OCR Text |
Show JA FootA cJi llLl INDEPENDENCE I IV? 5TO WAS DECLARED I j find something else to see that's just as lively and that they don't have to pay for if they don't want to." "The only thing for us to do," said Johnny, firmly, "is to get all the fellows fel-lows together." It was rather a sheepish lot of boys who later marched two by two up to the Evans place. The F.vans meadow was by this time assuming a decidedly gala appearance, with Its abundance of flags and garlands flying from fence posts and trees. Tom as leader of the opposition called a parley.. His overtures were responded to with suitable reluctance by liunny as queen of the Amazons. "You know," said Tom, "you only asked for one obstacle race, and we're willing to let you girls have half the events if you'll only combine with us. You can't make much money here, anyway. You can only keep us-from us-from making any at all, and we'll give you half the proceeds." Now there was one very good thing about Bunny, which was that she knew when to make concessions. So she hesitated only long enough to tell the other girls that they ought really to forgive the boys, and then she straightway sent the judge's man to tack the following addendum to the white banners: "The girls' sports will be held in combination with the boys' at the school field." And the girls didn't take advantage of Tom's offer, either, for they didn't really want half the events. All that they wanted was, a fair representation on the straightaway races and an opportunity op-portunity of enjoying that fascinating sport, the obstacle race. They didn't make quite as good time as the boys, for, after all, boys are pretty good at some things, but when Grandniece Mary came in in the lead of all the girls after having undergone the perilous peril-ous adventures of the high fence, the fence to be crawled under, the low fence, the hurdle and the barrel with ferw El j. MY young days," said BSJR? Urats.laum -Mary, -girls T 7Jlfl didn't want to go in '$Sl wi"' ,ht' lll,.vs to I)la 0. JS HQ games." i I ,9 t; 1:1 11 ll a 11 11 1 Mary v-SHIHl shook her head and & ' rocked peacefully, Look-S&BE&I Look-S&BE&I nS over her spectacles !"! at Grandniece Mary, V -7 who was doubled up in a discontented heap in a corner of the rose-scented veranda. "It isn't the games," wailed Mary, disconsolately, "it's a race a Fourth of July race that I want to go in." "Dear, dear child, you'll get yourself all heated up if you flounce about like that, and so you would in a race. We'll go and see the boys, and you can wear your pretty new white dress," commented com-mented Grandaunt Mary, calmly, with no idea of further rebellion which she was arousing in her greatniece's breast. "I don't want to be dressed up," Mary was beginning in a still greater outburst of revolt, when she was interrupted in-terrupted by a new arrival a thin girl with bright blue eyes and bright red hair, who dashed around the corner cor-ner of the veranda as if it weren't a very hot third of July indeed, and the hottest part of the afternoon. "Oh, Mary!" cried the red-haired girl. "Oh, Bunny!" cried Mary, "have you heard about it? These hateful boys aren't going 10 let us be in the races. They say they don't want girls on the program at all. And with our records, too!" "Who told you?" demanded Bunny. "Tom," said Mary. That settled it. The news was evidently authentic, for Tom was Mary's brother, and both girls knew his word was not to be doubted. Besides, he was chairman of the committee on Fourth of July sports, which the boys of Douglaston were going to hold at the village school grounds. An admission of 25 cents for grown-ups and ten cents for children was to be charged, and with the proceeds new suits were to be bought for the junior ball team. Of course, in some places the girls wouldn't have thought of having a part in so important an event, but the girls of Douglaston and their summer visitors were very fond of all sorts of sports, and Bunny and Mary were members of a small group of girls who had come from big schools where athletics ath-letics and gymnastic work were a most important part of the course. Consequently they felt deeply aggrieved ag-grieved at being debarred from participating par-ticipating in the Fourth sports. "And it would be much more interesting inter-esting if they had at least one girls' race," wailed Mary, bursting forth again with her complaint. "Everybody "Every-body is always more interested in girls' events than in boys. I'm sure more people would go." Bunny suddenly sprang into the air and began clapping her hands in the wildest fashion. "Mary, you're a dear, a dear," she cried. "I've thought of something and we'll do it, too. Bring your gym bloomers and come over to my house right after tea and tell Susie and Evelyn. I'll tell the rest of the girls." "There, now," said Aunt Mary, "what rs that child going to do?" "I don't know, but Bunny does. Bunny's found a way," carolled Mary joyously, and she ran gayly off to look up her gymnasium suit. On Fourth of July morning the hoys of Douglaston had a surprise. Tom Mason, Mary's brother, saw it 'first. It was a banner a large white banner, ban-ner, which was swung across the main street from the post office to the principal grocer's opposite. Tom approached ap-proached it curiously. On it he read this legend: GIRLS' FOURTH OF JULY SPORTS. This afternoon, between the hours of two and five o'clock the girls of Douglaston will compete in racing, jumping and1 basketball on Judge Evans' Ev-ans' meadow. Admission 25 cents for adults, 10 cents for children. LEMONADE FREE. Tom stood spellbound a second. Then he turned and ran straight for the house of his chum, Johnny Dris-coll. Dris-coll. He stopped only a moment, and that was to gaze over into the Evans meadow. Preparations for the afternoon's after-noon's event were already in progress. A group of girls were pacing off distances dis-tances for the obstacle race, and his own sister was twining a hurdle with red, white and blue garlands. "And they're going to do it up fancy like girls do," groaned Tom to Johnny a few moments later, in reference to the paper garlands, "while we've got nothing but two flags to decorate with." "They'll get all the crowd," said Johnny dolefully. "Sure thing," acquiesced Tom. "Judge Evans' man had a dozen banners ban-ners to put up, and everybody'll see them." "There's only one thing in our favor," fa-vor," he declared, "and that is the openness of the meadow. Anybody can see the races there without paying admission, ad-mission, and, of course, some people will be mean enough to do it. So if they want to make money they'll have a hard time, while, of course, there's a fence around our place. Not that that will do us any good if the folks can "And the Lemonade Free," Added Johnny. both ends out, even Grandaunt Mary dropped her knitting bag in her excitement ex-citement and said she wished they had done such things when she was a girl. |