Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1905-06-29
LYDIA'S
QUORUM
81 BELLE MANDATES
Copyricht. loO5. By Belle Maniates
3, BELLE MANDATES


Natr0uS was Sdylne. pu see, lHal
young Wight thinks we ought to have
man. OF course you'll have LIy vote,
but Bill Stiles is always straddlin' a
fence, and the last man he talks to gets
him This young fcllcr's highfalutin
talk kind of caught Bits fancy. and he
was tottcrin, but l took him in hand,
and now he's lc,Hin' our way again.
Ill stick to him tighter than Il brother
ana keep him away from Wight till the
meetin' is over, Its tomorrow night"
You are so good. Deacon Watrous.'
replied Lydia, raising grateful eyes.
land IL get the place III do my best
to vindicatc your choice"
I'm do al | can. Lyddy." said tie
deacon.
Lydia Gardner had spent the past
summer away from home, and when
she returned to the farm she had
found the family in state of gloom.
Crops had been poor. Il number Of cat
tie had died. and the inevitable mort
gage had to be met. Lydia proposed to
meet II " Ats'iilAi- AZ 'LN Nis'A'Nh
school. She had been reasonably GER
tain of securing the position. counting
on the deacon and Bill for quorum,
but now this young man. who lad fall
en- heir TO the farm OF mis- uncle. John
Wight. and had come TO the Corners in
her absence. might carry his point of
hiring Il man to teach.
she simply had To have the position,
ard she determined to help Deacon
Watrous in his efforts To secure Bits
needed vote. I; Voc, be /. clcs' for
her to appeal 10 Bill ~. eathercock
Bill" as he WAS called sac resolved
to make bold move ana encounter the
enemy whom she had never seen.
Hugh Wight WAS in the sitting room
of the old homestead pioneering orcr
this same subject of Guo uin. WE2l
he succeeded to Lis Inheritance he hai
determined TO become a m teal farm
er and win the est 'cmed position his
uncle had ever maintained in the
hearts OF the SIMPLE country folk. They
had laughed ut the young man for
thinking he could bc farmer. but he
had shown them he coU., learn from
them nnd improve on their r'etholc,
They were glad 70 have him succeed
his uncle as Il member OF the school
committee. That seemed to be moro in
his line.
He had rs firm convictions on the ed
ucational question rs he had on most
subjects. and be ia iuEht Il man more
fitted to wrastic with the difficulties OF
country school than woman He
had not seen this applicant but he did
not approve Of young girl who had
no preparation or experience in teach
ing
In the midst of his cogitations there
was a rap at the outer door He opened
it to admit winsomc, wlllowy girl
with big. innocent eyes and an artleSs
manner.
Are YOU Mr.. Wight? am Lydia
Gardner"
He acknowledged the Introduction
gravely and asked her to be seated.
Hugh Wight was not susceptible
man, and Lydia's beauty only strength
ened linn in his belief that she was not
competent for the position Of school
teacher at the Corners.
Il am, as YOU know" she said, "a
candidate FOR the position of teacher.
| hear that you are In favor of hiring a
man for the place, and l don't suppose
anything that could say would change
your opinion. ! came to ask you not TO
induce Bill Stiles to vote against me-"
He was somewhat surprised at this
frank appeal. He liked directness.
ut means a good deal to u.s." she
continued earnestly, land if don't get
the place it will go very hard with my
father. My salary would help him
more than YOU can know
Hugh felt as If he had been stealing
sheep She did not want the money for
fEpperics, then, but to help her father.
What do you mean by my influence
ing Bill|' he asked.
It's like this" she explained. "Dea-
con Watrous is of course for me, and
Bill is, too, or would be. If you leave
him alone and say nothing about the
advantages of having a man, but the
last person that approaches Bill has
him, and they say you have a convinc-
ing tongue. The deacon is going to
try and keep Bill away from you until
the meeting is over, but | didn't care
TO trust to that, so | came to ask you.
l wouldn't presume to ask you to vote
for me, only to let Bill alone"
Up to this time the eyes, voice and
manner of the young man had not been
at all encouraging. but in the hearty
peal of infectious laughter that follow
ed her request Lydia caught a note of
appreciation, and some way she deriv-
cd nope from his amusement.
Miss Gardner it strikes Inc as rath-
or odd that you should come and show
me- iae way to gain my point and theu
ask me not to take it,"
Maybe it u.s." she said wistfully
hut ] didn't know what else TO do"
He remained in deep study for mo-
ment. He did not like TO be influenced
by personalities.
Well le said abruptly. IL. not
speak to BIZ or in his presence anaut
tbs natter ANA III waive my objec-
items Tor this year and vote Tor you
myself, though | Stul believe man
should have the place"
Two bright spots burned in Lydia's
cheeks