The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-08-26


Children she began, in her school
teachery voice, Il am going to talk to
you about what we see all about us
over the cr'und-scnething that you
have all been sitting on. Frederick,
what?"
Three ants and some sand," said
the exact Frederick William.
Very good" said Miss Lucy with
resignation" and now let's play some
games"
Miss Lucy suggested Blind Mans
Buff. This was popular and was only
stopped by Josef running his nose
into a tree.
The great catastrophe occurred dur
ing Hi Spy. Marie Schaefer was cit"
Miss Lucy, sitting on one of the
benches, leaned back and looked
dreamily up at the lazy clouds that
drifted through the sky like gypsy an
gels through blue world-clouds that
were neither white nor pink but an
elusive primrose echo of both. She
had just gotten to the second stanza
of a beautiful poem she was COM
posing about it all when she noticed
that Marie Schaefer was standing with
her hand raised in quite the proper
school-child manner
Il can't find Anna anywhere" said
Marie plaintively, II have looked ev-
erywhere for her and l can't find her.
She's gone"
Miss Lucy jumped to her feet with
a premonition of disaster.
"Gone!" she echoed wildly.
Then began search which, as the
sun passed behind the trees, became
frantic and vain wandering up and
down endless paths-a search in
which was enlisted the fat and sym.
pathetic policeman. Anna was indeed
gone.
At last when an hour had passed
and Miss Lucy had just sunk upon a
bench and was beginning a nice COM
Portable attack of Mysteries, she saw
the fat policeman coming down one of
the paths. In his arms he had drip
ping, squirming bundle from which
came thick sobs and long string that
had once been Mrs. Karenina's chit.
fon veil. ---~ ->-
"Oh, Anna" cried Miss Lucy tear
fully, "Oh, Anna, where have you
been?"
I'D was the chicgen," walled the un-
happy backslider-"the Wilde chic
gen in the wader. He was so fad und
CLEAN und shiny und l liged him und
l wanded him und l wand him now"
Then-all her new morality buried in
the ruins of the chiffon veil-the
wretched Anna kicked her fat rescuer
viciously on the shins. 81 wand him
now" she screamed.
"she fell in the duck-pond," the po-
liceman explained. Then, as he saw
the puddle of muddy water that had
dripped from Annals clothes, You had
better take her home, Miss he said
kindly, "she amt used to it and she'll
take cold. I'll carry her down to the
gate"
The return to the gate was a rush.
At the transfer corner Miss Lucy met
the Principal, wild eyed and on his
way to the Park. He was in a state
of wordy Representatives,.
Il can't help it," Miss Lucy snapped
femininely, lit was all your fault, any
how. Why did you get me that old
invitation! ] didn't want it,"
Then they waited in mutual sulki-
ness until the car came. It was crowd
ed with the six-o'clock rush and Miss
Lucy, her hair coming down, her hat
over her ear, and her dress wet from
Annals clothes. was angriiy conscious
of many looks of amusement.
Anna, her nose dug into Miss Lucy's
arm, had gone sniffingly to sleep and
Miss Lucy, as she grudgingly sup
ported her, felt a sudden new bitter
ness in her heart against this ugly
little stumbling-block to all her plans.
At last the school was reached and
the other members of Class A having
been delivered to anxious relations,
Miss Lucy hurried down to the tene-
ment section with Anna. In a nerv-
Gus tremor at Mrs. Karenina's antici-
pated wrath she stumbled up the
greasy flights that led to Annals home.
Half way up, door was opened and
drunken, blasphemous voice inquired
Hospitality as to who it was that
wanted to get his block knocked off.
In reply to this inquiry Anna swore
back cheerfully over the banisters, but
Miss Lucy turned pale and sped fear
fully up the steps-only to find that
Annals mother was out. Size was prob
ably down the river or to a ball.
So Siiss Lucy gingerly undressed
Anna, hung her clothes over an i'm
prCvised line, rubbed her dry with the
dis. towel, and, as her wardrobe was
limited TO one set, wrapped her in the
sheet and left her already asleep on
the unspeaksble mattress where the
six other Kareninas usually reposed.
A little later she opened the door
and for moment she locked remorse.
fully al the sleeping Anna. Then she
felt Sudden smart in her eyes.
Poor thing" she said angrily, poor
ugly little thing! She might never
have come home at all, and her dread
full m3ther would not have cared. She
would have been glad.''
Then she shut the. door carefully
and started to grope her way down the