Show a JHE RISE OF PEGGY The Romance of a Little Girl Who Bugged Potatoes BY EMMA M WISE I Peggy knew when she saw her father hurrying up the path that he was coming to get her to bug potatoes This knowledge caused her heart to swollen fierce rebellion If there was any one thing Peggy disliked more than another It was bugging potatoes She sighed ard began to tread with intense in-tense interest where she had left off a moment before T nA Mfrtulne Knnlltfflll fftlflnn hair was crowned with a tiara of sparkling diamonds Her slender white wrists were crcPeggy Peggy called Mr Hibbard peremptorily Her slender white wrists resumed Peggy were clasped with many brace late each of which was set with precious pre-cious stones amounting In value to many thousands of dollars Her taper flptrers were Peggy do you hear called her Hhcr again Peggy gave one more regretful glance at the paper with its halfpage illustration illus-tration then arose and stalked out Into tho yard with sullen slowness Mr Hib bard went around behind the smoke house whence he presently returned with two old tin pails and two narrow wooden paddles which he set down at her feet I guess youll have to help me a little while again today Peggy he said but it wont be very hard on you The suns gone under a clcud an I dont blceve the bugs Is very thick Peggy looked disconsolately at the pail and the paddle Her father took I up his own implements of potatobug torture and began to retrace his steps toward the potato patch but Peggy I did not follow I I dont think she called out bitterly bitter-ly that youve got n right to ask me to do such work as this I lIe turned and looked at her in unbounded un-bounded surprise She dont think I et he repeated blankly that Ive got aright a-right to ask her Now who he continued con-tinued addressing his remarks to some invisible third person do you think has got a right to ask her if I aint For an Iitant Peggy hung her head guiltily Then being highly incensed by the painful contrast between her own hard lot and that of Lady Alfreda she looked up and said with considerable consider-able spirit My own father sir There was a moments silence Her own father echoed Mr Hibbartl at length still directing his conversation to the invisible third pcrs j Now will you kindly tell me who 1 Ier own father if I aint The invisible third person evidontl did not feel equal to an explanation o the matter and Peggy took It upon herself to answer I do not know sir she returned firmly but I shall soon find out You are not he I ant sure Where you found me or how you obtained possession of me I cannot tell but of this much I am positive you are doing me a great I injustice by grinding me down in this manner and I will not be long until I will be restored to my my my Peggy paused then In some confusion She was not quite sure whether these were the exact Words Lady Alfreda had used when declaring to her captors her Intuitive knowledge of her noble birth Peggy had long thought that when she proclaimed her identit to the nooDif with whom she lived and who claimed to be her relatives she would repeat Lady Alfredas declaration of independence independ-ence verbatim and It flustered her to think that she might have failed to do so Still even though she might have made a mistake she felt that she had put it pretty strong And she certainly had At least so it seemed to Mr Hib bard I He hurried forward and laid his hand I tremblingly on her shoulder I Peggy he said anxiously Im afeard youre a losin your wits aint yo Dont yo feet a little queer in your head Think a minute Now dont you Had not Peggys heart been steeled to an extraordinary degree it would have been melted by the tender solicitude solici-tude in his voice and manner As it was she drew back unresponsive and regarded him coldly No she said I am not at all sick father and Im ready to help you Come on She gathered up the paddle and pall allotted to her and led the way to the nearby corner lot where the hard oiivuvu uitiuji iiiu ycnuu yuiuiu uu stroyers were making a morning meal off the tender juicy leaves Mr Hib bard followed as one in a trance Neither Peggy nor her father referred to the momentous subject again that day Mr Hibbards heart and head were filled with uneasy speculations on the newly revealed side of his little daughters nature He woo laboriously revolving her words In his somewhat oY f S j j A I Dont Think Youve Got a Bight to Ask Me to Do Such Work I dull mind and striving to comprehend their meaning Until he arrived at a I solution of the problem he would have nothing to say As for Peggy she was too busy with I I I day dreams to talk She felt confident she was In reality the child of wealthy parents and that her time was near at I hand when she shoujd come Into possession pos-session ofher rightful property That was what had happened to Lady Alfre I da and other lovely heroines of whom she had read In the ivr > t klv IMnstrntoH papers and It was but a natural concu slon that she was destined to enjoy the same rood fortune To be sure there were many striking differences between herself and Lady Alfreda For Instance it would require a lively stretch of the j Imagination to transform Peggys scant J ragged locks Into the luxuriant trss s I of which Lady Alfredo boasted and the I fancy that could see In Peggys red I bony hands any resemblance to Lady Alfredas slender white writs and taper flngeis would have to be still I more elastic Peggy unccremonlouriy dropped her pail much to the discomfiture of the caged colony of potato bugs when she I realized this and stuck her unprepos I sessinghands behind her back for very shame II Before breakfast next morning Pegjry finished reading the adventures of Lady Alfreda She had grown quite bold by that time in consequence of her talk with Mr Hlbbard on the preceding day and when washing the breakfast dishes V V A she enlarged on the subject with enthusiasm en-thusiasm to her cousin George Never mind she said with grand loquent air when he refused to empty the coffee grounds as requested I wont be here long for you to quarrel vlthWhere Where you goin asked George nonchalantly Im going away she returned blandly Im going to have a rise in the world My name is not Peggy Hib bard at all Bah what an ugly name Ive tried my best to smooth It out Into I-nto something pretty and interesting but 1 cant do it It always remains just plain Peggy I dont know what my last lame is but Im sure I was christened Queenie or Edith or Elaine or something like that My own parents par-ents are cominjr for me soon Huhr said George in derision But he emptied the coffee grounds and was quite obedient for almost an hour afterward af-terward all of which Peggy regarded as unmistakable evidence that he had more or less faith In what she had told himPeggy was kent unusually busy in those days She and her aunt Mrs Morrison did all the housework and as a sic neighbor who had been a lifelong friend of the family required a great deal of her aunts attention many new duties devolved upon Peggy This additional work was not exactly relished but in one sense the situation was delightful Peggy was left alone more than she had been heretofore and the unusual solitude gave her ample opportunity to converse with her relatives rela-tives undIsturbed when they should ccme < < to claim her III The next day when carrying in an armful of stove wood with which to cook the noonday meal the leard the sound of wheels on the white turnpike They stopped at the front gate and Peggy peeping furtively around the corner of the house beheld a sight I which drove every drop of bood in her I veins with a rush to her heart and maue ner arms tu iuii j uuu ilL cic = > LI < TL I the load of wood fell with a crash on her bare toes A carriage had been driven Into the shade 3f the apple tree that grew near the roadside Undoubtedly It was the carriage It was not exactly what she had expected for there were only two horses instead of four and the harness was not made of gold hut it was a very I stylish turrout withal and Peggy thought she lOud be satisfied with it A middleaged lady and gentleman alighted and came rapidly toward the house Peggy went forth to meet them looking shamefaced the while at her bare feet and little red hands Ah said the gentleman jlndly I I believe we have her here Susan My child are you Peggy Hlbbard No sir returned Peggy oromptly I A shade of disappointment passed over the faces of the lady and gentle j man manThats too bad said the lady but perhaps you can tell us where to find her I herPeggy plaited the corner of her apron nerve usly for a moment then looking i up courageously she said 1 am called j I Peggy Hibbard I My goodness and are you not she exclaimed tbo adv I I No said Peggy glibly I must I have been changed when I was a baby or something and the mistake has j 1 never been rectified I have never been l able to find out what the name of my father really is I hoped sir that you were he Are you not and have you not come to give me a rise In the world j and take me home to your palace i Peggy spoke with great earnestness i for she had dreamed over this phase of I her life so much that she had come to believe In its reality The lady and gentleman gen-tleman stared at her in bewilderment t I dont understand what you mean I said the lady sadly We have np j little girl Our granddaughter died too a few weeks ago But we will think over what you have said and make further inquiries about you After we I have seen Mr Hibbard perhaps you will hear from us again 0 They drove away down the dusty lurnpiuc anu egy inrew nerscn down on the garden mold and wept bitterly Even they have gone back on me she sobbed They have left me hero and Ill have to go back Into that hateful kitchen and cook something some-thing for father and the boys I cant do It so there But she did and her father praised her effort by pavinrr he had never sat down to a better meal In the meantime toe lady and gentleman gen-tleman all unconscious of the grief their visit had occasioned were wending wend-ing their way thoughtfully back to Squire Hoppers house whence they had started out an hour before hI dont see what you sent us over there for said the gentleman as soon ts they entered the sittingroom When we told you that our errand in this neighborhood is to pick out a bright little girl whose parents are poor and unable to educate her as she deserves and wishes we were In earnest and expected ex-pected you to recommend somebody who is worthy But that Hibbard girl is a regular little lunatic She said her name Is not Hibbard that she Is the r < < rl child of wealthy parents who will give her a rise In the world and all that sort of tommyrot We were so surprised sur-prised and disappointed that we came away without seeing Mr Hibbard I dont know what to make of it signed Mrs Hopper Here corals r r aunt Hannah Morrison down the rnJ now Ill call her in and consult her Its the very thing thats been worrying I wor-rying her father to death yesterlay I and today said Mrs Morrison when the quest of the middleaped couple Jad I been explained to her Im afraid l > er minds been upset by reading so many I Impossible sensational stories I ant watch her all the time having so much to do and she will borrow those papers and read them when Im not looking Im sure Im obliged to you all for your kind Intentions toward Peggy Shes sharp as a whip Its a shame we cant afford to give her more advantages I hope youll overlook her crazy notions and give her a trial But the middleaged couple were ex tremely matteroffact people They felt rather dubious about taking under their protection a child who talked in riddles and after due deliberation they returned to their home without having a made any arrangements for the educa tion of a bright little girl who was un able to help et We II IV v But they came again a year later Ve are lookIng for Peggy Hibbard said the old gentleman with a merry twinkle in his gray eyes Peggy had learned many things dur ing those 12 months She had come to realize that a rise had come In her way which although not the kind she was looking for was the best rise that can come to a person In this world and she deeply regretted having lost it In view of all this she an swered modestly I am she I When they went away Peggy ac companied them They did not startle the neighbors with gold harness ar 1 I I an unlimited wardrobe but for ai I that Peggy was very happy The next I I W1 H ien sne was home during vacation she voluntarily hunted I a tin I pail and a wooden Paddle and vent with her father to the potato patch I I I dont really like this kind of I work she said but Ive I come to the conclusion that I cant have everything my own way as did Lady Alfreda Somehow Ive lost all interest in her golden hair and slender white wrists When they returned to the house her I father brought out the big family Bible I and opened it at the record of births I See he said pointing to the top line Peggy daughter of Hiram and Alice I HIbbard Born Dec 12 1SS1 There It Is as plain as life everyday common i place Peggy Have yo give up tryin to make somethin flowery out of It Peggy < blushed to the roots of hT hair which was still carroty and stringy Long ago she said meekly An yo blleve the record in the Bible now dont you dear child he asked anxiously Yo blleve that m your sure enough father an yo ain expectin any great rise are yo Yo Yo aint ashamed o me an my en 1 Peggy enh lge his I hard hand in hers and when she saw a teardrop glisten ing there she did not know whether It had fallen from his eye or her own Father dear father she said softly |