The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1895-02-28

"Let me go and help YOU" said,
extricating myself from the hammock.
And we went together and searched
through the china closet and every
corner of the pantry, and in short
every spot in the house where there
was a possibility or impossibility
of finding four blue china tea
cups But our efforts were of no
avail Poor Mrs. Jennings rang the
bell for tea with tears in her eyes, and
the blue china was not brought forth
in my honor. for the dear lady said
she wasn't going to risk losing the
rest of it."
Mr.. Van Duyne returned to the city
the next morning, carrying with him
his easel, his palettes his numerous
paints and brushes and the many,
many unfinished sketches. and Mrs
jennings and / turned our attention
to searching the pantry and china
closet for the seventh or eighth time,
but nothing came of it.
You don't suppose that Miss Lee
Ainsworth would have carried them
off for her collection?" Mrs. Jennings
asked me.
"Oh, my, now 1 answered, Mortified
at the idea. "She's from one of the
best families in Philadelphia, and, any
way, why would she take four teacups
and not anything else?"
81 don't know, Pm sure" Mrs. Jen-
nings said, meekly; ''but folks do get
so crazy over china they'll do most
ANYTHING sometimes"
When the day came for me to leave
Mrs Jennings, l babe her good-by
and expressed the hope that her blue
china cups might be found.
but they never will be, Miss
Wright" she said, gloomily. 81
haven't any hope of them left" and
Farmer Jennings, who was waiting in
the buggy to take me to the station,
looked down upon us encOuragingly
and said
well, well, wife, wouldn't give up
a hoping, for things sometimes does
happen in the most unexpected way"
And they do. as Mrs. Jennings will
testify now. I didn't hear about it
until the next summer. Mrs. Jennings
said: They meant to write me, but
they never got at it"
l had hardly alighted at their door.
and Mrs. Jennings still was holding
my hand in cordial welcome, when she
exclaimed. triumphantly:
well, found them"
THE china teacups? You did
where?" l asked breathlessly.
''Ill show you," she said, and she led
me into the parlor up to a large, hand
| somclv framed picture on the wall.
looked at it in wonder. Dolly Briar-
| ley was looking on at me from the
| canvas with her dark, mischief-lOvlng
| eyes. It was beautiful spot, with
| overhanging trees, and festoons Of Gle
mats and wild grapevine, and under
| meath the trees in striking contrast to
the deep green of the grass, white
| cloth was laid, and on the cloth-did
not my eyes deceive memo, there
| were Enthusiastically Mrs. jennings
| faring little blue china teacups! There
were also cookies and tarts and little
| pie in the way of viands and to par.
take of the feasts were Dolly's four
dolls, propped bolt upright on each
side Of the cloth.
Mrs. Jennings and I stared at each
| other for a moment, and then burst
out laughing. At last Mrs. Jennings
wiped her eyes and endeavored to stifle
her peals of merriment.
1T was that Mr.. Van Duyne," she
said. lyon remember how wild he
was over that china set the night of
Mrs. Briarley's birthday"
YES" answered, land he told me
once he meant to make picture of
Dolly's playhouse, but | never thought
that he would"
Just let me tell you all about it,
continued Mrs. Jennings. After you
went away it went along, guess, two
months-anyhow it was getting quite
goldfish weather. One night after the
| Jennings drove up to the Center to
get the mail, and to have the oilcan
| filed, and at the post office they told
HIM that the man over to the express
office left word for him to call for a
| package. Well, he went over and got
it, and it was such big, queer pack
age, and he not having sent for any
thing anywhere, he drove home fast
to see what it was, and where it was
from. He tied the horse out to the
hitching-post and came right in
with it.
Il hurried up and got the shears,
and Josiah out with his jacklznife and
we got it open and the papers off from
around it, and it was picture And
we set it upon the dining-room table
and Josiah held the lamp up over my
shoulder and we just looked at it.
There was Mr.. Van Duyne's card
stuck in one side of the frame, but |
didn't see that at all at first. was
looking at the picture, and Josiah
| didn't say a word, for he was looking
at the picture too. Then 1 gasped out:
Josiah! Josiah! Aren't those nv
teacups?'
And Josiah looked closer and said:
1 believe on my soul they are, Emily!'
We'll, what are they doing there?
and where are they, anyway? don't
understand anything about it-Dolly
Briarley, nor the teacups, nor any
thing else
And Josiah kept on looking with
a kind of puzzled look on his face as if
he was a-studying out something.
Then all of sudden it all cleared up
and he exclaimed:
why, yes. mother, it's that south
lot adjoining the orchard. You know
we always called it the woodlot until
few years ago when / tried to clear
it off. used to see Dolly going off
down in that direction sometimes
''And then it all flashed over me and
said: Yes, that's probably where
she had her playhouse. She was al