The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-08-29
send, Nab shall take it up to the Exchange. F."

send, Nab shall take it up to the Exchange"
| our mouse was In one of the out-of-the-way
| streets, and boosted quite a respectable gar.
gen az the back, where we raised supply OF
trult and vegetables, with little outside aid
from Mickey Doyle, paid attache OF nearly
al the families on the street. Amy was up
bright and early next morning. Frances
heard her whistling in the garden, while sne
picked the tomatoes, and she came IN 20
breakfast with her cheeks as rosy as her nalr
ribbon. After she and MAD had gone,
| Mother Frank began operations in the dining
room. gossiping with Frances meanwhile,
| and nothing more than ordinary seemed to
| be going on. Nevertheless, when Nab came
| in that night, she found the family critically
tng the MaSer pqS t6a goiag
| be too good for anybody but the NOrrises! I"
she exclaimed, when she too had seized a
spoon and followed the others example.
Mother Frank smiled in superior man
ner. She was quite well used to having her
things turn out better than other peoples
Nab at tea. The books are behind, and
shall have to be on hand evenings for several
days but Will carry your pickles up for you
some noon, Mother Frank"
mo, dear: you will do nothing of the Sort !"
was the decided answer. 'You have enough
to do as it is. will take them up myself. /
am not afraid to interview your tony girl in
bonnet"
1T was very interesting" she declared to
US on her return; Your pretty girl in brown
was not there, Nab, but there were two or
three young ladies showing visitors around,
and the bOOkkeeper was at the desk. | ad-
dressed my remarks to her, and left sample
of that watermelon pickle you liked so much
with the other. She said she could sell Chill
some demand for it,"
THAT is, provided you get your certificate. Z"
suggested Amy, slyly.
We were not left long In suspense on that
point Nab came in at noon two days after
wards, crying, Passed! cum ldadei Girls,
u was funny. went in this noon, and my
girl IN brown was there again, only she
wasn't dressed in brown this time, but in
blue. She is Miss Blake, girls, and lives in
one OF those lovely new houses on Hopeland
Avenue. I've quite lost my heart to her.
Well, she said the pickles were perfectly sat-
isfactory. Then she laughed, and the book
keeper, came up, and said that some of the
young ladies had stayed down to lunch the
day before, 1t was such busy day, and that
they had eaten every bit of your pickle up,
and just rayed over it; Those were her very
words. She gave me back the jars So now
your career is open to you. Mother Frank.
Go on in the path of duty, and fortune play
upon your prosperous helmP'
Rather a mixed metaphor, isn't it2"
asked Mother Frank, smiling; but we could
strength of this, although it was what Nab
called Frugal Friday" we had escallopod
oysters for tea.
Next morning Mother Frank set regularly
to work. Frances did some of the easiest
parts, and Amy was chief errand-runner Ali
the morning. When at last the bottles were
filled and sealed with a resinous brown wax,
they looked very tempting, and Amy volun-
teered to carry them up herself. But we all
laughed at her. and after she had lifted the
heavy basket once, she was glad to surren-
der it to Mickey Doyle. When the first paw
day came, Mother Frank walked in trium-
phantly, and turned her purse upside down
upon the table. Quite little shower of sill
yer rolled out. ''Tberel" said she, sit was
empty before. Let me see, there was
dozen tomato bottles at 30 cents each, that is
1874 less the commission. a dozen larger
bottles at so cents, makes $40, and So for
Chill sauce is-total, $964-yes, that's right,
for paid the subscription fee There is
only one bottle left unsold, and they want
supply OF Chill sauce on hand all the time"
Three cheers for the Champion Pickle
Maker" said the irrepressible Nab
but what shall we do when all the garden
things are used ups" inquired Amy, Curl
ously.
"Oh, she win have to sow pickles. like the
late Mrs. Null" said Frances. What did
you see up to the Exchange today in the
way of fancy work. Mother FrankP'
They are beginning to show Christmas
work, so soon. saw some exquisite drawn
work this afternoon. There was one linen
scarf, the middle covered with long stitch
embroidery, only twelve dollars. Well, hut
really, it was cheap for that Then there
were quantities of aprons, and blotting
books, and handkerchief cases, | saw one
funny thing this afternoon, The cake coun-
ter stands at the farther end of the room, and
every loaf is ticketed, A woman came in
for loaf of walnut cake, and made a great
face because the tag was stuck on with pin,
and size finally went away without buying
it,
did she think it was poisoned?"
No, but she seemed to think that it might
be stuck full of pins"
Mother Frank, why don't you branch off
into cake when the pickle season is over?
Your Marqulse cake, for instance"
One step at time, replied Mother Frank,
oracularly.
And now, what more remains to be said?
This year, Mother Frank is working on
more extended scale, and she has as many
orders as she can fill. The pickle jar has
brought a very modest fortune indeed. yet
still good fortune to the Norris family; and
L, Frances, who have leisure to do what the
more useful members of it have no time for,
have been deputed to tell our little story.