She thought quite a spell and guessed it would be. Then all of a sudden she bust right out and clapped her hands together, “Why,” she says, “you’re int’rested in this, and you got a paper. Couldn’t we git you to let us use the Trumpet?”
Mark he sat back and frowned and sort of shook his head, but after a minute he says, deliberate-like, “Well,” says he, “I guess I’d be willin’ to do that for a cause of this kind. But,” says he, “it’s concedin’ consid’able.”
“Oh,” says she, “thank you, Mark! It’s awful good of you to let us do that. But what’s the rest of your scheme?”
“Why,” says he, “every year’s subscription you sell will mean ten votes, and the side sellin’ the most will be showed to be the smartest arguers, and the smartest arguers, everybody admits, is the smartest f-folks all around. Then, at the end, there’ll be a dinner served by the Circle, and one served by the Home Culturers, that nobody can go to but subscribers to the Trumpet. That’ll help sell the s-s-subscriptions. The night after the second dinner’ll be the cookin’ show, admission included when you sell a s-subscription, and every subscriber’ll have one vote as to which club’s wimmin is the b-best cooks. That’ll about shut up every argimint as to which is the s-smartest and usefulest. ’Cause,” says he, “the ones that win both them things will p-prove it so nobody kin say a word.”
“Mark Tidd,” says she, “you’re a smart boy.”
“Like the idee?” says he, looking tickled to death.
“You bet,” says she. “How’ll we start it?”
“Why,” says he, “you have a m-meetin’ of your club and git up a challenge to them Home Culturers, darin’ ’em to contest that way ag’in’ you. I’ll p-publish it in the Trumpet, and it bein’ public that way, they won’t dast to refuse, and you’ll have ’em. See? And,” says he, “as a example of p-public spirit,” he says, “the Trumpet will give a p-prize to the winners equal to t-t-ten per cent.,” he says, “of all the subscriptions taken. It’ll be,” says he, “a set of books, real brainy books, for the winnin’ club always to have in its l-l-library.”
“Mark,” says she, “you’re that generous!”
“Generous!” I thought to myself, for I knew mighty well Mark would be tickled to pay near twice that much to git subscriptions.