Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1909-09-10
AN ABLE ASSISTANT,
Bv ADELAIDE RUTH HILL.

cation
A sunny morning in June a girl OF
| twenty stood in the grounds Of a coun-
try place, a diagram in one hand, a
pencil in the other. \ man carrying
artists sketching materials was COM
ing down the road. He stopped and
leaned against the stone wall.
is this the Harrington placer he
asked the girl.
1T is
The old maids who owned it,
hear are dead, and it has passed into
the hands Of new owner. They say
he's globe trotter and there's no more
chance of tn" place being kept up than
before"
ION the contrary | am employed to
lay out the grounds In an entirely new
scheme
'Yuut"
"Iou seem surprised to see a girl do
ing such work. have just been grad
uateI in the department of gardening
at - college"
HIN, Where are Your assistants:
You can't do the job alone"
Cant get any"
How would l do?" he asked after
pause.
"You seem to he m artist, not a tiller
of the soil"
artists can't live on their artistic
productions: they must stop once in
awhile to earn some money by work"
You couldn't earn much here-only
50 a day and found"
. Il could run ahead SIC a week. III
60 to work right off If you like"
The man was engaged, the head
gardener warning him that If she
caught him dreaming over the sur
rounding scenery which was very fine,
she would dock" his wages. He must
also agree to give her a weeks notice
before quitting. All this being ar
ranged she set him to work digging
up the sod for a new arrangement Of
the walks. 1t was hard work, and he
didn't get on very we'll At evening
she told him he'd better give 1t up.
Il tell you what III do he said.
You pay me what you are allowed
for assistants. With that I'll agree to
employ two assistants and boss them.
That'l give you all your time for plan
ming"
He succeeded in talking her into the
scheme, though she couldn't see where
he would get help or make anything
for himself. He went to the village
that evening and the next morning
had two lusty fellows at work. He sat
in the grounds sketching, giving his
men occasional instructions.
II declare said the head gardener,
'if that isn't just like an artist. No
body can ever tell how they live.
Well. if he doesn't make any money
it's no concern of mine. He's getting
the work DONE
| Finding too much time fore her plan
ming, she strolled out and took lock
at the picture he was making The
outline of landscape was sketched
on the canvas.
IT would like to know" she said,
'thow you expect to gain any money
by paying your wages to others"
81 thought that was the only way
to make money-getting other people
to do the hard work and doing the
skilled part yourself" q
But you're not even doing the skill
ed part" #
you're doing that VI
while you are #
wasting my time. Iadmit it. This
picture will never be good for any
thing. Let's so in and try the piano"
He seemed to have his own way
with her. She followed him into the
house, and, sitting before the piano,
he struck several chords. Il
"This won't do he said snappishly.
'aThe thing can't have been tuned In
years. These people can't expect you
to get on with tin pan. What's the
agents Manner q
eBefore she could stop him he had
rung up the agent on the telephone
and she was Mortified to hear him say
Miss Kissock, the head gardener
wants to know what you mean By
leaving the piano in such a condition
She says If you don't have man herr
to tune 1t right Off she'll throw up hel
job,
He flung down the receiver and re
Joined her.
upon my wordg' she exclaimed
aWho authorized you to say that?'
stIf he doesn't have tuner here b,
tomorrow morning you needn't pay M
q any wages for myself or the two as
n | sistants You women are not httei
to get on as men are. You haven
q got any sand"
4 Where men have as much of 1t a
4 You have there's none left for u
q women
q She consented to let the matter RES
a and sure enough the next morning tn
= piano was tuned Then the first assist
ant gardener Insisted on the head gal
II dener spending the morning with hi1
y In the music room.
nj Finally the grounds were laid on
or the new plan. The men the assis
ant had hired kept at work and SCENE