dame, so to speak.
Distinguished grandfathers to burn, and the dough to support them,
unlike another friend of mine who possessed every qualification needed
to become a C.D. except on the clothes line."
"The joke," observed the Candy Man, "is old, but worth repeating. But did
I understand you to say _another_ friend? And am I to infer----?"
"You are far too keen for a Candy Man," said the Reporter, laughing.
"Mrs. G.P. is friendly with the wealthy branch of our family. She
regards my Cousin Augustus as a son. Now I think of it, your Miss
Bentley cannot be her niece. She could scarcely fall out of a street
car. A victoria or a limousine would be necessary in her case."
The Candy Man did not see his way clear to disclaim proprietorship in
Miss Bentley, so let it pass. Certainly, on other grounds his Miss
Bentley, to call her so, could not be Mrs. Gerrard Pennington's niece.
Not that she lacked the charm to grace any position however high, but
her simplicity and friendliness, the fact that she walked in the country
with a stoutish relative who was intimate with the family of the park
superintendent, the marketing he had witnessed, all went to prove his
point.
Yet on the occasion of a fashionable noon wedding at the stone church
near the Y.M.C.A. corner, all this impressive evidence was brought to
naught. In the crush of machines and carriages the Candy Wagon was all
but engulfed in high life. When the crowd surged out after the bridal
party, the congestion for a few minutes baffled the efforts of the corps
of police.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account