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Show INDIGNATION MEETING BY JAMES HARDING. "Well, wouldn't thnt make you tired!" called Mrs. llrlll ns sho camu out on her back porch and Blannned tho door sharply behind her. Her neighbor, Mrs. Craves, looked up In surprise, for Mrs. llrlll was of n most unruffled demeanor ordinarily. Sitting back on her heels In tho grass, she abandoned her pursuit of dandelions long enouglt to Inquire sympathetically, "What would?" Mrs. Ilrlll's prettily frilled dust cup fairly stood on end with Indignation. "I'vo been trying to get Raymond's school by telephone for Ht least half an hour You know my sister and her little boy are coming up for tho day, nnd, of courso, Raymond wants to stay at home. Well, he's in tho entertainment en-tertainment next week nnd I wanted to tell his teacher ho'll bo nbBent to-dny to-dny and I wanted to find out about his costume. Hut do you suppose I could get that school? No, Indeed! And I tell you, Mrs. Graves, the phono service wo have here now Is something some-thing awful. Thoru is a phono lit tho school, for I saw It one day. There Is no number In tho book and nil I could get out of those girls was 'Wo hnvo no record.' I tell you our Improvement Im-provement association ought to get nfter tho phono service instead of putting up any morn fancy street lamps." "Now, Mrs llrlll,' expostulated the woman two doors away, who had sub pended operations on her clothesline to listen and who stood drooping gracefully ovor tho fence and rattling tho clothespins In her apron pocket. "It lini't tho fault of the telephone at all; It's tho schools, or the school board, or something Listen to what hnppcned to mo the other day. "I wnnted to go down town early nnd get at the sales before tho bargains bar-gains were all picked over," related the woman two doors nwny "I hurried hur-ried so that I forgot to tuke the pigs' feet off the stove that were cooking for my hushnnd's supper. He likes them once In n while and they have to bo fixed Just so in order to suit him. These were awfully nice ones nnd 1 wanted, to cook them as long as possible, possi-ble, On the car I remembered that I hadn't removed them, but tho gas wns turned low, so they couldn't burn very soon. Well, I hurried to the nearest phone to call up Hobble at his school nnd tell him to run over at recess tlmo and turn out tho gns "Hut do you suppose I got any snt-lsfactlon? snt-lsfactlon? Well, I didn't. Oh, I wns mad' Here I had planned on thoso sales for a month, you know, to get some furniture nnd hangings cheap for tho porch. I didn't half look at what they had, Just bought somo thlngB In a hurry nnd then rushed home. I was hardly In time either, for those pigs' feet wero scorched. "Then my husband got mad. You know, John Is awfully particular about what he eats. And I had to send the furnlturo back because It wasn't at all what I wanted." She paused n moment for brenth and to enjoy the sympnthctlc comments com-ments of her neighbor. Then, with n coquettish toss of her hend, sho continued: con-tinued: "Well, I Just told John how It all was. You see, my husband knows tho superintendent of this district real well. They go down together on the 7:45 train real often. So he'll Just fix It up at hendqunrters. Tho lden of not being nble to phono to olio's own child In n city of this slzo!" Mrs. Drill nodded emphatically at Mrs. Graves, who had gone back to hunting dandelions. Though ostensibly osten-sibly talking to the womnn two doors nway, sho directed her noxt remarks straight to Mrs. Graves, whom sho considered more or less a party to tho misdemeanors of tho city school, be-causo be-causo Mrs. Graves had once taught In them, "That's Just It," declared Mrs. Drill. "Now, In Splnshvllle, where my sister teaches, you can phone to anyone. In nny school nt any tlmo about nny-thing. nny-thing. That's how It should be. Sup-PObo Sup-PObo somebody should dlo suddenly, or break an nrm or something. You couldn't get word to tho child In any way hero." Mrs, Graves answered tho accusation accusa-tion as sho picked up the mutilated dandelions preparatory to going Into tho house. "Surely, every kind of message mes-sage should be given nnd to overy ono of tho thousands of youngsters in tho schools JiiBt because some ono might die some time. It would tako several clerks Just for that nnd tho classes would be continually disturbed, dis-turbed, but what of that?" "Well," pouted Mrs Drill, "what do we pay tnxes for?' ' "That's right," Insisted the neigh-for neigh-for two doors away "Anyway, my husband's going to see about It." Chicago Chi-cago Dally News. |