The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-10-26
The Eoenine Story
.sNotbine WIN Happen"

| 10Y Ad Wa SIAS0 <AAAA OAAysI
| When the glo- ious days Of autumn
came Mrs. John Treadwell said, to her
daughter Ida: your father can get
away from his business next week"
I'm glad of it,
And last night he suggested that
he and l take an auto trip Of several
days.
'Good!"
You wouldn't want to visit some girl
| friend of yours for four or five days.
would your
$50 that the house might be closed
while you are gomez"
Yes
You are a poor hand to plan. moth
err. Where would the cook go? What
would become of my rabbits? We have
chickens to be cared for. If the house
is left alone some one will rob 1t.
Yes" sighed the mother.
"Whereas,'' continued Miss Ida, ''if
Mollie Perkins comes down to keep
me company nothing whatever will
happen, and things will go along just
lovely"
Il wonder if they would?" reflected
the mother.
"Why, how could they help it? In my
minds eye l see the daily program:
Arise at 7:3O. Breakfast at 8 O'Clock.
Feed the chickens. Feed the rabbits.
Walk in the dewy grass. Climb an ap-
pie tree. Throw stones at the crows.
Lunch and a long walk. And then.
and SO forth and SO forth, until time
to lock up the house at night, and get
the cook in and have her tell murder
and ghost stories for an hour, and then
all go to bed and shiver.''
Yes. that will be the way of it. and
your father and 1 can't CO."
You and father can dust right along,
and you need not worry one little bit
about the house. If you come back
dead no that
| we died game
Miss Mollie Perkins was telephoned
| to and she uttered a shrek of delight
and within two hours was on her way
down. In due time the autoists got
away, but not until they had wasted
half an hour in cautioning the daugh-
| ter, the visitor and the cook.
| If anything happened each one was
| to be calm-very calm. Even if it be-
came necessary to shoot a TN peddler
yer. reposing on the top shelf in a
closet. it must be done calmly and the
hurrah left out. q
Nothing happened that first day.
Nothing but that the kitchen chimney
burned out, one of the rabbits choked
to death on a hunk Of sweet apple, and
| a young farmer. who called to sell a
| crock Of butter, winked at the visitor
and was heard to mutter:
Gosh. all hemlock, but she must
have tumbled out of bed up in Heaven
this mornin' and fell clear down
here!"
The cook told three murder stories
| that evening. but somehow after mid
night all three women got to- sleep
and nothing happened to disturb their
s1umberS.
Nothing happened on the second
day. Nothing but that the old rooster
got the feeling that his work on earth
| was done and laid him down and
| sighed and breathed his last. Short
| ly after lunch the cook struck for
higher wages, but after an hours ar
gument she lowered her flag and
started in to make some apple tarts. A
stray pig got into the garden, but it
wasn't over an hour before he was
made to see the error of his ways.
At night the cook, whose conscience
| troubled her for striking, related no
less than five true ghost stories, each
one of which was received with the
proper number of shivers, but no
white-robed figure wandered up and
to gain access to the house by the
| pantry window.
| 1t was the next day that it happen :
ed. There were plenty of apples on
the ground and in the kitchen, but
| there were some on the tree that look
ed a great deal better. Besides, there
was the fun of climbing the tree. 1t
would not be true to say that Miss
Molly Perkins Skinned up that tree
/ like a squirrel. She didn't do it even
like a boy. No girl can. This one
drew herself slowly up after repeated
efforts, and at last reached limb
about IL feet from the ground. She
was being congratulated on her ath-
letics, when she lost her hold and ut
tered a yell and struck the ground.
AS the victim struck on her head,
| and as she was unconscious when
yelled at, it was the logical conclusion
that she was either dead of a broken
neck or badly injured. In either case
the doctor must be summoned.
Ring! Ring! Ring! No answer
from central. The wire had got tired
of being live wire and had gone
dead.
The cook must go three miles after
the doctor. But how could she with
that rheumatic knee?
Miss Ida ran down to the gate.
There wasn't vehicle of any sort in
sight. She must go for the doctor
herself, and after she had instructed
the cook to throw an occasional pail
of water over the girl under the tree,
she set off. Her mother had eau
toned her to be calm. She WINS calm
Her shoestrings were Tapping about
she was bareheaded and her hair fly
ing as she climbed the fence into the
highway.
Mr.. Earl Depew. who lived in the
big town and had something to do
with large manufacturing plant, had
come down that morning in his auto
to see a relative, and there stood the
machine in front of the house. The
calm and unexcitable Miss Ida saw il
from a distance and had time to lay
her plans. AS she reached 1t she
climbed to the chauffeur's seat, threw
in the clutch and away she went.
The doctor was not at home, but
three miles away setting bone The
trip back was made by another road
and thereby they missed Mr.. Depew,