Show hatra T V TT ta TT OF afee b ITHEL HUESTON BY VC TAN na copyright by the bobbs merrall company a widower MR methodist minister has been assigned to the congregation gre gation at mount mark iowa lie and his daughter prudence she Is nineteen and the eldest of fire girls have come on ahead to get the new parson ready for the younger mem berg of the family of course the whole town especially the methodists 13 throbbing with about the newcomers mrs adams a member of tho ladles aid society hurried over to call on prudence and nosing around found the girl on her ineas praying in the barn so she began at once to pump the girt for all she was worth it would be great stuff to tell the neighbors and Is still at it CHAPTER 1 continued 2 but to return to the ladles the parsonage girls always capitalized the la files of their fathers church one of is should go and help the dear child eaid mrs scott the president of the aids when they assembled for their business meeting help her and welcome her and advise her I 1 was thinking of going over said one and another and several others oh that will not do at all said the president 1 I think in a case like this the president herself should represent the society therefore I 1 will undertake this duty for you but this called forth a storm of pro test and it became so clamorous that it was unofficially decided to draw cutsy which was done and la consequence of that drawing of cuts mrs adams now sat on the front porch of the old gray parsonage cheered by the knowledge that every other lady of the aid was envying her 1 now just be real sociable and tell me all about yourself and the others too urged mrs adams 1 I want to know all about every one of you tell me everything there isn t much to tell said prudence smiling there are five of us I 1 am the oldest I 1 am nineteen then comes fairy then the twins and then the baby are the twins boys or a boy and a girl neither said prudence they are both girls more girls 1 gasped mrs adams and the baby she is a girl too and prudence laughed in short we are all girls except father he be of course or I 1 suppose he w for our family does seem to run to girls prudence Is a very nice name for a ministers daughter said mrs ad ams suggestively yes for some ministers daughters assented prudence but Is sadly unsuitable tor me mrs adams looked critically at this young daughter of the parsonage then her eyes wandered down to her clothes and lingered in silent questioning tio ning on Pru dences dress it was a very peculiar color in fact it was no color at all no named color pru dences eyes had followed mrs adams glance and she spoke frankly 1 I suppose youre wondering if this dress Is any color t well I 1 think it really Is but it any of the regular shades it la my own invention but ive never named it fairy grew up and out and around and one day when I 1 waa so nearly out of clothes I 1 hardly felt I 1 could attend church any more she suggested that I 1 cut an old one of hers down for mel at first I 1 laughed and then I 1 was insulted fairy Is three years younger than I 1 and before then she bad got my banded downs but now the tables were turned from that time on faires clothes were cut down tor me I 1 still feel bitter about it fairy Is dark and dark blues are becoming to her she handed down this dress it was dark blue thon but I 1 was not wanting a dark blue and I 1 thought it would be leas recognizable if I 1 gave it a contrasting tr color I 1 chose lavender I 1 bcd it four times and this was the result do the twins dress alike inquired mrs adams when sha could control her voice tea unfortunately for connie they do it on purpose to escape the handed downs I 1 they wont even 1 ave hair ribbons different and the result Is that poor connie never gets one new thing except shoes sho says she cannot help thanking the lord in her prayers that adlof us outwear our shoes before we can outgrow them connie la only nine fairy Is sixteen and the twins are thirteen they are i very clever lot of girls and what are you going to do inquired mrs adams looking with real at the bright sweet face you ought to go to school you re lust a girl yourself 1 I dont want to go to school prudence not any more I 1 ule it ji t taking care of father and the girls with fairy to lccy me balanced 1 I 1 read but I 1 do not like to study no you 11 have to get along with me just the way I 1 am mrs ad ams its all 1 can do to keep things going now without spending half the time dreaming of big things to do in the future dont you have dreams gasped mrs adams don t 5 ou have dreams of the future girls in books nowa days dream yes I 1 dream interrupted prudence 1 I dream lots but it s mostly of what fairy and others will do when I 1 get them properly raised you 11 like the girls mrs adams I 1 enow you will they really are a gifted little bunch except me I 1 m just common little pru dence of the parsonage but the others 1 and prudence flung out her hands dramatically CHAPTER II 11 the rest of the family it was saturday morning when the four young parsonage girls arrived in mount mark the elderly misses avery next door looked out of their windows pending their appearance on main street with interest and concern they were episcopalians Episcopal ians themselves and in all their long lives they bad never BO much as beard of a widower rector with five daughters and no housekeeper there was something blood curdling in the bare idea the misses avery considered prudence herself rather a sweet silly little thing lou have some real alco people in the methodist church miss dora had told her 1 I dare say you will find a few of them very likable oh I 1 will like them all said prudence quickly and seriously like them all echoed miss dora oh impossible I 1 not for us said prudence we are used to it you know when we dislike people at first sight we visit them and talk to them and invite them to the parsonage and entertain them with our best linen and silverware and keep on getting friendlier and friendlier and first thing you know w e like them fine 1 so the misses avery concluded that prudence was not entirely responsible and they wondered with something akin to an agony of fear if the younger girls had it tool and when miss alice cried excitedly quick 1 quick I 1 they are coming 1 they trooped to miss alices window with a speed that would have done credit to the parsonage girls themselves first came tho minister whom they knew very well by this time and considered quite respectable he was lively as was to be expected of a methodist minister and told jokes and laughed at them I 1 now a comical rector oh a very different matter it done all I 1 at any rate here camo the methodist minister laughing and on one side of him tripped a small earnest looking maiden clasping his hand and gazing alternately up into his face and down at the stylish cement sidewalk beneath her feet on the other side was fairy the misses avery knew the girls by name already having talked much with prudence such a fairy 1 gasped miss cant and the others echoed the gasp but wordlessly for fairy was very nearly as tall as her father built upon generous lines rather commanding in appearance a little splendid looking even from their windows they could discern something distinctly tn this sixteen year old girl with the easy stride that matched her fathers and the graceful bead well carried A young goddess named fairy 1 behind them laughing and chattering like three children as they were came the twins with prudence each with an arm around her waist and prudence was a very little taller than they when they reached the fence that bordered the parsonage tho scene for a moment resembled a miniature riot the smaller girls jumped and exclaimed and clasped their hands fairy leaned over the fence and stared intently at this their parsonage home ihen the serious little girl scrambled under the ferice followed closely by the lithe limbed twins A pause a very short one and then pru dence too was beneath the fence hold abo wire up for me papal cried fairy I 1 m too fat and a second later she was running gracefully across the lawn toward the parsonage the methodist minister laughed boyishly and placing his hands on the fence post he vaulted lightly over and reached the bouse with his daugh acra then the misses avery school teachers and elderly looked at one another did you ever gasped the oldest miss avery and the others slowly shook their heads now think I 1 did you ever BOO a rector jumping a three alra fence and running full gleed across his front yard in pursuit of a flying family it may have occurred we hive never seen it neither had the three misses avery nor did they eer ex hect to and it they bad seen it it Is quite likely they would have joined the backsliders back sliders at that instant but without wasting much time OB this gruesome thought they hurried to a window commanding the best view of the parsonage and raised it then they clustered behind the curtains and watched and listened there was plenty to heart from the parsonage windows came the sound of scampering feet and banging doors once there was the unmistakable clatter of a chair overturned with it all there was a constant chorus of oh look ahl oh 1 oh how sweet 1 oh papa 1 ah prudence 1 look barkle look at this I 1 then the eldest miss avery closed the window overlooking the parsonage and confronted her sisters we must just make the best of it she eald quietly but next door the gray old parson age was full to overflowing with satis faction and happiness and love everyone has experienced the ecstatic creepy sensation of sleeping in a brand new homo the parsonage girls reveled in the memory of that first night for many days it may be haunted tor all we know cried carol deliciously just think connie there may be seven ghosts camped on the head of lour bed waiting carol 1 when the family gathered for worship on that first sabbath morning mr starr said as he turned the leaves of his well worn bible 1 I think it would be well for you to help with the morning worship now when I 1 finish reading the chapter connie you will make the first prayer just prey for whatever you wish as you do at night for yourself I 1 will follow you connies eyes were wide with cespon during the reading of the chap they arc ter but chec she began to speak her voice did not falter connio had nine years of good methodist experience back of her 1 our father who art in heaven we bow ourselves before thy footstool in humility and reverence thou art our god our creator our savior bless ua this day and cause thy face to shine upon us blot out our transgressions pardon our trespasses wash us that we may be whiter than snow hide not thy face from the eyes of thy children turn not upon us in wrath pity us lord as we kneel here prostrate before thy majesty and glory let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be accept able in thy sight 0 lord our strength and our redeemer and finally save us an unbroken family around thy throne in heaven tor jesus sake amen this was followed by an electric silence prudence was biting her lips painfully and counting by tens as fast as she could fairy was mentally going over the prayer sentence by sentence and attributing each petition to the individual member in the old church at to whom it belonged the twins were a little amazed and quite proud connie was an honor to the parsonage but they were concerned lost they themselves should not do quite so well when their days came but in lesa than a moment the aln ister father began bis prayer when he said amen prudence was on her feet and halfway upstairs before the others were fairly risen fairy stood gazing intently out of the window tor a moment and then went out to the birn to see if the horse was through eating mr starr walked gravely and soberly out the front door and around the house ho ran into fairy coming out the kitchen door and they glanced quickly at each other hurry papa she whispered you cant hold in much longer 1 neither can II 11 and together choking with laughter they hurried into the barn and gave full vent to their feelings it beem that the happy flo lucky houseful of parsonage pars florla will win the friendship of tho avery spinsters spin and tear away the barrier of snobbishness and reserve which hedges them in TO BE CONTINUED |