Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-08-14

NO." said the professor, sitting
down at the table with the air of a
martyr. 81 am busy man Mrs. Hodg-
son. I wish you would not arrange my
papers on my desk any more. Don't
touch my desk. You can throw away
anything you find on the floor"
''But, sir, you showed me how to ar
range them when you first came and
you said I did it so nicely and saved
you lot of trouble"
This was too much. The professor
felt that his dignity was at stake.
''Mrs. Hodgson," he Numbered. II
shall leave when my week is up"
She tossed her head and said:
Every we'll" with aggravated sweet
ness. The professor settled down to
his breakfast, muttering something
about ''impudent women Once out in
the hall, Mrs. Hodgson stamped her
foot and exclaimed, "The old fool"
That omelet tasted uncommonly
we'll, as if to tantalize him. He ate it
all, even to the last fragment which
tantalized him still further. Then he
went over to his desk to write. His
pen, his paper and his notebook were
where Mrs. Hodgson had placed them,
which was just where they ought to
be. This also was most tantalizing.
Vet he found himself, a few moments
later, carrying his overcoat downstairs
on his arm as usual, and harboring
faint notion that he ought to forgive
Mrs. Hodgson. She was pruning the
flowers on the stand in the hall, and
Harriet was near her, receiving some
orders.
"Mrs. Hodgson, would you-ah?" he
asked politely.
Harriet" said Mrs. Hodgson as
she continued to snip off dead leaves,
"help the gentleman on with his over
coat"
AS the professor went out he slam
med the door so hard as fairly to make
the f1owerpots tremble, but Mrs. Hodg-
son only smiled. She had recovered her
dignity, and her faith in her art, and
DESPITE sour criticism. The professor
determined never to forgive her now.
To prove it he ate voraciously OF the
museum mutton pie for luncheon. The
result was Indigestion, which he at
tributed to the omelet.
He was rudely awakened next morn
ing by Harriet, who was sweeping and
busting in the sitting room. Hereto
fore, Mrs. Hodgson had made 1t
point to attend to this herself, doing
it so quietly that the professor was
hn
his chop for breakfast and everything
else, even to the overcoat lying on the
chair where he had thrown it the night
before, was as he had ordered.
After ransacking the drawers of his
desk and paving over the disordered
papers on top of it in vain search for
his notebook, which contained the
fruit of three months researches, he
was anything but treasured by hazy
recollection of having nodded over 1t,
and having carelessly laid it on the
chair at his side. This had happened
before, but he had always found the
note book on his desk.
"Did you see a book on the fioor"'
he cried to Harriet when she had
answered the fierce ringing of the
| bell
"You said anything on the floor"
'Find it! Find it!' he Numbered.
!"Don't dare to come back without it.!
Poor Harriet's face burned as she
went downstairs, for she knew ii the
professor didn't, that the refuse wagon
had called some Is minutes before.
The professor paced up and down
with anger in his heart against Mrs.
Hodgson and her omelets, until there
was a soft knock at the door, which
he recognized as Mrs. Hodgson's. He
presumed she had come to apologize for
which she would undoubtedly call IAN
unfortunate accident" He would let
her know in plain terms that hers was
the worst conducted house in London.
''Your book, professor" she said,
holding it out to him. Though Har-
riet had found it on the floor, I picked
it out of the rubbish, thinking I could
doho harm, anyway. .
"Er-ah! Thank you
"And I have let the room for Satur-
day." she went on in voice which he
thought was assumed to annoy him.
''Er-ah! Very we'll"
His friend observed that museum
mutton pie on that date was especially
good. The professor ate of it heartily
but was soon feeling SO badly that he
concluded to devote the remainder Of
the afternoon to searching for rooms.
After climbing the stairs Of seven diff
ferent houses he began to speculate
upon how in the world landladies were
able to let such miserable apartments
to anybody. AT one place, in a mo-
ment of Observation-Disclosures he actually
asked if the cook could make good
omelets. When the landlady said
"yes,' he told her abruptly that he
wouldn't think of taking her rooms.
1t was on his tongues end to add that
the making of omelets was not an art
to be spoken of lightly, when he re-
membered that this was the very ex-
L i