Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-06-13
cKApTw u. (continued.)


~ ~ 4pkhsr. but1t upon generous
aneA . ttttle splendid looking. Even
fyoua 9hsaf yan6ow! t4sy could discern
s0ms(hAnG distinctly Juno hike in this
s1KtssnNsaSoA girl. With the easy
eaasl1p eExtAs Inst neAehed her faith
80 apd The graceful head. we'll cal,
r1sd 4 young god6ess-named Fsary
Beafnd them, laughing and chatter
SinG. Ne three children, ~ they were
/ cane de twins with Prudence, each
vfth a arm around her waist And
PruAsnne was httle taller than they.
When they reached tho fence that
bordsyed the pessonage, the scene for
y rnomeut reoemhaed 4 miniature riot.
The smaller girls Jumped and ex-
claimed. and claspsd their hands.
sFairy leaned over the fence and
stared tntently at this, their parson-
40 home. Then the serious little girl
.scramblsd under the fence, followed
scIceely By the ltthe-limbed twins. A
speuse. very 1hort ons-and then
Prudence. too. was wnsgnng beneath
the fence.
Hold tho wire mp for me, papa"
scr3od Fairy. I'm too fat" And sec
'ond later she was running gracefully
acres the lawn toward the parsonage
Tha Methodist minister laughed boy.
iahIy. md placing his hands on the
fsnce posi-. he vaulted lightly over
ma reached the house with his daugh-
tefs. Then the Misses Avery, school
teachers. and elderly, looked at one
anokher.
"Did. you ever?" whispered. the old
ssst MISS Avery, and the others SLOW
Nv shook their heads. ~
Now. think! Did you ever see rec
tor Jumping three-wire fence, and
running full speed across his front
yerd IN pursuit of a flying family?
It may possibly have occurred-we
have never seen it. Neither had the
Misses Avery. Nor did they ever ex-
poet to. And If they had seen 1t, 1t Is
5ouite likely they would have Joined
the backsliders at that instant.
] but without wasting much time on
tkis gruesome thought, they hurried
Is 4 window commanding the best
view Of the parsonage, and raised it.
Then. they clustered behind the cur
lnfns and watched and listened. There
was plenty to hear! From the parson-
age windows came the sound Of scam
spering feet and banging doors. Once
there was the unmistakable clatter Of
Is chair overturned. With 1t all, there
wass q constant GLORIOUS Of ooh, look!"
4.Oh! OH" ooh, how sweet" "Oh,
papa" ooh, Prudence!" Look, Lar
HE. look at this!' b.l
Then the thud OF many feet speed
ink down the stairs and the slam Of a
door, and the slam of gate. The
whole parsonage full had poured out
into the back yard and the barn lot
Into the chicken coop they raced, the
minister ever close upon their heels.
Over the board fence they clambered
to the big rambling barn and the wide
door. and over the fence, and on to
the field" There they closed ranks,
with their arms recklessly around
whoever was nearest, and made a
thorough tour Of the bit Of pasture
land. For some moments they leaned
upon the dividing fence and gazed
admiringly into the rich orchard and
vineyard Of the Avery estate. But
soon they were skipping back to the
parsonage again, and the kitchen
door banged behind them.
Then the eldest Miss Avery closed
the window overlooking the parsonage
and confronted her sisters.
I'VE must just make the best of it, i"
she said quietly.
But next door, the gray old ugly
parsonage was full TO overlooking
with satisfaction and happiness and
love. ...- .... .
The STAIRS had never had an ap-
pointment like this before. They had
Just come from the village of Exmin-
ster. Of five hundred inhabitants.
There the Reverend Mr.. Starr had
filled the pulpits Of three small Meth
odist churches, scattered at random
throughout the country considera-