Show the honorable nono rable la y by ETHEL HUESTON 0 OB monal anico so I 1 THE STORY THUS FAB FAA left orphans by a tragic automobile accident which claimed the lives of their mother and father three sisters listers helen adele and limpy are visited by their aunt ty Olymp pla la politically minded wife of senator dela delaporte 1 I S 0 ps hire M she insists that the ais return with her to washington to m malce th their e 1 r horn home with them la in addition to loving the girls aunt olympia knows they will be a terrific political asset senator has ha as s his political opponent one brother wilkie a minister whose political campaign i Is 3 furthered by seven unspeakable brats who sit elt on the rostrum with him while he makes speeches aunt olympia IA and the senator kind and loving nevertheless know that their three nieces w will mean votes for the senator senator Slop shire a pleasantly foggy individual who depends on the astuteness of his bis wife prepares for their coming though limpy the youngest is 10 16 and helen the oldest is 21 the senator buys theah all the toys toy and gifts he can tad find feeling that children should be occupied when they first meet their uncle ancle lancy as he Is to I 1 be ba known the girls take him to their united bosom soon adele most beautiful of the sisters meets len hardesty publicity men man for brother wilkle wilkie CHAPTER R in M continued 5 len hardesty hardest y took a glass from the tray hilda had placed on the cot cof i tee fee table put in liquor and water he walked slowly toward her 1 I only hope you do not change your mind and accept this at my insist ence tor for I 1 need it myself more pit of the stomach business oh my dear miss adele do have a drink oh you must have a drink come coffie on be a sport lust just one bowl now pick you up no end adele leaned forward gazed in bently deliriously into his eyes and then gave the lovely blonde head a very decided very becoming little shake oh no she said no indeed thanks I 1 darel dare im having entirely too much stimulant as it is and the blue eyes i clung to his len hardesty set the glass on a small table with a resounding plunk he turned to olympia Olymp ta ouie ollie I 1 apologize he said 1 I think you had bad it in yali you ON oh I 1 just gave her a rough general outline said olympia Olymp la 1 I must admit that she added a good deal of embellishment take your drink len youre going to need it I 1 may as well show you the rest hilda ask the young ladles ladies to come in and squelch this worm len drained the glass ill have another thanks he poured tor for himself slowly when I 1 think achink that im going to spend the next eight months pitting my brats against beauty oh come now len im not as good looking as all that said aunt olympia Olymp la ollie I 1 even see you I 1 never expect to see you again im not sure ill ever see anything but the automaton there there seems to be a sort of bright light an aura you might say around that pit we mentioned hilda coughed faintly in the doorway she thinks ashes the senator said olympia in a large whisper miss helen Is waiting for a long distance telephone from iowa 41 long stancel dIsta di ricel from iowa ejaculated aunt olympia why chos there to talk to in iowa with congress in session it might be something about a school said adele swiftly or you dont suppose she could have forgotten to pay that grocery bill said aunt olympia from what I 1 saw of that delivery boy hes just the type to buy a new necktie and put on his gloves and follow a bill clear to washington hilda coughed again and miss limpy is having a conference having a conference miss limpy what are arc you talking tali ting about Is the senator home no maam its with a a policeman miss limpy accidentally or sa something threw her arithmetic trigonometry corrected adele loyally desm out the window and hit the policeman on the head and hes having a conference about abou tit it I 1 well dont let him in here said aunt olympia decidedly weve worms enough in here miss limpy can handle him herself tell her to come in when he goes len hardesty shook an accusing finker finger at aunt olympia you staged this ollie you staged this whole scene you knew I 1 was coming youve been listening at keyholes and pursuing me with detectives and you knew I 1 was headed here and you staged this hitting a policeman on the dome with a trig so the kind of campaign were up against eh no said aunt olympia honestly im sorry but I 1 cant hog the credit it never entered my head its good len I 1 admit its good but limpy thought it up herself len groaned burjust but just to cheer you up len I 1 will admit that adele is far the best looking the others are all right in some ways even better I 1 dont believe adele would ever have thought of bashing a policeman with a trigonometry but she got most of the looks t youre telling me that he be demanded bitterly im no tool I 1 know theres a limit on that sort of thing but if that klu kin thought 0 of attacking a policeman out of her own head abes dangerous all dangerous youre dangerous oh we just try to hold our own said aunt olympia limpy bobbed brightly in at that point she looked slight and small in comparison with adeles tallness and olympias Olymp las general largeness she began to speak almost before she was visible but len hardesty a good reporter did not overlook that even before she spoke the fleet ingest most trusting of glances flashed between the two girls question ito nand and answer in one oh aunt olympia Olymp la began limpy a logarithm aunt olympia drew herself up and blinked uncertainly adele spoke quickly it if you find out darling I 1 wish tell me I 1 studied them for or a year and got a C plus but nobody ever thought to tell me what they really are what in 16 the world are you talking about demanded aunt olympia logarithms said limpy log arith ms I 1 can spell them but I 1 cant imagine what they are ask him said olympia neatly hes a newspaperman he knows everything just ask him what is a logarithm limpy turned hopefully to len hardesty logarithms he said resentfully what do you mean logarithm V 6 I 1 4 q im sorry but I 1 cant hog the credit that was no logarithm that was a plain Amt american rican policeman you bashed on the dome yes how about that policeman limpy asked Aunt Olympia suddenly remembering the issue oh that that was the merest accident unless limpy frowned and pursed up her lips unless there was somei something hing sinister in beneath it I 1 confess I 1 was a little suspicious for why should he be be prowling about under ance lan cys windows in election year 1 I asked if he was a special policeman or anything I 1 want to come right out and ask if he be had been hired by the opposition but he said nohe no he was just regular regularity regu larIt it was too bad it how did it happen limpy limpet asked adele helpfully helpful jy now that the first explosive moment had bad been safely bridged oh ob I 1 was a bit confused about those logarithms I 1 dont care for them at all auntie and if you dont mind id really rather study sohie thing else like french drama or modern modem novels out at the trees and all of a sudden it came to me in a sort of flash that there was a kind of a connection there sort of a relativity trees and logarithms or logs for short they seemed to go together and first thing I 1 knew the book was flying right out the ahe window among the trees and I 1 do think it was very suspicious that a police mari narl should be lurking down there went together trees and logs for short but the policeman just fit in unless he was a blockhead to begin with said adele and perhaps he be had bad a chip on an his shoulder added len hardesty well he seemed to have when he first came in but he went away very good I 1 gave him five dollars out of your pocketbook adele im low this week and he left his regards for the senator I 1 do it as a bribe of course but I 1 want to embarrass dear uncle Lancy in ln election year its the senator broke in hilda moodily olympia headed tor for the hall telephone on a nervous trot that dour its the senator always took her on the run in a tremor tor for some gome pet bill limpy occupied herself cheerfully with the cakes and nuts on the tray len flar hardesty desty got up suddenly and went over and stood beside adele now seated in a big chair with the blue curtains tor for flattering back ground she looked up p wi with th a slight alight smile mile and took a sili ip of her lemon emon ade she looked up again this time the smile melted away on her lips and suddenly they were looking into each others eyes deeply very soberly len shook his head with sudden impatience something must bo be said do 0 you like washington he asked gravely though the trite query struck him as a good deal of an anticlimax after meeting her eyes 1 I do today she said does the old girl give you all your lines he asked moodily not that one that was original something did you mean it yes she said with honest brevity ty well its a good thing to tell the truth youre going to be seeing a good deal of me from this on oh no were not interrupted olympia bounding back the only way were going to be thing of you is at the th e other end of a good sharp stiletto if theres any tampering with my campaign material ill report it to some committee on something 1 I cant stay for dinner tonight he said though its nice of you to ask me I 1 have another engagement I 1 can come back about nine though since you insist and talk things over with sloppy and sort of check up on the campaign and how about my dropping in for luncheon around one thirty tomorrow I 1 can take the whole afternoon off if I 1 dont get caught and give the girls a good sales talk v fere were going to be were going to be out from right now till the election said aunt olympia rudely see you tonight about nine thanks ollie sweet of you to ask me uncle lancil my were virtually out now said aunt olympia what dodou do you think lampy said adele suddenly are they arriving at an armistice or is this a lull before they tear each other limb from limb 4 tin im expecting blows at any minute said limpy what im waiting for otherwise id be right back with my logarithms browst blows between ollie and me ile he sat on the arm of her chair and put his arm around her why aule and I 1 are mad about each other its my one regret that sloppy saw her first why adlle id lie down in the tha dirt and let her walk right over me though id be a good deal flattened in the process and shed do the some same for or me tool sure I 1 would said aunt clym pla with a beaming smile she patted his hand affectionately you snake ln in the grassl CHAPTER IV never in her life had aunt olympia experienced such satisfying 9 happiness the girls with their gentle youth made a perfect foil for dorher her rugged ruddiness her biting humor their appreciative laughter spurred her to gusty heights never before attained she had not realized how large a part the audience plays in the success of theatrical endeavor she could hardly let them 0 out ut of her sight long enough to get their proper sleep and begrudged limpy every minute spent on those lousy logarithms so the girls were a little disconcerted one day when she went about the apartment wrapped in a brooding air of detachment full ups upa compressed left eyelid ominously lowered ered seeming not to hear their light talk and still more surprisingly adding no enlivening embellishments lish ments of her own they watched her uneasily are you sick aunt olympia Olymp la velen finally asked no she said abruptly im working my subconscious the girls smiled faintly dont overtax IV it said adele 1 I understand its rather delicate delicata and be careful it turn and begin working yu ym added limpy aunt olympia did not hear them that night she addressed the senator mildly del I 1 want to ask your advice the senator coughed deprecatingly and his glance at the girls was apologetic what do you think we ought to do about these girls she demand ed that shocked the senator into immediate coherence do about he ejaculated do nothing about leave them alone doing all right tor for themselves referring to their social life olympia continued should we bring them out or keep them in seclusion cl the senator wiped his glasses then he smiled my dear living up to my established reputation as a philanthropic and public spirited american I 1 say bring them out give the world a breatt the world needs a treat and I 1 am not one who believes that the blessed should be niggardly with their treasures olympia frowned thinking ot of the campaign she said significantly which would have more telling effect on the campaign to let them go out decorously of course most decorously or keep them in modest retirement until we go home if I 1 know our constituents and I 1 think I 1 do it would flatter them no end to get tho the idea that while we were obliged to safeguard and shelter these children from the insidious snares of washington we realize that in our home among our friends our constituents they are safe the senator considered this frowningly he had not yet worked up any campaign spirit himself with congress to in no mood for adjournment journ ment ills troubled eyes circled the attentive subject of the discussion and tho the sight led him to instant conclusion no use to punish the girls for the sake of a few votes in my opinion let them do as they please olympia never paid any attention to what he said we could go right ahead building them up whetting public interest putting out just tho the right photos and still hold them aloof it would delight the voters and why not it is a definite compliment ment but I 1 dont want to bore the girls aunt olympia helen broke in gently if 11 you dont mind id really like to go around as much is as I 1 can I 1 do not mean to gay social things I 1 do no not twant want to seem disrespectful or locking lacking in feeling but since sincel LebaH shall be with you only this one season elfeel feel I 1 ought to learn as much as I 1 can get as much ex peri per lence ence as possible id like to learn how things run how congress works all the things that go to make washington the heart of the nation aunt olympia agreed with her heartily she invariably agreed with the girls even if she flatly flouted her agreement in the next breath she was determined to be on good terms with them at all cost and she felt that an initial agreement took the edge off what followed perfectly right my dear perfectly sound so you should washington Is an education a higher and in some ways a lower aduca tion it Is your civic duty to learn all you can the life here will be valuable experience for you in the future whether you teach school or go into politics of merely sell say bay groceries A swift glance flickered among the girls 1 I dont see that politics enters into in to selling iro groceries cerles said uncle laney lancy unless you refer to putting the bad fruit at the bottom of the basket aunt olympia gave him a straight hard look already the girls knew that look they called it her shut upping look aunt olympia gave me her shut upping look and I 1 never opened my mouth they would say to one another undo uncle lancy had no name for it but he understood it A thorough education he ro rc marked safely dropping groceries you can come coma about with meibel me helen you can sit in my committee meetings some of them are merely good antidotes for insomnia but on the other hand some of them are very interesting the munitions committee got into a fight every time it met have enjoyed that but unfortunately it wound up its work and quit after all went on aunt clym pla musingly it does impress homey hicks to know that one has be been en received in washington but well be careful well discriminate sure the idea corroborated the senator discriminate take them only to things that are good fun and hold them in seclusion from the bores ill start off with a luncheon |