The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-01-25
Obey Orders
by FLORENCE Il PATTERSON

folks and little folks. wise and fool
fsh folks, all have bad days. Not that
the day itself Is bad should say not!
Each day Is like a beautiful empty
vase that we may I'LL with good things
II we will. 1t all depends on as. and
the trouble is. / believe, that we have
not memories big enough to jump up
and tell us about 1t when we begin
to fill our days with things that are
not good.
| This is the story about one day In the
| life of girl. A day that she never
| forgot because 1t taught her lesson
and taught it more thoroughly than
twenty teachers with twenty books.
She learned that being bad does not
pay, and this is how she learned 1t.
| 1t was summer time, and Sallys
father and mother had taken Sally
and her little brother to a big farm
| quite away from the city. There were
lot of other children at the farm.
and Sally was little girl who dearly
loved to romp and play with other
children. She was really jolly, hap
by little girl. with a nice disposition,
but on this particular day her dispo-
sition got on, OF order.
1t was very warm, and Sally's
mother was getting ready to meet
Sallys father when he came from the
city on the train, so she told Sally to
quiet under the trees. Freddy, that
was the little brothers name. was only
four years old. and he wanted to run
out In the hot sun. because he did not
know any better. Sally brought him
back about twenty times, until she
was very hot and tired. She could
hear the other children away down in
fields, and she longed to be with
them, but she had to stay with Fred
die. After while she took him
around the house to play at fishing
in a big fountain that dripped and
gurgled on the lawn. 1t was very
low fountain; the rim only came a
was quite deep. Sally was leaning
over the edge watching the fishes,
so she did not see Freddy when he
crept up behind her and suddenly
struck her on the head with big
stick. She screamed and threw out
her arms. and somehow in an instant
Freddy was in the fountain founder
ing round with the fishes.
Sally was terribly frightened. She
jumped in and lifted Freddie onto the
grass, and carried him, dripping and
crying, to mother. Mother was an
noyed. because having to dress Fred
die over again made her late, so she
told Sally to stay in her room until
father came, and when father came
the rest 81 the day,
There was going to be a party that
evening for the children, and Sally
looked into her fathers face with a
big trouble in her eyes and said;
Daddy, does that mean that l cam
not go to the party"
And daddy answered. Il don't think
a child who has given her mother so
much trouble deserves to 30 to par
ties"
Then daddy and mother and Freddy
went off to have dinner with some
friends. Sally could hear the wheels
of their wagon crunching over the
stones, way. way down the road, and
daddy forgot all about 1t, because he
did not know how Sally felt.
Sally cried and cried and felt quite
sure that there must be something
wrong when she had to be SO I'M
happy for such a little fault, and after
a while she cried herself to sleep.
When she awoke 1t was mid-after-
noon. Far down in the meadow she
heard the boys and girls shouting.
The baseball team was practicing.
Sally's baseball team, the one she had
gotten up. She stood and thought a
moment, and then she walked out OF
the room and banged the door after
her.
Down the stairs. across the lawn,
The last fence was a high one, and
as she stood on the lowest rung and
grasped the top to pull herself up.
she felt something give under her fin
gers. In and instant she knew what
It was. Singing black things. thous-
about her. She had broken into
wasps nest! She ran and beat them
Off but it was no use. Her hands
and neck and face were badly stung,
and under one eye great lump. the
size OF an egg, rose as if by magic.
Back to the house she crept. 1t
was a poor homecoming. The pain
in her face was not so hard to bear
as another pain, What would daddy
think OF her? What had she meant
to do? She had not meant to tell
him that she had gone out: she was
coward and a sneak Would any
one ever trust her again? Oh, that
was an awful afternoon! 1t seemed
years before Sally heard voices out
side her door --daddy's .roice and
| Uncle Jacks. Uncle Jack. whom Sal
| ly loved next best after father and
mother and little Fred, and he was
saying:
/ Nonsense. Tom, you can't keep
/ that child away from the party. Why.
you know she wouldn't hurt Freddie
t for the world
| And father answered. with all the
! tiredness and crossness gone from
his voice:
| "Of course she can go. Perhaps !
was too hasty, poor little kiddie," and
then he opened the door.
Sally stood at the foot OF the bed.
Such a sight. All Jumps and tears.
Uncle Jack looked from her face to
! her fathers, and said very quietly:
Tom, will YOU let me talk to Sally,
please?" In a way that people always
obeyed, because Unele Jack had been
soldier. and knew how to say things.
| AS Sally's father turned to go out
OF the room he heard Sally's heart
broken cry, "Oh. Uncle Jack, Uncle
Jack" and saw her creep into Uncle
Jacks arms.
| OF course Sally could not go to the
| party that night, but she sat In the
dark with Uncle Jack. and watched
| it through the window, and somehow
At did~Ae sseHa to -,-s--Aa--.-a----
I'VE all have to obey orders" Uncle
Jack had saidr-..lsh way we do 1t
shows what kind Of soldiers we are"
But I didn't mean to shove
Sally had started to say.
mo. dear. but daddy Is the cap
tain Of this little troop. and sometimes
he Is 10 tired out in front doing the
| fighting, that he does not have tiNe
to think about small things, but after