Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1908-12-10

flushed. OF course they were the
thieves, she told herself Indignantly.
That proved it.
But a short talk with the placid, even
tempered invalid cooled her down
somewhat; only when she left the
cabin she started ON a run toward
home. She was afraid that if she
looked around she would see tbe bovs
and say something angry.
Mrs. Blair had been in the habit of
occasionally employing the Carr boys
to help In the truck patch, but Nelly
was now so violently opposed to this
that after a few Intellectual protests
the mother yielded. Now and then
Nelly carried soup or some other deli
cacy across the fields to the invalid.
but b was careful to make these
visits at times when she thought the
boys were away. And on their part
the boys seemed equally glad to avoid
ner.
AS summer heightened into fall and
the clear, crisp days of October and
November appeared the grew
larger and larger and finally began to
turn yellow. Nelly watched them So
ltc1tously and tried to count the num-
Der of oranges on one limb and from
this small basis to estimate the num-
bers OF boxes on each tree.
d you s'pose there'll be fifteen
boxes apiece, mamma?' she asked
n day after she had made a long
calculation on a piece of brown paper.
II wouldn't be surprised, honey.
They hang very full this year."
THAT would be sixty boxes" said
Nelly after a few seconds work with
her pencil. "Well call it fifty. Fifty
boxes at 81 a box makes $1OO. An
you know, mamma" triumphantly,
I'VE reckoned up that $50 more would
keep us through the year. Now, man.
ma" impressively, eff we make $40
extra can't you have the new dress
and curtains an me some new shoes?"
eyes, indeed" replied Mrs. Blair
gayly, "an' you shall have a new wool
dress, too, Nelly, an select it all by
yourself"
AT length the oranges were ready to
pick, but Mrs. Blair hesitated. There
were rumors that the markets had
been glutted by unwise shipments of
fruit and that some forwarders would
and listened eagerly to such meager
market reports as came to her from
the neighbors.
One afternoon Nelly went to the vii
lage with some eggs. When she re
turned there was suppressed excite
ment in her face.
81 heard 'em talkin' in the store bout
a cold wave comin'," she said excited.
ly. MIR. Tibbs said he lowed there'd
be a good many oranges froze tonight,
An it's gittin' awful cold, mamma. My
hands fairly ached."
Mrs. Blair was cooking and had not
noticed. She now went outside. Yes,
it was certainly growing cold. The
wind actually stung her face as she
stepped past the corner of the house.
An hour later it was still colder, and
by the time the sun sank behind the
pines she was as anxious as Nelly.
Neither of them thought of supper.
They had occasionally saved tender
vegetables from frost by Il smudge fire
so placed that the smoke would float
across the endangered plants. Mrs.
Blair was not very sanguine about its
saving an orange grove in case the
cold became excessive, but there seem
ed nothing else they could do. SO piles
Of brushwood were made along the
west side of the trees and covered with
green boughs and anything that could
prevent the fire from bursting into
flames. For the most part they work
ed hurriedly and silently, Nelly bring
ing the material and her mother ar
ranging it on the piles.
But when the fires were kindled the
smoke refused to meet their desire.
1t rose thick and black, but drifted
this way and that under the branches
and over the branches and off to one
side, but never covering the trees with
the dense canopy they were longing
for. And this failure only made them
work the more desperately. 1t was
getting colder and colder, and they
realized with growing dread what the
loss of the oranges would be to them.
Nelly was gathering up an armful of
| grass and weeds, reckless of the sand
spurs which chung to her fingers. when
she heard approaching footsteps. Look
ing up, she saw Bill Carr and his four
brothers.
Hello. Nelly" said Bill, rather sheep
ishly.
Hello"
Seen you uns' fires an thought we'd
come over an sort O. hep. Mighty
cold, amt hit?"
YES" Then, after an embarrassed
silence: well why don't you go to
work? Plenty Of it here"
"shu! No use worhin' that way"
contemptuously. Smoke don't scasely
tech the trees. Sides. smoke amt
goin' ter scare this freeze. No. Stree!
Hits too big. Say. Nelly, we uns is
plumb sorry bout them melons an
things. You an your nav have been
right good ter we III Nav and we
ms have horse sense ter know hit.