Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1911-06-08
Their Pleasant
Summer


where" asked the caller, in con-
ventionally polite tones and with
lukewarm interest, ARE you going
for the summer"
The effect on her hostess was cleo
trical. She sat bolt upright, dropped
the teapot with bang and echoed:
Going! We're not going-we're stay
ing!"
MY goodness" gasped the caller.
Excuse me for mentioning it If It's
a tender subject!"
It's not tender said her hostess,
theoretically, It's worse-it's an
impossible subject! We went away
last summer, and that's the reason.
The Tunnllls announced that they
were going to Europe and said that If
we'd occupy their big place across
the lake for the season. and see that
the servants didn't fight and that the
COWS didn't eat up the garden, we'd
make them our debtors for life
I'VE stored our furniture when the
lease expired in May and rushed
headlong to our doom. We thought
1t was paradise on earth toward
which we were flying, and maybe it
would have been if the cook and the
maid and the man of all work at the
place hadn't decided that since their
real family was gone, this would be
nice time to run home to the old
country for visit And they went,
two days after we came. They looked
US over In cold and critical way and
dlsapproved Of US and departed.
we got lots of exercise before we
found help. Tom used to rise at four
and weed the garden and 1 got up at
the same time to feed the chickens,
turn on the automatic pump get
breakfast and superintend Toms
milking. He was kicked through the
barn door only twice and we consid-
cred that the record was pretty good
for greenhorn. He had some minor
mishaps. like poking back all the
beans when they came up. pushing
the seed ahead of them and training
the potato vines up on strings instead
| OF the peas, but trouble didn't really
start until later.
"One day we were sitting in the
flower garden having lunch, and
told Dotty, aged four, to go indoors
for something. We watched her dis
appear into the house and then Tom
said, Gould anything be more peace
full or inspiring than this perfect
dayp And responded In similar
blank verse. Just then the neighbor
whose cottage was on the lake shore
came tearing around the corner of
our house.
! "She stared at us as though we an
noyed her. Aren't you folks in bath
ing? she inquired Well, somebody
is out in front, and 1 thought
Tom and l did foot race to the
water unconscious and black in the
lake and he fished Dotty out of the
face. That child had marched In at
the back door of the house and as
promptly marched out through the
front door and proceeded to take
paddle by herself in the lake, inspired
by some unaccountable Juvenile i'm
pulse.
| "Dotty came out of her trance in
two hours, but during that time got
ten gray hairs and Toms nervous sys-
TEN was permanently shattered.
1T was couple of weeks later that
Dotty and Tom, Jr., remarked that
their threats were sore and the doctor
pronounced it black diphtheria. He
murmured something about defective
drains. There was Blur of trained
nurses and horrors for a time and then
the smoke of battle cleared away
Meanwhile the COWS had eaten that
part of the garden that had not dried
up for lack of attention and the chick
ems were laying eggs all over the
county. The Tunnills never did get
them back.
They'd send us postcards from Eu-
rope saying. We saw this today. Hope
you are enjoying life at the dear old
home This while l was burning
fumigating candles. Or. We came
down this river today How you must
be enjoying the garden green things.
That came the day the cows ate the
last of the green corn we had ex-
pected to use ourselves.
"A little while later Tom dropped a
f1atiron on his toe and blood poison
ing set in. Then the Tunnills sent a
lovely card. saying: We oan just i'm
agine you doing the five-mile walk
through Elm lane and the woods. We
envy you This was while we were
changing the bandages on his smashed
and painful foot six times a day.
The worst of all was that the
family sent Toms pretty and harum
scarum sister Nell to us so that she'd
forget the Ineligible man she was try
ing to get engaged to. l produced all
: the young men at the hotel and sew
, eral village lights to distract her, and
SO perfectly did l succeed that she
eloped with college boy who was
running launch to pay his summer
expenses. AS the family was saving
up millionaire for Nell when she
should have come to her senses they
still feel hard toward me, and say