Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-05-18
|DIsposINe OF THE CROP
BY JOAN RUGBY.

Blame that sQuint-eyed Oriental !
What do you want?" he cried.
please, Mr.. Landreth, the telephone
rings"
Howard jerked open the door. Well
might the little japanese tremble for
his masters scowl was terrible to be-
hold. Gone was the elusive idea he
had just managed to grasp after days
Of futile effort. His mind was just
beginning to yield to the quiet soOth-
ing peace Of the country after days Of
irritation and unrest following quar-
rel with Sylvia, and now his chance
Of writing for the day was gone.
He strobe to the phone and jerked
down the receiver. "Hello!" he
snarled.
A feminine voice came over the
wire. Have you any potatoes to
SELF"
NO" rOared Howard.
"Oh" came the voice. "vtei!, have
you any corn or OniOnsT'
"NO!" answered the master Of
Yamasani. II have no corn or onions 7"
swell, have you anything at all to
sell? Tomatoes or cabbage or apples
or eggs or anything?"
Nothing, madam, but ideas, but
lately the crop has been small"
He hung up and turned away. what
are you fussing about, Yamasanif
We're not running market garden
just because we're In the country"
"Will master come and see? There
Is so much potatoes! Men dig all day
yesterday. Outside there is like q
house Of potatoes. And the corn !
Enough for all America. And cabbage,
so" Spreading his arms high and
wide. "And onions. so! And beets and
turnips! Everything there is so much |
And the eggs! The chickens make
SO many l fill the basket every night.
One day, two days, q week, two weeks /
Some baskets / throw over the hill
when they got old. Mister eat only
one. 1 bake cake. Throw out.
make everything. Throw out. Yama.
SAM tell mister many days before and
mister say only, Shut up"
Howard laughed. "All right. Yama.
SAM! l guess you did say something
about 1t and 1 told you not to bother
me. Well, IL the lady calls up again
or If you can find out who she Is, give
her all she wants for nothing"
Howard put on his hat and went out.
1t was beautiful day In early autumn
and the country was exquisite with
brOnzes and reds. Although he had
taken the same walk many times be-
fore he had never been able to see any.
thing but Sylvia. After all. perhaps
she was right to 60 away, II some of
those English chaps in Bermuda don't
carry her OF and marry her before she
gets back.
He felt better after his walk In the
cool bracing air and called the JAP
''Yamasani, have you found out who
the neighbor is who wants the
onionsT
Eyes, I think, Mr.. Landreth. A man
drive by and stop. He say there is Q
big house over there with many chill.
dren and they eat, eat, eat everything"
"Oh, see! An orphan asylum OF
childrens home. Well, get those men
that were here yesterday and haul
over all the stuff you can find. After
this I'm going to write, and II the tele-
phone rings smash it. Do anything,
but don't you call me-"
The days sped on and Howard lost
track of them. One afternoon as he
reached for his pipe he found some let.
tiers he had forgotten to open. He
tore them open without interest al
first, but an itemized bill puzzled him
and he unfolded the inclosed checb
with considerable interest. 1t was
made out to cash for $45. and 1t was
signed Sylvia Farnsworth. Sylvia
Farnsworth, his Sylvia-what could II
mean? 1t announced that Miss Syl,
via Farnsworth was debtor to "a kind
neighbor" for the following items:
20 bushels potatoes at 80 cents, 4
bushels tomatoes at 81, and so on.
But what had Sylvia to do with all
this? Without waiting to wonder any
longer he went back to the road that
led to his neighbours farm. AS he
came near to the house he heard the
shouts of children. There were hun
dreds Of them, 1t seemed, all sorts OF
sunburned. healthy-looking little boys
and girls.
"Is Miss Farnsworth here?" he asked
one of them.
"Yes, she's In the house. Just 60 or
up," advised the small informant.
Then Sylvia came In, not the Sylvis
he had known, the languid society gir
he had accused of being useless In
the heat Of the quarrel. This one
was brisk and alert and with an air
Of one who enjoys responsibility. "Sc
Mr.. Kind Neighbor has called at last T.
II thought you were in Bermuda y
"The others went but-well, I de
cided that to bring these Riddles away
where epidemics couldn't reach then
would be more useful" She hall
closed her eyes and looked at him, the
color flooding her face.
Howard looked very guilty. Dear
girl, can you forgive me? I've beer
punished enough by remorse."
She hesitated only an instant. "Yes
dear, I've got the habit Of being use
full and l think you need reforming
Copyright. 1917, by the Mcclure Newspa
| per Syndicate.)
| Women's Hobbies.
Women are less given to the pur