The Pickwicker, Volume 2, Number 1, April 1934 Page: 11
40 p. : ill. ; 17 x 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
iIIE PICKWICKERIi
had been discussed by a score of phy-
sicians and that they had agreed that
the patient alone could overcome the
difficulty.
Jake crumpled the paper violently.
"It is a nice way of saying you're
done for," thought Jake. He had
tried to forget all about being done
up-being like the "plug" he once
shot because of a broken leg; but it
was no use. trying to forget when
everyone brought the fact to his at-
tention by blunt and ignorant re-
marks. These ten years back, he
hadn't just sat around, but had done
his best to get a job and earn some
"dough."
Not so long ago, Jake went into the
office of an insurance company to get
a job of writing up policies. They
turned him down because the big guns
who wrote up the most policies said
that the prospects would prefer not
talking to a cripple with despondent
and gloomy ways about him. "And
they were right," Jake admitted down
deep inside him. Of course, every
prospect would ask "Why aren't you
getting benefits ?-you were in an ac-
c!dent." Jake never carried an insur-
ance policy in his life-not even when
he was working and making good
money. How could he expect to get
benefits now?
A very kind lady from the country
with quite a sympathetic verbosity,
one day asked Jake whether he would
not like to sell some eggs for a small
commission. Jake took the basket of
eggs very slowly, debating in his owncomputable intellect whether the cus-
tomers would buy them if he were
to try to sell them. "Eggs are hard
things to sell," he thought. "You
must convince your customers that
the eggs are strictly fresh, that they
are country eggs, and that the price
is more reasonable than elsewhere."
.He took the basket with the aim of
giving the public the best in eggs,
thereby forming a nucleus for a very
well-known concern for egg distribu.
tion.
At the first house, he paused at the
steps before approaching his first
customer. He rehearsed everything
that he was to say concerning the
eggs-about their freshness, about
their being from the country, and
about their reasonable price. Then
he climbed the steps and .was on the
porch. His hand trembled nervously
as he reached for the door-bell. A
very stout woman of forty summers
opened the door suddenly, and eyed
Jake-poor Jake.
"Oh, you poor thing, you're crippled,
aren't you?" she blurted forth.
"A-a-yes . . . " Jake was con-
fused as to what to say.
"You know,-I was always so sorry
for crippled people. How did it hap-
pen ?"
"What's that ?"
"How did you get all mangled up,
that way?" She eyed him as no one
else had ever done, he thought.
"I was in a wreck."
"Isn't that just too ba-ad!"
"Is it?" Jake asked, forgetting allTHE PICKWICKER
11
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Abilene Christian College. The Pickwicker, Volume 2, Number 1, April 1934, periodical, April 1934; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth335171/m1/13/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.