The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1917-08-11
FIGHTING
FAMILY
By OSCAR cox

or 90 cents for cabbage, he concluded
to go in for gardening too. Looking
over a catalogue of farms for sale and
he took train to go and inspect the
premises.
When he alighted at the station and
went out on to the street he saw a girl
sitting in an auto. She wore an alpine
hat with a feather in 1t and a tiny
American flag on her corsage.
"Can you tell me-" he said to her,
handing her the ad, where can find
that?"
She took the slip, glanced at it and
said: That's the Erskine property.
I'm going there In a few minutes and
will take you with me in my machine
If you like
Warringham accepted the offer, and
after every one who had come in on
the train had passed out the girl re-
marked that she reckoned "she hadn't
come on that train" and turned her
car away from the station.
"Who did you say owned this prop
erty?" asked Warr1ngham.
1T belongs to Major Erskine."
whats he major OFF"
"The Pittsford battalion"
Everybody here Is preparing for
war, them"
"Yes, everybody that has any spunk.
There are a few slackers among the
men,"
When is a man to be considered a
slackerT'
when he's young, ablebodied and
don't go to the war"
Warringham WINGED. The cap fitted
him exactly. He noticed that the girl
wore leggings, which were plainly Wis
1ble beneath her short skirt.
ut seems to me-" he said, "that you
are got up in a soldlerly fashion. I
reckon you're not a slacker"
You bet"
What are you going to do to help
the cause-fght?"
II don't know. I'm going to do some
thing. You see, I'm the granddaugh-
ter Of Union soldier in the big war
fifty years ago and the granddaughter
of Confederate soldier. So, you see,
IL won't do for me to shirk."
did you have any more GRANDPA
theirs In the Cuban fracas?S
'NO. You don't suppose could have
more than two grandfathers, do you?
But my father and four uncles were In
that diminutive fight"
Women are not now what they were
in your grandmothers' time Then they
were feminine"
my Confederate grandmother wasn't
a coward. She drove some Federal
soldiers out of her potato patch with a
gum
How about your Union grand
mother"
"she stood off a mob in the draft
riots"
"You do come Of a fighting family,
don't you? Do you think you could
stand up to be shot at without show
ing the white featherF"
II don't know. l reckon it would
depend on how mad got. Both my
grandfathers agreed that when they
first went In to fight they 'heaved Jo-
nah,' but when they got mad they
weren't scared bit"
"On that ground they should make
soldiers of women. My experience
with your sex is that when a woman is
mad she's mad from the crown of her |
head to the tip Of her big toe"
By this time the girl was turning in
to grounds with a house and big pole |
from which floated the Stars and !
Stripes. Women in feminine uniform
were walking about, and before the
house paced a sentinel.
Whats thiS?" asked Warringham.
1.-The barracks of the PittSfOrd bat,
TALON"
She drove up to the house and alight-
ed, while the sentinel faced and |
brought his musket to present" A
young woman came out of the house
with a heutenant's straps on her shoul-
.ders and asked:
where's the recruit you were to
bring, major?"
''She didn't come. l reckon she's
going to turn out a Stacker"
"Are you Major Erskine?" asked
Warringham.
''Yes, at your service. Do you want
to buy my little farm? I've no use for
it this year. I'm preparing a battalion
for active service"
No" replied Warringham, 81 don't
think I do. Your two grandfatherS
who fought in the war between the
states, your two manly grandmothers,
your father and four uncles who
fought in Cuba, have produced that in
you which merits emulation l don't
see why l. q man, should be raising
cabbages while you. woman, are pre-
pairing for war I'm going back home
and pack my grip for Plattsburg or
some other training camp and leave
the cabbages to the superannuated men
and boys
NOW you talk hike a Jim dandy"
But there's one thing l want you tC
promise me-"
''What's that?"