OCR Text |
Show Keeping the j Chaperon I Dy O8B0RN ONES jj (Copyrlsht, 1911, br Ihe MrClur Newapa per Frndlcale ) Wlllinm ItoRers hnd hoen promMed n "Inml nnny" of eight girls lo hlf pick tils pencil crop, nml Is wiii ion-slileruhly ion-slileruhly tllsgrtintletl whin the un-Jmius un-Jmius Mrs. Vuti Uollim nrrlveil Ik fori) Ills fnrmlintpie In her spotless tlovo-crny tlovo-crny limousine with Its stKitlens grsy liveried iliiiurfeur nml spotless Rrsy-1 liver I oil fiHittnnn to tell him thst the j supply of Inhor wns not fortlicuMilmf. "Well, 1 enn't sn thnt 1 whs especially espe-cially stuck on the Idea of huvlug a limicli of girls working In the orclmriN from the first," he rommentcd. "Hut nu Indies who nre liooMlng this lilen tntked us fnnners Into the lilrw ntul besides the cncli crop Is bully this yenr nml there Jut lu't n iimiii to be bail now." He enst n look nil but con temptiinus nt the tvro stsitless grn) llvirleil ones nml would bnve simest-oil simest-oil to .vtrs. Vnn Deiisen thnt by wsy of showing her inucli-viiimli'il pnlrlotlsm she might illnpense with nt lessl one. of these iihle-bodled ritnlncrs, but Mih Vnn Deiisen wns not lnteretiil inoiigh la nny one's Hlntif view but her own to be nt sll likely to supett bis nentl mrnts. She crplnlniil tsitlentl) for the second sec-ond time Just wherein ln the hitch. The urm of eight girls bud lusn si cured 1 he) nime from the other end of the st nfi they wire "rooiI, strong, willing girls," Mrs. Vnn t)iutn wns sun nml the ihnperoti hnil been so-cnnil so-cnnil mul the rook on the horizon nml nn onler for the first week's stip-lilles stip-lilles mnili' out by the rhuiHnm hnd, nlrcndy been delivered to Mrs Vnn Ileiisen's provision ileulers, 'Hie trouble trou-ble nil bo with (he iibremv of un nvnllnble houe In which lo shelter the girls. Mrs. Vnn IViikiii hnd renlly worn hersilf i'iiiIIi' out, nml bud tiscil gnllous or gnniiim scouring the neigii-boring neigii-boring i-oniitry for some sort of imply house In which to lodge the girls Hho hnd tboiiKht i veil or setting up cots nml other teinpomry fiiniNblngs In one of the nenrby sihool hoirses but one was pnMtlvi ly fulling lo pieces nod the other wss iilruidy occupied hy n, gntig or I'ohiik's who were kii ping the rnniMIn iiimlltloti ror the nnny irinks. Il liinil Imve been iulti nimrent to Mr. lingers thnt Mrs. Vnn Deuwn hnd iloue Inr Im-i nml thnt If bis pouch rrop vvnii to wuste nml Ihe country wns thenbv ileprlviil or (but roiiirlbu Hon to Hie gitiertil fissl supply. It tvoulil not ! In the hstst her fault. "Worst of It K 1 countetl on tboe girls." iiimimmii d tl m rsNtent ngrl-enllnrln ngrl-enllnrln l villus hi bniwn ejes n lrs. Villi Uemmi's lliibliy fnee. "1 bud li rhtilice lo gel some I'ohuks thnt I uiiilil Imve IioiimiI In the sluil, but you'd asked me to Hive the work for the girls, hi) 1 let Ihe rlinnro slip," "Well, you enn't In the least blame me," Mrs. Vnn Dctiscii ilnivvlid. "I WHsn'l IdHiiiliig on t wns Just wandering whether nii'hnd thought of putting up the girls )oursoir. You nre n 111 tli' down on the folks iiroimd hrre bivHiisn they won't move out mul let young girls Hike thtlr hnuses well, then' lire no more tlisu lliree In )our fiiuill) mid I gueos Dure sre twinty ronins hi your hoiiie." Tvvciitj-tlKhl," correclwl Mrs Van DeiiMn niitomntlciilly. "I'd fetch the girls over morning nnd enrrj them buck nt night" Mr Van Deiisen In gun lo crnvr rrluwon ut the suggestion. I'crhnpi It hnd troubled her before but he assured as-sured Sir. lingers Unit It wns "tihvl-ounly "tihvl-ounly out of the rtuentlon." "I'll let them limit my own house," dot In rod llogers, mont In tlelliinco tbnn' us n remilt of n mini hi:lslon "Quite ImiKisslhle we are nsnsl Me for tho girls mid obviously vwi ctm't Iwmril them nniiind promlxeuoukly. miiong Ihe fnrmers." Hut Mr. Itngers explnlnetl Ihnt ho would et up n itortuhlo shuck for him-seir him-seir tpilte nt tile remnte end of his lmge fHnn ami would surniider bis mtlre Isrge old farmhouse to the girls i umi their ehNMrou. I So Mrs. Vmi Dininen went nwuy feel-1 Ing tlmt she Iiml scoretl n trluuipli. ' Hint look grest pltsmure In telling her j nssoelsles In the imtrtotlc work how be lwul nrguetl l'sriner ltogers Into Inking the stei bo Iiml tnken lty tho next dny nt nlim the portublo shack wns mi Its way from the tiennwt city. The girls went lisrulnc their tusk In the orchnnl umlei the giiltlnnce of Mr. lingers' one nml only "hired mini," and tho cImpron, Miss l'hoebe l'er-ris, l'er-ris, b profession If not by iiutunil In- ' (llnntlnn h publle school tencher, wns working mlrHtli In tho old fur in house. Inrldentslly elio wns milking I meiitnl commsnts on the ilornoillo nt- I rnngemonts or iHichelors, but the I those thoughts wereiuot unkind ou ' could tell from the mmisetl nolle thnt phi til nrotiud her inniilli us t-lie put up vlilte swIss eurtslns ut the iiwtHlrs windows, resrrsngeil heavy old piece of furniture sml sdileil h Inmdred nml one touches to Hut plme tlmt were to' trsnsform It to sn Ails m lens Kden j from a place that hnd surel) Im- ti If.f- ' leas Init not sursly sn Iblen Ami 111" ' cook wmh isitterlug over kettles ami wu In tht) oHl-fHkiiloned kltehsn, crooning to hrmlf the SMllsfsctlisishe fslt In doing this, hwr Kim re. In briivg-Ing briivg-Ing eomfort to the eight girl, now; In I the ufcbunl. Mrs Ven ltisn illtl not forgst her rraei4 " ii Ibousli she did not fsitii' tVrtis wns all of Ihlflv flvi mid did not ml s mi oppor-tnnilv oppor-tnnilv to till h.r iintlitr that she was a "plnln little motherly boly who would 1. s fennvwhen ' still she liov-erod liov-erod nroiiatl the fnrm with whnt seem-v, seem-v, to Mr llogers to In unnecessary rrnpiew) lie could see quite (lenrly tlm I she w going to tnke full Iter-mini Iter-mini ireilll for tin bumper irop of peHrhes his orihuril wns jlelillng nnd he illil feem to forget tmlnl) thnt by the nrniiitements be fins making i he wh s)lng very full vuliic for the ntnount of iHlHir he reeelvisl Hhc nic , fmrentl) forgot that lite rent of his . In)iie lisil been n arlft slnci- he paid the girls wages thnt did not tnke Into eotnlilrsltou their "hi Iter. Appar- , ently Mr. Van IViwn wsnied to make jM-rfeetly sure Hist Mr Hogers kft't entlrel) ut Ihe fnr eml of Ihe farm !he eren sllisilated to Mis Terrl tlmt be lmHld never tnke a mesl In the Iioum" "ami I wnnt to be ' sure." she Inlil lier, 'Ibst he sIhiwh no signs of sltenlle.li to any of 'he nl"""' It Is )imr reHmlbllltv nnd mine," she said iimdeceiitllii li ' Idem insks a ismit to be wll' th girls ns I much as s41bl when lis Is with them. You woultl have a n'Mralnlng Influence I am turc." Ml I'errls did not tnke the troiiDic i to lemlnd Mr Van Deiisen Hint n i Mr. lingers wss staid nnd studious nnd ( I forty and the girls were for the most .. jsirt umsliicntcd oting Tolsck girls on ' I their vacation from fnetorle It was I not likely thnt he woultl find much to Interest him In their pretence. In-I In-I stead she looked very grave and ns- snrod Mr. Vnn I)euen thnt she would i keep n molherl eyrt on evcrj thing. I And Mrs Vnn lcnen mntle It quite clear lo Mr. lingers himself thnt ho j wns not even to cros the threshold of his own house; hence nroe within Mr. Hogers' breast nn Insntlnblc desire de-sire jo tlo Ju-t thnt thing. The fnct wn, from gllmpes he hnd secured from outside, n marvelous trnnsfor-1 mntlnn hnd been wrought In the In- I terlor of thnt house. The swls cur-tnlns cur-tnlns In Ihe windows swaying bnck nnd forth In the breeie, the gllmpcs of liouipicts of flowers on the tubles, tho nlrlness nnd spntlouMies of the house as contrasted with tho stiiulness nnd 1 fonnnllty of It n It hnd been handed ( down to htm by Ids old mint unit undo IJjrr yenrs liefore fnlrly stnggensl him. Apparently It hnd become Ihe house lie vaguely dreamed thnt It might Income, In-come, jet Miss Ferris hsd hmiiglit onlv a few hninpcrs of "fixings" and had mntle no definite ilinnge that he knew nlwiiit save to move some of thu fiiniltun Into the utile "to make more nsmi " She had nkisl his M-nnlIon ' to do Unit. No doubt Mr. Hoger was sorily tuiipliil nt nn mte.'lu' fell mid for- I getting his promise to Mrs. Vnn Den-mii, Den-mii, fUi-skeil Ititu thnt I ninf nrmed houe of his, one dny when Mies Ferris Fer-ris wns In the orihnrd with the girls, nnd looked around. What had been iloue ho until! not say, but that the lioiio hsil been transformed Into n home, ho knew, nnd It vvns only by dint of linn nolve and four of being caught by Miss Ferris, or worse, still, by Mrs. Vnn Deiisen thnt hit toro himself from tho (.harming rooms. The xNrb-nco left mi Impress that set mod really out of proitortlon to tho lmMiriRiice of It. It seemed lo Wlllinm Hogira ns ir seeing thnt modlflcd Interior In-terior left htm trmisfonmtl us If ho had gone through n great cxcrlcncc. It loft Idm more with u deslnt to seek out the woman who had wnmglit tho (linage thsu with u desire to revisit It ugutii hs Ik, would be nftcr the eight girls had rcturuetl from their tlsy'a work So It whs tlmt a mcKMige was carrksl by the solltsr) hind imin IhrmiKli the OHik to Miss Ferris that Mr. linger hail Important business to dlsciiHs In ihe orchard nftcr Hut girls had retired. In n wck mure the girls had gono and the pcuihoti hud all been sohi, nnd t lion by cflntrlluiteil tit tho nntlomil fissl supply, nnd Mrs. Vnn Deusi n wns tilling guests at dinner p-rllis In her stHidoiiH houo Imtv successful had liceu her work. "Ami .von ilhln't know I wnsn mutch. mnker, did joii?" she would wi). "There was n lumly old lulclnlor fur-mer fur-mer mid I Just nuule up iny mind to Iiml ii wife for him. So I worked my little plsit to get her In lhen to trims-fonii trims-fonii his hoiisii mul sliow him how much ho needed u wife, and I threw them together us much us I iloci ntly could ami will, 1 have iictually uuule I the mnlch. Thoy went mnrrled jes-, jes-, tertlay umi they Imve settlvtl down then1 In the old house with thu pro-' pro-' coeds of the pesili irop that I got fnr ldra.M |