The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1909-11-04

lntidy persons r
heir belongings 4eedlessly scattering
:, and with no patient
Il that the picking up, it was natur-
should very much-lived-in rooms
ness. lose all semblance Of neat
Can 1t be-" wondered Eleanor, over
turning everything on the library table
in a futile search for her thimble, that
Kathleen is dishonest?'
Hang it," growled Oliver. II spent
two hours whiting a peg for Ruth
Mead's guitar, and now the things
lost"
"Have either of you seen long blue
envelope?" asked Mr.. Drake, paving
the heterogeneous burden of the par
lor mantel anxiously st contained
paper that I brought home to. sign
there are reasons why that deed should
be recorded as soon as possible" =
But much unsystematic clawing
brought none of the missing articles to
light.
Perhaps" suggested Eleanor, doubt
why, yes! The floor certainly needs
it."
Kathleen swept: but her method was
faulty. She succeeded in raising large
whirlwinds of Gu-t-so iuch that there
was none left to take up in the dust
pan. Such articles as needed to be
picked up she added to the already
over-burdened furniture.
By the end of the second week the
uncomfortable brakes knew exactly
what allied the house, but after few
futile attempts, found themselves help
less to remedy the trouble; by temper
ament they were scatterers, not pick
ers-up-and they had had no training.
By the third week Eleanor and Oliver
were seeing their friends elsewhere;
they were ashamed to bring them home.
Mr.. Drake went to his club, and re-
GREETED his own fireside and his COM
Portable slippers.
And then came the letter from Mrs.
Uncle Peter-no one ever called her
Aunt Sarah. Mrs Uncle Van Court
was grandeur personifed. On her way
to and from Europe it was her habit
to favor the brakes with three days
visit. The visits, the brakes recollect-
ed, were always preceded by hours of
strenuous housekeeping. Mrs. Uncle
Peter and house-cleaning were, in fact,
synonymous terms.
The brakes recollected one other
fact-the unrelished fact that it was
Mrs. Uncle Peters annual allowance
that made it possible for them to be
certain of regular income. Unsys-
tematic John Drake was no money
maker He was energetic by spurts,
but somehow some one else always
benefited by the results of his indus
try. Mrs. Uncle Peter, knowing this,
had half-lovingly, alf-contemptuously
provided her only relative with an alb
solutely certain income. Mr.. Drake
soothed his pride with the reflection
that at least half of Mrs. Uncle Pc
ters money would have been his any,
way, if his grandfather's will had been
just.
"By the way" said Mr.. Drake, toss
ing Mrs. Uncle Peters telegram across
the breakfast table to Eleanor, you'd
better stay at home today and clean
house. She'll be here to dinner to-
night. Oliver, you'd better help. Real
ly, the place seems bewitched; every
time move start an avalanche"
Its newspapers" explained Oliver.
1.-THE house is simply full of them
Eleanor and Oliver worked all the
morning. Kathleen declined to help,
since she had to cook for the coming
guest. But although both were tired
by noon, the house showed no improve
ment. Then Mr.. Drake, touched by
Eleanor's pallor, lent pudgy, ineffic-
lent hand. He spilled ashes from the
parlor CRATE to the heap in the back
yard. He made muddy footprints from
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS