The Bolivar County Democrat., 1918-06-22

| Pope, and as he opened the door she
| looked to see if there was q girl in
| the cottage; if there was girl, of
course it was the dancing girl he had
eloped with. For moment Hester
envied the dancing girl, just because
| she might claim admittance to the
white-curtained cottage. But no girl
| followed Vernon, and there appeared to
be no one left in the cottage. Vernon
crunched his way down the white
| pebbled path to the white-painted
| fence that hemmed in the exhibit. A
young man that stood on the outside
of the fence appeared to be friend
| of Vernon.
congratulations :" said the man on
| the outside of the fence. II knew you
would get the first prize for tulips,
but you've taken the prize for the best
show of any sort in the exhibition. l
got it straight from the judges just
| now."
| The smooth-shaven young Vernon
| showed supreme satisfaction. You
| don't say!" he commented. "That GER
tainly will make Pop happy. He was
so keen about this cottage effect, and
he spent. so much importing those
Dutch bulbs this year"
Its sure a slick show" commented
the bringer of good news. Couldn't
| be better"
"Yes, it could" corrected Vernon,
and Hester permitted herself still to
overhear the conversation. 1--WE were
going to get some nice little blonde
haired girl to dress in Dutch costume
and add local color to the cottage. Pop
got the costume straight from Hol.
land, and we were goipg to get one OF
| the maids to dress up; but the only
blonde one got huffed at the last min
ute, and the brunette ones wouldn't
do I'm going to start out tomorrow
and get one. The trouble is we don't
want the kind of show girl you'd get
from a theatrical agency. We want
a nice, fresh-looking girl, that looks
as if she had grown up in tulip
bed"
| just then the young mans eyes
shifted, and for the first time he saw
Hester. There was a slight start in
came aware that she had f1axen hair
and that she certainly did not look
| like a show girl. The young heir to
| the Pope millions lowered his voice
and drew the young man he was talk
| ing to aside. Hester would have fol
lowed them to hear their conversation,
but it was obviously impossible. How
ever she still stood there by the white
fence drinking in the beauty of the
color. and waiting to hear what she
might when the young man returned
to the fence.
1t was only few minutes later
when young Nrnon returned, and
coming very respectfully to her
asked her with Considerable embar
rassment if she would be willing tc
be the Dutch girl. She was just the
type, he said, and if she didn't need
the money she could contribute 1t tt
the Red Cross. He said that he was
very anxious to have some one by the
next afternoon-Saturday because his
father was coming in to see the show
for the first time, and he had Sc
wanted a Dutch girl in the cottage
Hester thought minute. Saturday
afternoon was half holiday. She
could "give notice. the first thing in
the morning. She was only a cog In
the wheel at her office; another girl
would do as well as she on Monday
morning. For a whole week she could
spend her days there in that wonder
full tulip garden. She accepted, and
before long she found herself alone in
a little dressing room donning the
Dutch peasant costume that was ap
parently made just to fit her small
plump figure.
OF course, the young man fell in
love with her, and, of course, when al
the end of the week he told her so.
| Hester, who was very strict princi'
pied little girl, was as troubled as she
had ever been in her life before. She
really did like him; she felt that she
could not let him go. Still
"But what about that beautiful
dancing lady you eloped with?" she
asked him naively. And the young
man laughed and laid his hands on her
shoulders tenderly. They We're inside
the little Dutch cottage a few minutes
before the afternoon session of the
exhibition began.
| 'You didn't think l was Vernon
Pope, did you, little girl? Bless your
heart, you thought that, did you? Why,
I'm only the head gardeners son. But
| father and 1 get more out of the
| Pope millions than the Popes do for
we are lords of the estate that young
Vernon is too sophisticated to enjoy.
| They don't know one tulip from an
other. They just go in for them
because every millionaire has to go
| in for something. So you'll matry me,
| won't you? Even if 1 am Tom Daw-
kins, gardener, instead of Vernon
Pope, millionaire!"
And Hester honestly could not see
why any girl would not hundred
times rather have married Tom Daw-
kins than Vernon Pope, with all his
millions.
| hearing inconceivably acute, and so
/ =