Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-03-02
Sarah's Tramps
BY GAzELLE STEVENS SHARP.

The girls had been so full of fun and
nonsense that morning that it was "as
good as a circus' to watch them, un-
less you CHANGED to be the victims of
some OF their mischievous pranks; and
it did seem too bad that they two, who
had beer try ing to the nerves and
patience of everybody all the forenoon,
should have been away in the delight
full shade and quiet of the woods when
the tramps came. leaving poor. timid
Sarah alone, with no one to share her
,fr ght.
TO begin with, Sissy had upset a pan
OF milk in the cellar. She had entire
charge of the milk that summer,
and was carrying a trimming pan to it's
place, while Rhoda assisted mamma
with the after breakfast work up stairs,
when she happened TO recall Aunt l. H.
Zie's last iettcr written to congratulate
her on her new reSpon> b liues. The
part of the letter which did the mis-
chief was The closing sentences:
Il cannot realize that the butter YOU
sent was really made b YOU. unas St
Ell. How can you be demure enough
for a dairy maid? Do YOU ever forget
yourself and turn somerSaults with "A
pan of milk in your hands?"
y 1t was too ridiculous. aud before she
: thought she was laughing so hard that,
"a far as that pan OF milk was concern
Cd, she might rs well have done as
Aunt LIZZIE had animated.
They had just lin shed making the
dresses Mr.. Brown had given them,
dark red calico barred with white lines.
and now they were done and on. all
the pent up force that had to be held
In check while they were being made
by hand, carefully, stitch by stitch at IA
me, for Inspection, seemed bound to
lind vent They raced about the ward,
Jumping the bars, crawling under fences
aud over rustic benches, turning somer-
saults. lodging around among trees and
: flower beds, or darling through the
~shrubbery, turning, whirl NJ. falling. IN
a turmoil OF quick motions. their red
dresses and black braided hair making
each so like the others double that
you could scarcely tell them apart;
and little Hope. look ng on admir-
lngly. wished she were large enough %
do everything that Sissy" could.
just as Mrs. Brown got comfortably
settled to the weekly mending, glad TO
see them innocently amused, she
glanced out of the window and saw
Sissy standing without support on the
very peak of the new barn. and Rhoda
but a few feet below her on the scat
, folding. Obedient to her summons
they came in, demurely enough this
time, bringing with them a book agent
they had Glanced upon as they APP
preached the house. He was a lank
s~ix-footer. with blue eyes, bald head.
blonde moustache, and the squeakiest
Of squeak, voices. The girls had be-
come slightly acquainted with him
during the spring turn at the academy.
where his good natured simplicity,
childish egotism and ridiculous at
tempts to S NJ tenor because his voice
was pitched high. has occasiOned them
no end of amusement. At the literary
society, a few months before. he had
clapped the climax of the ludicrous by
his del very Of ''Bingen on the Rhine"
as a select reading. He attempted to
enforce his very peculiar rend ton of
the beautiful poem by frequent awk-
ward gestures which were sure to be n
,lrifle out of time and were invariably
followed by his losing his place. And
now nothing would do but he must
come in and recite it for her mamma
who. Sissy insisted. was DO fond of
that particular piece. and no one else
could recite it as he did; said he, tickled
With the flattery. gladly consented.
drs Brown seeing at a glance what
he mischievous girls were about, but
lnwill ng either for his sake or theirs
D let him know they were making fun
1 him, welcomed him kindly. and
uictly seconded Sissy's entreaties for
le poem.
The girls seated themselves on a low
,uch behind him. while he faced Mrs.
rown for audience. and with difficult
kept their mirth within bounds. in
ted. he did stop once and look
Dund. hearing something suspicious
like a giggle. But the girls were as
imure MS kittens, and all attention.
AID although he had thought they
were laughing at him. the expressions
on their faces and q word from Mrs.
Brown treasured him. and he continued
10 the end.
Mrs. Brown made them do penance
for this piece Of audacity by combining
hem to the house and TO sewing car
pet-rsgs for the res, e the forenoon.
and al M, -apsr'~~ = " the girls