The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-07-04
CHAPTER TX.
Action and Diana.


warm. Bert and his wife and all their
help" went off to the village after
breakfast There We're no painters in
my house, and Mike had MIXED the
cows and gone home before | arrived
Miss Goodwin and / seemed to have
that little section of Bentford quite to
ourselves, after the last of the carry
alls had ratified past, taking the vet
Grams from Slab City to the town. Hav-
Ing no flag yet Of my own, / borrowed
one from Bert, and we hung it from
a second-stOry window, facing the
road. as our tiny contribution to the
sentiment of the day. Then we tackled
the rose trellis, speedily completing it.
for only two arches remained to be
built, one of the carpenters having
built three for me the day before, while
the barn. Indeed, we had it done by
ten o'clock.
Now what?' said she.
| looked about the garden. The roses
had not yet come, so we couldn't very
well plant them. L judged that the
morning of a warm, sunny day was no
time to transplant seedlings. The
painting was not yet completed in
side, so l could fix up no more of my
rooms. The vegetable garden didn't
appear to need cultivation We couldn't
paint the trellis, as there was no green
paint
Good gracious!" | exclaimed, "this
rs the first time I've been at a loss for
something to do. It's a terrible sensa-
dion"
Couldn't we build bird bath?" she
suggested.
Madam" said l, you are a geniusv'
''At the brooke" she added
mo, not the brook I've q better
ldea," said l. 'My plan is to put the
bird bath on the east edge of the lawn,
halfway between the house and the
rose aqueduct, corresponding to the
sundial in the center, and to a white
bench which will be placed at the west
side when the grape arbor is built
Approved" laughed Miss Goodwin.
We measured off the spot, and |
mixed a lot of cement, laid it over
IA,
down upon it, and built up the four
sides. AS the girl had no gloves, |
would not allow her to handle the
cement for nothing cracks the skin
SO badly, as / had discovered in my
orchard work.. But she kept busy mix
ing with the hoe, and handing me
bricks. Some l broke and put in end
cal
irregular a setting as possible, till the
Top was reached. Then, of course. |
laid an even line of the best bricks all
the way around. and leveled them care
fully. We had scarcely got the last
orick on when we heard Berts carry
all rattle over the bridge and Bert's
voice yelling Dinner
"Oh, deari That cement in the box
will hardenl" l cried. Dump it all in"
Then. mixing more cement l laid
a square bowl, as it were. two inches
deep, on the top of the little brick pile.
We let it settle a few moments, and
then carefully broke away the box.
There stood the bird bath.
Can we put water in it yet?" the
girl asked
Surely" said l. Cement will hard
en- under water And We'll plant climb
ing nasturtiums around it. too"
We passed through the house. The
Kitchen, dining room. and hall were I'm
tshed and the paint drying. They
looked very fresh and bright. The
south room, as we stepped into 1t. was
flooded with sunlight and cheerful with
rugs and books. Flinging wide the
glass door. we stepped out upon the
terrace of the pergola-to-be, and looked
toward the new bird bath Upon its
rim sat song sparrow! Even as we
watched, another came and futtered
his feet and breast daintily through
the trembling little mirror of water.
Then came robin and drove them
both away.
THE pig" laughed Miss Goodwin.
do you know, I've got 6 poorer opin-
ion of robins since l came here. We
city jewellers think of robins as har-
bingers of spring, and all that, and thew
epitomize the bird world. But when
you really are in that world. you find
they are rather large and vulgar and
and sort of upper West side-y. They
aren't half so nice as the song SPAR
rows, or the Peabodies, and, of course,
compared with the thrushes-well, it's
like comparing Owen Meredith with
Keats, isn't itG'