The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1918-09-20

Cuu1ly u tell uer associates tnaC Sl0
was q 'plain little motherly body who
would be safe anywhere" still she how
cred around the farm with what seem.
ed to Mr.. Rogers to be unnecessary
frequency. He could see quite clearly
that she was going to take full per.
sonal credit for the bumper crop Of
peaches his orchard was yielding. and
she did seem to forget entirely that
BY the arrangements he was making
he was paying very full value for the
amount Of labor he received. She ap-
parently forgot that the rent Of his
house had been a gift since he paid
the girls wages that did not take into
consideration their shelter. Appar-
emily Mrs. Van Deusen wanted to
make perfectly sur that Mr.. Rogers
kept entirely at the far end of the
farm. .She wen stipulated to Miss
Ferris that he should never take q
meal In the house, land l want to be
sure" she told her, "that he shows no
signs of attention to any Of the girls.
1t is your responsibility and mine."
she said condescendinoly. $50 please
make a point to be witt. tho girls as
much MS possible when he is with
them. You would have a restraining
influence, I am sure"
Miss Ferris did not take the trouble
to remind Mrs. Van Deusen that as
Mr.. Rogers was staid and studious and
forty and the girls were for the most
part uneducated young Polack girls on
their vacations from factories it was
not likely that he would find much to
interest him In their presence. In
stead she looked very grave and as
sured Mrs. Van Deusen that she would
keep a motherly eye on everything.
And Mrs. Van Deusen made it quite
clear to Mr.. Rogers himself that he
was not wen to cross the threshold
Of his own house; hence arose within
Mr.. Rogers breast an Unsuitable de-
sire to co just that thing. The fact
was, from glimpses he had secured
from outside, a marvellous transfor-
nation had been wrought in the liz
terror of that house. The swiss cur
tains in the windows swaying back and
forth in the breeze, the glimpses of
bouquets Of flowers on the tables, the
airiness and s~paciousness of the house
as contrasted with the STIFFNESS and
formality of 1t as 1t had been handed
down to him by his old aunt and uncle
five years before fairly staggered him.
Apparently it had become the house
he vaguely dreamed that it might be-
come, yet Miss Ferris had brought
only a. few hampers Of 'fixings'' and
had made no definite change that he
knew about save to move some Of the
furniture into the attic ito make more
ROOM" She had asked his permission
to do that.
No doubt Mr.. Rogers was sorely
tempted at any rate, he fell and. for
getting his promise to Mrs. Van Deu-
sen, sneaked into that transformed
house of his. M day when Miss Fer
ris was in the orchard with the girls,
and looked around. What had been
done he could not say. but that the
house had been transformed into a
home, he knew, and 1t was only by
dint Of firm resOlve-and fear of being
caught by Miss Ferris, or worse still,
by Mrs. Van Deusen-that he tore
himself from the charming rooms.
The experience left an impress that
seemed really out Of proportion to the
Importance OF 1t. It seemed to William
Rogers as If seeing that modified in
terror left him transformed as IL he
had gone through a great experience.
It left him more with p desire to seek
out the woman who had wrought the
change than with q desire to revisit 1t
again as it would be after the eight
girls had returned from their days
work. So 1t was that a message was
carried by the solitary hired man
through the cook to Miss Ferris that
MI. Rogers had important business to
discuss in the orchard after the girls
had retired.
In a week more the girls had gone
and the peaches had all been sold, and
thereby contributed to the national
food supply, and Mrs. Van Deusen was
telling guests at dinner parties In her
spacious house how successful had
been her work.
"And you didn't know l was a match
maker, did your she would say.
There was q lonely old bachelor far
mer and | just made up my mind to
find a wife for him. So / worked my
little plan to get her In there to trans
form his house and show him how
much he needed a wife, and / threw
them together as much as l decently
could and-well, l have actually made
the match. They were married yes
terday and they have settled down
there in the old house with the pro-
ceeds OF the peach crop that ! got for
him."