The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-11-04
The TEk-HOUSE
4 III j
BY FANNY GRAY

Lucy Cutler was helping her mother t
finish the Satu1 day cleaning and bak- |
ing, and was rebelling in her soul. Not I
that she so particularly disliked the |
work itself, but the thought that she |
had 10 do that kind of thing day after
day, with not even maid servants |
wage, stirred her to anger. Her ia
ther, a prosperous farmer, could we'll
afford to pay for it, as she knew, yet
he seemed to think it was the natural
and proper thgg for herself and her
younger sister, Florence, to scrub
along, week after week, satisfied with
an occasional small sum with which to
buy necessities.
When Lucy finished her work, she
started to walk rather aimlessly down
the road to rest and cool off. Her ia
Their had just acquired, through a fore
closure, a piece of property of about
two acres adjoining his land, on which
was a picturesque little cottage. AS
she reached a place in the road Oppo-
site the new property, she stopped to
admire the tiny house and the old-fash-
| toned flowers bordering the walk, as
! well as the climbing roses over the
| porch.
Just then Fred Emerson came along,
and the two stood there together.
Fred was hustling young chap, with
! quite a bank account already. He had
/ for some time been casting longing
| glances in Lucy's direction, but, being
| somewhat bashful he had not pro-
/ crossed very far i'll his Wooing.
Now, as they viewed together the
! snug bit Of land and the house, with
the For Sale" sign against the stone
| wall, thought of himself and Lucy
in such home rushed into his mind.
| and he wanted to give expression to
| it: but all he found himself saying was
that it made him think of the little
tea house some women had opened the
summer before in Riverside.
An idea flashed through Lucy'S mind.
/ As soon rs Fred went on, she rushed
/ back to the farmhouse and found her
mother.
Mother. what's father going to do
with the Clapp house,"
why, nothin' this year that I know
of. OF course, he wants to sell it."
would he let me use the cottage,
do you think, mother?'
Use the cottage! For the lands
sake, child, what for?"
well, I've got an idea. You re-
member when l visited Aunt Carrie
last summer in Riverside? Some wom-
en- set up tea house not half 50 pretty
/ as the Clapp place and sold tea and
things to motorists over there. and
Aunt Carrie said they made Il lot of
money. l could make more here be,
cause it's on the state road"
1t took considerable persuasion to
make Farmer Cutler give his consent.
But, with mother en- Lucy's side and
Florence all eagerness, he finally gave
in reluctantly.
The girls worked with Will all the
next week. They cleaned out the lit
tie cottage themselves. 1t was in pref
~ good order already and was fur
nished. There were three rooms on
the ground floor. They turned the
parlor, WHICH was the largest, into
the tea room proper, and made sort
of serving room of the dining room.
The small piazza, they decided, would
hold three tables. Mother loaned her
best white and gold eggshell china,
! which seldom saw the light of day, and
agreed to supply the first biscuit.
Two or three days before they were
ready, Lucy put sign out on the
lawn near the street, announcing the
opening of the tea house.
The first afternoon she told herself
they really must not expect anyone
but her heart beat high with expec-
tation just the same, as she and Flor
ence, in white muslin dresses and
dainty aprons, waited in the cottage.
\ man and woman driving through
the country in a buggy were their first
guests. A motorcyclist and one large
automobile party made up the list for
. the day, and they thought it very en-
couraging, even if father did sniff a
bit when told. Fred Emerson dropped
in around six O'Clock, just to cheer
them up, he said. But it was notice.
able that the cheering process lasted
{ all through the prosperous season
which followed.
) The tea house was a great success
/ on the whole and when the time came
> to close it and Lucy counted up the
> exact profit, she was highly elated
: and began at once to plan for the next
year.
, Her surprise was very great wheT
I her father told her that the cottage
D was no longer his to dispose of. 1t hat
been sold, and she must apply to the
g new owner for a lease, that owner
: being Fred Emerson.
For some reason, which she didn't
quite comprehend herself, Lucy fell
shy about going to him. But one day
when she was alone at the cottage
putting away the last things for thai
season, Fred appeared. Lucy begar
at once.
Father told me you had bought the
place, Fred. l want to know if 1 car
-