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Show Lucky Lady By EVELYN SMITH McClure Syndicate WNU Features AT THE far end of the row of pole beans. Davie North crouched on his heels, watching Mrs. Meek's angular body inch backward along the row of carrots. Not until she reached the screen of corn would It be safe to dash to the garage. Mrs. Meek straightened suddenly to ease her back and her eyes skewered skew-ered Davie. "What you sittin' there for, boy?" Davie stared and blinked solemnly, his impatience urging her back to her task. "I declare! Eight-year-olds are a queer lot." Mrs. Meek assayed him grimly. "But I 'spect takin' a boy from the Home for a spell's my Christian duty." Davie Da-vie had seen her looking over the fence at Mr. Dyer's Victory garden and she was always cross after that for Mr. Dyer's beans were longer and his corn taller than Mrs. Meek's. "Now if I could just afford a little more fertilizer," she grumbled, grum-bled, "some of the quick-grow stuff they got down at Giffin's Hardware, I might still beat him out of the prize but three weeks till judgin' don't give a body much time." As she settled back to work Davie's Da-vie's breath exploded In a sigh. In another minute it would be safe to approach the old garage. Lady might need water or something. some-thing. For two precarious days, food had taken wing behind Mrs. Meek's uncompromising back, and Davie's skinny little arms still felt the warm softness of Lady's plump body. "La- "Land o' heaven!" dy" seemed like a nice name for the gentle friendly dog he'd found wandering wan-dering the streets alone. The remembering re-membering choked him maybe this one he could keep! Davie shifted with eagerness. The movement brought Mrs. Meek's eyes back to him, narrowing suspiciously. "You ain't got another dog hid around some place to ruin my garden?" "Another dog!" she muttered. "It's bad enough things won't grow without with-out havin' a dog tear 'em up." The door of the abandoned garage sprang open suddenly. Mrs. Meek's mouth, too, opened, her words rising ris-ing to a wail. "Oh " Davie's eyes filled his small face and he looked stupidly from Mrs. Meek to Lady and the four mites wriggling beside her. "Puppies!" he breathed in a tone associated with Sunday school and Christmas trees. "Land o1 heaven!" Mrs. Meek shrieked, "one ain't bad enough it's gotta be five this time! You get rid of them, Davie North. Every last one of them before tonight. Hear? Or back to the Home you go!" . The noonday sun was blistering the exposed pavement of the quiet tree - shaded street when Davie stopped before the last house in the block. He'd knocked at all except this, but no one, it seemed, wanted a dog with four puppies. His finger left the bell and one bare foot dug into the other as he blinked at the tall man who filled the doorway. A timid smile took root, blossomed into a grin at the unexpected answer to his monotonous question. "We might even look for her owner, own-er, huh, lad?" he asked after hearing hear-ing Davie's story. Davie's head was still bobbing happily as he sprinted away to complete com-plete the transfer, lest his new-found friend change his mind. Mrs. Meek's call to supper brought the boy to the fence, a small ball of fur cupped in his hands. "What you doin' over there?" she demanded, demand-ed, "annoyin' the neighbors?" "It's all right Mrs. Meek. Davie Just brought me a dog." Mr. Dyer let the screen door slam behind him. "You're a fool, Bill Dyer or don't you know what a dog can do to a garden?" "Plenty!" he chuckled. "Thanks to Davie here, I can buy more fertilizer ferti-lizer for mine." At the word "fertilizer" her scrawny eyebrows met over slitted eyes. "Don't you be pullin' my leg. Bill Dyer!" f "It's the truth." His laughter kindled kin-dled a fire in Davie's thin chest, warming him. "We went looking for Lady's owner this afternoon. Davie Da-vie and I. Seems she got out of the baggage room down at the depot." "And they gave me a puppy!" Davie Da-vie repeated pointedly. "The man's coming for Lady tomorrow with ten dollars reward." Mrs. Meek didn't say anything, but when she went inside she slammed the door with an awful bang. |