Show 76 H CPU 0 ETHEL HUESTON wN service bobbs meic co by THE STORY THUS FAR aft tt orphans by a tragic automobile accident which claimed the lives of their rn ancer mi ier and father three sisters helen adele and limpy are visited by their aunt olympia politically minded wife of senator delaporte laporte Dc Slop shire she insists that the girls return with her to washington to make their home with them lit addition to loving the girls aunt olympia knows they will be a terrific political asset senator Slop shire has as his political opponent one brother wilkie a minister whose political campaign is furthered by seven unspeakable brats who st sit on the rostrum with him while he makes speeches aunt olympia and the senator kind and loving nevertheless know that their three nieces will mean votes tor for the senator senator Slop shire a pleasantly foggy individual who depends on the astuteness of his wife prepares for their coming though limpy the youngest Is 16 and helen the oldest Is 21 the senator buys them all the toys and gifts he can find feeling that children should be occupied when they first meet their uncle laney lancy as he is to be known the girls take him to their united bosom CHAPTER ill III continued 5 oh hello len said aunt olympia not at all unpleasantly but rather cordially how lovely and serene you are today with the record at your feet he went on coolly wheres sloppy if you mean the senator he is 1 1 he should be trying to bring saz order out of a chaotic cong 1 g Ss is hei eyes went unconsciously to the motionless figure in black and white between the blue curtains quite naturally len Har harvests Harde dests gaze followed hers swiftly his eyes widened inelegantly his jaw dropped wordless for once he gaped at the vision between the curtains then he flung his hat to the floor and clutched his headin head in both hands my little niece adele the sen acors middle ward announced olympia with s smirk of smug complacency ency not one of the orphans ollie you do that to an old pal you be that low not even you could be as low as that you sick your old buddy onto seven brats and a tin trumpet and then double cross me with heaven onearth on earth would you do that oh onty only one ol 01 them said aunt olympia happily we have three they adore the senator you have three there be three there are no miracles not even in politics ashes not flesh and blood anyhow ashes wax ashes an automaton youve rigged up to throw a scare into me and successfully I 1 admit that most successfully 11 adele being stared at dropped a ery slight curt curtsey sey and smiled you pulled a wire len hardesty accused aunt olympia you know you pulled a wire ashes a female charlie mccarthy she is but much better look le atvell tt Vell what of it charlie seems to be doing all right for himself and sos adele if you ask me sit down darling the warmth of of her smile for adele was beatific ollie I 1 want to make a deal with you said len hardesty earnestly ill swap you the brats all seven of em and the bellwether too for this one just this one you can keep the others not interested definitely not interested te rested said aunt olympia you admit then that when I 1 pick campaign material I 1 pick it ill throw in two of brother wil kies best sermons and the tin trumpet ill throw in the cane too aunt olympia waved the idea from her with a happy gesture len hardesty took another took look at t taft smiling miling adele to tell you the J ollie he said humbly im IM sure but ill throw in the governor yes come to think of it I 1 will ill throw in the governor 1 I have him for fish bait she said contemptuously you made your political bed now nov lie in it if you can find room among the brats and the tin horn id better have a drink ollie id better have two drinks I 1 feel very badly low very low she he nodded his head dolorously toward adele know what we are talking about ollie but you and I 1 know well I 1 feel very bad in the pit of 01 my Y stor stomach oh I 1 know about the pit of the stomach said adele brightly its where you feel the most all gone when you feel all gone ill probably need three drinks ring ollie he said dully aunt olympia quivering with pleasure rang for hilda since this snake in the grass is bent on drinking himself to death we may as well do what we can to help along the good cause scotch and soda hilda and a plain lemonade for miss adele len hardesty still holding his head in both hands stared uninterruptedly at adele cant I 1 do something for you cant I 1 be helpful may I 1 offer you a cigarette not now thanks said adele politely what do you mean not now thanks dont you smoke he asked moodily oh aunt olympia adele cried reproachfully you said no one would ever suspect we dont smoke if we just say not now thanks so ashes teaching you your lines eh I 1 might have known it I 1 suppose it was she who taught you to run your eyelashes up and and down like that and give a guy goose flesh no I 1 must have got that from god but she told me what to say about drinking what did she tell you to say he asked in sepulchral tones whatever it is its going to be a vote getter she said if a gentleman simply insists that you take a drink now you pretend youre a genile gentleman and insist that I 1 have a drink and ill give you a demonstration 1 I need practice anyhow len hardesty took a glass from the tray hilda had placed on the coffee 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 insistence 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 on be a sport just one now pick you up no end adele leaned forward gazed intently 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 dare im haying having entirely too much stimulant as it is and the blue eyes clung to his len hardesty set the glass on a small table with a resounding plunk he turned to olympia ollie I 1 apologize he said 1 I think you had it in you oh I 1 just gave her a rough general outline said olympia 1 I must admit that she added a good deal of embellishment take your drink len youre going to need it il I 1 may as well show you the rest hilda ask the young ladies to come in and squelch this worm len drained the glass ill have another thanks he poured for himself slowly when I 1 think that im going to spend the next eight months pitting my brats against your beauty oh come now len im not as good looking as all that said aunt olympia 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 long di distance stancel from iowa ejaculated aunt olympia wh why y 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 you talking about Is the senator home no maam its with a a policeman miss limpy accidental I 1 a I 1 i oll im sorry but I 1 cant hog the credit ly or something threw her arith trigonometry corrected adele loyally desm out the window and hit the policeman on the head and hes having a conference about it 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 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 trigonometry ono metry so the kind of campaign were up against eh no said aunt olympia honest ly 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 but just to cheer you up len I 1 will admit that adele is far the best looking the others lre 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 youre telling me that he demanded bitterly im no fool 1 know theres a limit on that sort of thing but if that ki kiu thought ol of attacking a policeman out of her own head ashes dangerous all dangerous youre dangerous oh lob we just try to hold our own said aunt olympia limpy bobbed brightly in at that thai point she looked slight and small in comparison with adeles tallness and olympias 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 and answer in one oh aunt olympia 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 a year and got a C plus but nobody ever thought to tell me what they really are what in the world are you talking about demanded aur aunt it logarithms said lin limpy apy 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 logarithm he said resentfully what do you mean logarithm that was no logarithm that was a plain american 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 something sinister beneath it I 1 confess I 1 was a little suspicious for why should he be prowling about under ance lan cys windows in election year I 1 asked it if he was a special police man or anything 1 I want to come right out and ask ii if he had been hired by the opposition but he said no he was just regular it was too bad it how did it happen limpy asked adele helpfully now that the first explosive moment had been safely bridged oh 1 I was a bit confused about those logarithms 1 dont care for them at all auntie and if you dont mind id really rather study something else like french drama or modern 0 ern novels I 1 looked 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 window among the trees and I 1 do think it was very suspicious that a policeman should be lurking down there they went together trees and logs for short bul but t the policeman just fit in unless he was a blockhead to begin with said adele and perhaps he had a chip on 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 laney lancy in election year its the senator broke in hilda moodily olympia headed for the hall telephone on a nervous trot that dour its the senator always took her on the run in a tremor for some pet bill limpy occupied herself cheerfully with the cakes and nuts on the tray len hardesty got up suddenly and went over and stood beside adele now seated in a big chair with the blue curtains cur lains for flattering natt ering background she looked up with a slight smile and took a sip of her lemonade 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 be said do you like washington he asked gravely though the trite query struck him as a lood good 9 deal of an anticlimax after meeting her eyes 1 I do today she said sad does the old girl give you all your lines he asked moodily I 1 nut that thai one thai was original something did you mean it yes she said with honest brevity 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 seeing anything of you is at the 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 it if I 1 dont get caught and give the girls a good sales talk were going to be out 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 laney lancy my word were virtually out now said aunt olympia what do you think limpy said adele suddenly are they arriving at an armistice or is this a lull before they tear each other limb from limb im expecting blows at any minute said limpy what im waiting for otherwise id be right back with my logarithms blows blows between ollie and me he sat on the arm of her chair w and put his arm around her why 4 ollie and I 1 are mad about each jf other its my one regret that sloppy saw her first why id lie down in the dirt and let her walk right over me though id be a good deal flattened in the process and shed do the same for me too i sure I 1 would said aunt olympia with a beaming smile Shel pai ted his hand affectionately I 1 you xu snake in the grass i CHAPTER IV y ft never in her life had aunt olympia experienced such satisfying happiness the girls with their gentle youth made a perfect foil for 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 out 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 lips compressed left eyelid ominously lowered e seeming not to hear their light talk and still more surprisingly adding no enlivening embellishments lish ments of her own th they ey watched her uneasily are you sick aunt olympia helen finally asked no she said abruptly im working my subconscious the girls smiled faintly dont overtax it said adele 1 I understand its rather delicate and be careful it turn and begin working you added limpy aunt olympia did not hear them that night she addressed the sen ator mildly k 1 I del I 1 want to ask your advice I 1 the senator coughed depreta ing ly and his glance at the girls was apologetic what do you think we ought t to do about these girls she den demanded nd that shocked the senator into ima mediate coherence do about them he ejaculated do nothing about them leave them alcine doing all right for themselves the m fill j referring to their social socia 1 life olimpia continued should we bring brin them ot 01 4 ur or keep them in 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