Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1919 - Feb 1920)

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28 Crooked Straight "I'll pinch mine and you can have the rest. Do you get me? thrifty, prosperous young Trimble as a son-in-law. But when he jokingly mentioned the subject of matrimony and saw by the look of pain in Ben's face that Ben didn't fancy the joke, Lucius quickly dropped the subject and turned the conversation to neighborhood news. "I s'pose ye'll be at the fair Wednesday. It'll be the biggest day yet. I don't guess we ever had a better live-stock exhibit in the history o' Riggby County." Before Ben could think up a good excuse for not going to the fair — for he had his reasons for wishing to avoid crowds and publicity — the insistent voice of Vera took up the argument. "Oh, father, you know that Mr. Trimble doesn't care much about blooded animals. He's a grain farmer. What he wants to see is my exhibit in the domestic science hall. I've got a prize-winning exhibit of white bread, brown bread, buns, cakes, and pie crusts, all made from the wheat grown on this place last year and milled right here at White Oaks. That's what will interest Mr. Trimble most. And there is about a peck of doughnuts in the exhibit. We'll give 'em to the kiddies afterward. And the bread and pies are coming right back here to your pantry — Ben." She called him by his first name, hesitantly, but with a flood of pent-up feeling behind the tender avowal. What chance had young Trimble against this conspiracy of food and affection ? The next morning found him and the little tots of his adoption, all in their holiday clothes, mounting the democrat wagon of the Owens and riding along the dusty, September roads to the county seat of Riggby to the fair. Reluctant as Ben had been to go to the fair, an event happened soon after his arrival that made him glad he had come. Lucius Owen became interested in a cherry pitter that was on demonstration, and learned from the man at the booth that this machine was a new invention ; it had not yet been capitalized and put on the market. "There's millions in it," said the demonstrator, who introduced himself as Brother Larrabee, a retired minister. "The world has never had its fill of cherry pie. Why? Because no machine has ever before been made which will pick the pits from this tiny but delicious fruit. Men cannot eat cherry pie with pits, or cherry 'stones,' as they are aptly called, for these stones break a man's teeth." This greatly appealed to Lucius Owen, for he, like most men, was fond of cherry pie. But when he learned that the investment of a few thousand dollars would make him chief owner of the patent rights, he was more than enthusiastic. "Like all inventors," Brother Larrabee said, "the man that worked up this wonderful machine has no business head at all. He is utterly impractical in money matters. He makes no effort to put this machine on the market. In fact he is now working on another invention and he would let this cherry machine rust and rot or he would sell it for a song. Now, I am only an old, retired Methodist minister, and I haven't got any capital. But I feel it is my duty to bring this wonderful invention to the attention of some one who will put it on the market. I will feel that I have done a duty to God and man if I can be the means of flooding the world with cherry pie." Ben Trimble spoke up with obvious haste: "I'll go in on your proposition. I'll investigate it, and if it is all you say, I'll put up my money." "Not so fast, brother," protested Larrabee. "I was presenting my proposition to Mr. Owen when you — ah — butted in. Mr. Owen has the first choice." "Well, if it's a real money maker," old Lucius said, "I don't guess I could lose nothin' by kinder lookin' into it." "Money maker?" echoed Brother Larrabee, "Did you see how quick this other man was to grab up the proposition. Now I don't know this man, but he's one of your friends. Judge for yourself. If he's a ne'erdo-well, a man without good business judgment, you may be pretty sure that this proposition that he has