Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-08-14

And depressed though she was Mrs.
Dove began to feel the mercury rise
in her mental thermometer at once.
Flora Lee arrayed herself in one of
Betsy's cast-off calicoes, tied up her
brown tresses in a sweeping cap and
went vigorously to work with a
scrubbing brush, while Mrs. Dove
bent her attention to the windows,
and Adonijah. with more zeal than
discretion. splashed whitewash over
himself and the floor with laudable
impartiality.
WALL" said Adonijah, afterwA.,l,
II never did see no cricket wor.
spryer than that city young lady.
By gracious, she beats Betsy all hol-
Ter at it! And she's got such an up
and down pretty way of DOM things,
too! l declare, couldn't hardly
take my eyes off her all the time"
| Mrs Dove, however, was unused to
the severe exertions incident to
housekeeping time, and went to bed
with sick headache in the middle
OF the afternoon.
..Never mind, Mrs. Dove" said
Flora, 'Tll get tea, and I'll make
| some OF those cream waffles and a
short cake for Mr.. Dove, and you
shall see how nicely l can fry oys-
| ters."
Indeed! don't know what
| should do without you. Floral" said
Mrs. Dove, fervently.
But as it happened. Mr.. Daniel
| Dove was unexpectedly detained on
| h,,e o& IL .
and instead of him who should walk
into the little sitting-room, finging
down his carpet-bag, but Eric Hale
himself, just as the rainy dusk closed
in, and the delicious odor of frying
oysters and coffee filled the house
"Heilor said Eric. $50 you're
cleaning house-eh. Betsy?"
Yes, sir" a demure voice re-
sponded from the kitchen
"And where is my aunt?"
| 'She has retired with a sick head
ache"
The natural consequence of clean
ing house, l suppose, said Eric Hale,
with shrug of the shoulders Dear
old Aunt Della! Why couldn't she
be contented to leave things as they
were? Tell her. Betsy. that Wash
burne has concluded not to exchange
until next week. and that, now I'm
in the midst Of the melee. I'll lend
hand with this business tomorrow.
"Yes, sir"
land. Betsy
s.Sir?"
Where did you learn to make
/ al 1t
cup at once I'm ready to drop with
WEAKNESS, and it is like a dream OF
Arabia"
And Flora lee, with the tapping
edge of her bonnet concealing the
amused dimples around her mouth,
brought in the oysters and coffee,
flanked by pile Of feather-like
waff1es.
81 declare. Betsy" cried the Rev.
Eric, facetiously, 'if you were a
trife younger and prettier I'd marry
you myself. and make sure of waffles
and coffee like this every night"
Would you, sir?" said the sol
disant Betsy.
And we'll make compact,
Betsy" merrily went on the young
clergyman, as he helped himself to
butter, Ito finish the house cleaning
ourselves tomorrow, and save Aunt
Della the work and worry of it :"
Yes, SIR" said Betsy; but please,
sir, it's all done, except lacking the
carpets down"
WHO did FTP"
al. sir, please, and Mrs Dove and
Adonijah. And please, sir, I'm going
to finish it myself tomorrow; and,
please, sir" finging back her sun
bonnet and disclosing a coronal OF
bronze brown braids, pair of very
rosy cheeks and eyes full of fun,
I'm not Betsy at all, but Flora Lee,
entirely at your service"
Miss Lee?"
, EXACTLY"
Ibid you make the coffee?"
Il did"
And fry these brown jacketed
oysters and stir up these waffles?"
Yes. Mr.. Hale
} And scrub the rooms?"
Yes, sir, and busted the cornices,
, and washed the windows and took
down the picture frames, and put the
, lace curtains to soak, besides other
? items too numerous to mention,
3 mischievously added Flora, rather
/ enjoying the discontinue of the
j young clergyman.
3 "Miss Lee, / beg your pardon.
{ What for, Mr.. Hale?"
''For always having regarded yor
= as the most useless and ornamental
of creatures. ! recant,. / own that
/ you are equal to any emergency"
q And when, later in the evening
Mrs. Dove crept out, with her heat
tied up in eau de cologne, she found
her nephew and Flora Lee playing
b chess together.
o "It's all right" said Mrs. Dove t.
herself.
o 1t was all right. And Mrs. Eric
. | Hale won her frank uncOnyeutiOna