The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-12-12
The Blue
Goddess
~
Nv Y.NYYISr Ny YvypD
BY LOUISE OLIVER
1918, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate.)

Peggy lay awake at night listening
to the rain. Oh, If it would only stop!
She had planned so many things for
the next day, the day Captain Pear
o was to be in town and had asked
her If he could come to see her.
Come to see her! Peggy's heart
had fluttered almost to %suffocation
when she read the few lines on the
heavy white paper. Come to see her!
She had closed her eyes and pressed
the words to her heart in ecstacy. The
tall, serious officer she had met at
the Marstons, about whom all the
girls had been completely mad, includ-
ing herself!
Then Peggy had done some officer
ing herself, as Peggy could. Her lit
tie hands, which took only Il five-and-
a-half glove, could make Phil and lit
tie Chuckie step around more lively
in n minute than father and mother
combined could do in a week, and a
word from her pretty red lips meant
more to Susan in the kitchen than a
whole regiment of orders from higher
up. Lola, her twelve-year-old sister,
adored her openly, as did LOla's girl
friends, who met after school every
day for Peggy to instruct in knitting.
The differing Peggy did, on receipt
Of Captain Fearsons' letter, consisted
of disposing Of the family for the day,
beginning with Philip and Charles,
and had gone on down the line until
nc one was left but her mother and
father and herself. Captain Pearson
vas to stop to dinner, and Susan was
to achieve the most delectable meal
Peggy's busy brain could plan.
In short, the program was to be as
follows: Morning, house cleaned up,
flowers arranged in bowls everywhere,
best linen and silver hunted up,
porches cleaned and everything in or
der.
Afternoon-The boys to go fishing
after school and to Aunt Mary's for
supper and to stay all night; Lola and
the club to go to Mabel Browns and
Lola to stop for dinner and all night,
as Mabel had so often coaxed.
Peggy planned to put on her new
sport suit of army blue jersey and
with her own little car sparkling clean
was to take the captain for a ride out
at the club and introduce him to a
few friends, then bring him home to
a quiet, delicious candle-lit dinner for
four, Peggy in her new pink dress; a
whole delightful evening alone on the
moOnlit veranda (there was a moon,
Peggy found from the calendar a whole
week ahead), and then-Peggy never
tried to look past that.
But-"The best laid plans Of mice
and men gang aft agley."
It rained, and it rained and rained
and raincd. The flowers would be
ruined, the tulips had been almost
ready to drop anyway. The road to
Bowling Rocks was impossible now,
even with a whole days sun, and the
boys couldn't go fishing. Mother
wouldn't let them when it was damp.
After a sleepless night Peggy was
up at six. To her surprise, her mother
was stirring in the hall. Peggy opened
her door. "What is it, mother?" she
asked.
"It's Susan; she's sick. I've been
up all night with her. l think she got
overheated yesterday and then cooled
off too quickly. I'll send for Doctor
Boyce soon, now, but I think she'll be
all right in q day or two"
"a day or two! But, mother, Cap
tain Pearson's coming to dinner n
there's so much to be done today"
I'm sorry, dear, but we can't help
it. I'm almost too tired to get break
fast"
Peggy's face changed instantly.
"Don't you worry, momsy, dear. I'll
get breakfast. You telephone for the
doctor, then 60 and lie down. I'll get
the Riddles off to school,"
After that there was no rest for
Peggy. The rain kept up and Susan
got worse. The doctor came and
stayed, and Peggy had to be every
where at Once-in the kitchen one
minute, filling hot water bottles the
next, answering the telephone, max
ing beds, washing dishes, getting
lunch, and q hundred other things.
Lunch over, the boys had to be
warned to come straight home from
school, for it vas the kind of day
when mother worried about them. And,
as the Browns lived too far away, Lola
was told to come home also.
Lola forgot about the company and
at four o'clock the entire knitting club
walked in. The boys had brought a
few extra spirits along too. Never
was there such a houseful.
Peggy by this time had accepted the
inevitable, changed to a blue linen
dress with white collar and cuffs and
apron, and decided to make the best
Of it.
She was out sweeping some extra
large chunks Of mud off the front
steps when Captain Pearson arrived.
Peggy did not run, nor hide the
broom. She stood smiling down at