The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-01-04
POLLY PERKINS
BY CATHERINE cOOPE.

tIopyrlSht, 1914, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate)
No one would have stigmatized
Polly Perkins as being insane. Ec-
centric, mentally unbalanced, she GER
| tainly WIS arl another couple of
, yeas mi. lit possible see her COM
curables. For the present she was
happily If whimsically domiciled in
tiny cottage on Long Island. Miss
Polly's mental state was the cause
OF rude jests from village children
and one of amused interest to older
minds. Week end guests were sure
to be taken past the abode of Polly
Perkins just as they were invariably
RECALLED by the story of the haunted
house on the old farm road
she's dipDY on th" subject Of
pink" said Jimmy Rogers as he
str2Mcd past Miss Perkins cottage
with Bob Hawthorne after a swim
in the Sound.
Il wouldn't have believed it,"
laughed Hawthorne as he eyed with
amused glance the pink-painted cot
tagc. the pink flower gardens. pink
gate posts and outbuildings. Il sup
pose she has pink bows on all the
live stock" he commented.
She surely has" chuckled Jimmy.
every living chicken in the barnyard
has pink bow on his neck"
1t was not until few days later
that Hawthorne, lolling in Jimmy
Rogers hammock, looked up to see
lone chicken clucking away and
pecking contentedly for vermin in
Rogers well-kept lawn. The chicken
had more or less bcdraggled pink
bow on it's neck that sadly interfered
at times with the capturing of dain-
ties from the soft sod
And because Bob Hawthorne was
trfle bored with his own society and
moro or les curious regarding the
eccentric Miss Perkins. he decided to
make a martyr of himself and take
the straying bird home.
He had little difficulty in catching
the chicken. Evidently Miss Perkins
hens were more in the nature of pets
than table delicacies.
After a few moments of reconnoi-
terng he discovered that wing of
Miss Perkins property practically ad-
joined that of Jimmy Rogers lie
climbed the latters fence and found
himself facing the back of pink
phiplnn A cham nrnnn1
the fence brought him into the awk-
ward position of having tripped over
a pink-clad figure. She was lying fiat
upon her back in the tall grasses
you've no right to be snoring in
that wet grass" he said.
II was not snoring, and the grass is
as dry as a bone" the girl said with
asperity. She had arisen to sitting
posture and was endeavoring to coax
back the frightened chicken. 81 don't
know why-all men think that every
place of grass in the universe is con-
tinually wet
She had got the chicken back by
continued coaxing, the while she was
addressing her remarks to Haw-
thorne.
Are you Miss Polly Perkins?" he
asked, when her wideopen eyes again
roamed toward his face.
"Yes, | am she said. rs there
anything else you would like to know,
Rude PERSON." she inquired You
know" she continued, Il am not
the Miss Polly Perkins you think |
am. am her niece" With that she
turned swiftly on her heels and left
Bob Hawthorne standing beside the
pink chicken coop.
you know" she conided to him
two nights later when they left the
club house after a most delightful
tango evening, 81 have dreadful
confession to make" Since Bob's
eyes were anything but fear inspir-
ing, Polly continued: Il saw you
sneaking down 10 Aunt Polly's chick
en- coop and deliberately put that bird
over the fence so that you might
see it,
Are you engaged?" asked Bob
bluntly.
"No-Rude Person" laughed Polly
Then prepare for the worst soon"
said Bob. possessing himself of the
slim fingers taat he had watched
jealousy caressipg the pink.bowe0
chicken
For the uest," contradioted Polly
softly.