Show On Old B ars c c L Land an d By HELEN R. R R BARTON Ut Copyright t NOBODY ever had a better champion champlon cham cham- pion plon during during all all the Hie hazy lInzy kaleidoscopic kaleidoscopic days so dearly recalled by most pe people than the lucky bunch who attended at at- tended school number nine in the Halstend Halstead Hal- Hal Halstead stead stend district Miss Dan Danvers vels vel's red or more accurately nt ly rusty headed topaz eyed diminutive dl di but d dynamic for all nil bet hei ninety five five pounds possessed all the tile thewl wl warm hearted hot headed loyalty of ot the race that Is famous for its beautiful beau beau- tithE women loyal hearts and righting fighting spirit I 1 Miss Danvers opened school Monday Manday Man Mon day morning and by noon had won ery e last one of her kids even to the tile slightly hard bard boiled Toot Wilson Wil VIl VIlson son village bully and otherwise hard hurd hardluck hardluck luck guy Miss Danvers won Toots by betting him that she could bat u a uba ba ball 1 titer further that he could pitch It IL The Tue hard hard boiled balled Toot Tuot who stood almost al al- al most six feet teet tall for all his seventeen ev years was torn toi-n between en a Q a. a desire to to beat beati the adorable Miss 1 Danvers and hold r prestige r stIge with ith the gang gang or or let lether lether lether her win and Increase his standing with her Jer Toot was by way of of being an nn embryo embro ladies' ladies manThe man mun The ball sang through ir ugh the the air nir whistled ed against the bat bot so skillfully manned by the lovely rust rusty haired teacher and whizzed in a great greot graceful grace grace- ful tul arc nrc over o the school grounds and andon andon andon on Old Bear ear Messer's lawn A gasp of ot amazement first amazement ent- ent daj as of ot school arid the ball lost In Old Bears Bear's nr's yard Anybody who lost host a a ball or or anything else on Old Bears Bear's land might as well recon reconcile lIe himself to the loss loss- It was Indeed lost nn and for all time zor lor isear collected an nIl me tue onus cans l I bats mitts and other dear to the juvenile heart henrt and stored them themon t on a table in plain view of the playground playground play play- T ground of number nine school Gee whiz Miss 1 Danvers Danvers youve you've f gone and done it now Old Barll never let us on his lan land land we we we mIght as aswell s well pIa play something else b Do IDo you mean meon to say a detestable old man lives there an and wont won't allow you ou children to cross his neglected old lawn to get your pIny playthings things Miss Danvers' Danvers lovely ely red hair scintillated ire ana ama ncr her topaz ejes eyes glinted like tiny pin pinpoints With lifted chin she marched to to the road which h ran along in front of the school and also the Messer Messes place and unheeding of the sign on the lawns forbidding trespassing and ignoring ig Ig- ignoring ig- ig noring the tte irate scowling face nce of Qt an anold anold old bid man In the window of the Messer place she looked about for the for the lost ball bail retrieved ed It and w walked haughtily back to the playground cos lous only of the pop eyed admiration Uon and arid awe of ot her school At thirty four the school was des de- de s except for tor a slip of a n red haired girl poring over smudgy s pers A step gra grated ed on the the porch and In a moment a tall red n ni man manof ill n of possibly thirty Jive J years s strode Into Into In In- to the schoolroom n anti and rJ stood glowering at the demurely working worl Miss Dan Dm have ha to teach li those thos kids ot yours Jours to tu Keep of off my land maam The ihie trespassing notice notile is plain enough for any to stand I Well Vell possibly plain enough tot foi I but ito not lIot for me You Youve noa no rio a right light to those little kIds Lids the privilege lIege of if harmlessly retrieving in their playthings Mr l Bear hear and andily and and- My ly i I name isn t Bear h snapped the red headed man zoan and you'll keep those liaise Kids ids off otT my laud land or Ill I'll ha c to 10 resort to legal I As In hating us red rell hair can an sometimes some some- times be Mei Messer ser was WIS up tup pulled palled to er how utterly ly this dig acting ti-acting topaz eyes e. can cun be when they the are lire swimming with tears After r a II u brief table moment he lIe I Ito to apologize for his gi and site she only wept weil the hll harder reler Go she walled Out Hal h lii found a u clean clem t hulet and after he lie hud hind her lieu tears ealS they to hate each other less to discover that there is a a aIst vast sit bond of human I bel between the led i-ed harJ I HI Vt If I So lu o the trespass t signs Igns hold field hut but tin tilt children were ed to see a tall Lull red headed man luau wI with I h strangely g Iy stern C eyes lS and und face ture for fur a chop chilI M sti u youn looking loul coming coating uc oss to the school each night bearing the bulls and I bet things things they'd lost 1051 over ovet the le fence Spring and Miss J Lun Uan Danvers rs was ph piau an anning ning on leaving number nine Sll She Shi told her school wistfully that thit sien been heen happy there that thaI shed she'd miss them I And your sour dear deur nice grouchy Old Bar ar t too o she finished blushing Old Bar That feller teller aint Old I War Burl ar I That theres there's there's theres his ils son lies tie a writer or snorted Toot I Here comes red head nn na w drawled Tommy BlaKe and the dIll IiI dren departed grinning as Thornton Messer came striding across the yard school armed with a big box of ot i ilY candy lY and a bunch of ot hothouse flow flow- ers j I l heard you JOu telling them he said huskily that you'd miss me we You You- i i needn't miss me ate at all How can I help that thaU she coun- coun c ered blushing i h If you cared enough you might coun j hj marry me tue I love Oe s you yon on so so darned darned lit lit- I tl lie It peppery red redhead red head I 1 And I love hue o e you OU to too too darned darned old I P n red head J I I pi ta |