Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1918-09-21

NSopyIlShtt 1878 by the Mcclure News pa
| per Syndicate)
| Professor 0Ssood had near-sighted
| eyes, ten acres of good rich garden
SOIL desire 70 do his bit and an or
der from his publishers to get in his
manuscript for his book on truck gar
| deniug in ancient Rome by the first of
! October. Naturally the course of the
| summer would shape itself in only one
way. His defective eyes prevented him
from enliSung, the possession of ten
acres made it his patriotic duty to
raise everything possible, and In the
meantime he would complete his book
| from the notes he had been collecting
for the past five years. He would
divide his time between the mental
work of his book and the physical
work Of supervising his garden.
lie could not cultivate ten acres in
tenslvely himself. Labor was scarce.
Il was necessary in the community
where hts ten acres was located to pay
three dollars and a half day for n
lahorer. There would be no economy
and no patriotism in that sort of gar
dening. The only thing left to do was
to send for orphans. He had heard of
other people doing it. So he wrote
to the nearest large city where there
was an asylum for motheress and
fatherless girls and boys and asked
for two young boys of fourteen or
fifteen who would profit by a summer
In the country with plenty of whole
| some food and not too strenuous out
door work. He intended incidentally to
give them daily instruction in the
! classics, but this he did not tell the
! authorities of the institution.
Professor Osgood was really not
! very old or very eccentric. Perhaps he
might some day become eccentric if
! LETT too much TO the solitary contem-
| plation of ancient Roman truck gar
! dens. But now as he sat one very
sunshiny May morning in the railroad
| station of Babcock's there waiting
for the arrival Of his two orphans who
were to help in his war work. he was
quite a normal looking young man of
! thirtY-five or six.
Barbara Grayson, whose five acres
| adioined his. was also mt ;he station.
! She was knitting a sock to save time.
and the fact that she wore rather
| severely cut fairly short suit Of khaki
with canvas CATERS and wide
brimmed khaki hat proclaimed the fact
| that she had recently gone in for
| farming" as a war measure, and Tint
| 1t WAS not her regular occupation. Not
| having book to write and having a
| great deal of energy and fully as much
patriotism as the professor, she was
planning TO manage her FIVE acres
| alone. She was now waiting at the sta
ton to receive from the conductor
some seeds that he had promised to
bring her from the city ON the morning
train.
Professor Osgood rose eagerly when
the train stopped and peeled his eyes
| for two sturdy fOurteen-year-old boys,
and Barbara ran to the conductor.
| leaning out from the car vestibule to
| hand her the seeds. Professor Osgood
was still casting about in search of the
| two sturdy boys, when the train Chug-
chugged out Of the station and two
| girls dressed Fl blue bingham, each
| carrying a cotton umbrella and a cheap
wicker suitcase, advanced toward
| Barbara.
| "We're the orphans one said in Il
monotone to Barbara, and another held
out Il sealed letter. which, from the
| appearance OF the envelope. had been
| held closely by warm hand all the
way frola the city. The ink had run,
but Barbara saw it was addressed to
! professor OSgood." Barbara, not
| having the slightest idea Of Professor
| OsgoOd's plans. was entirely myStitied
| but smiling on the two girls, handed
| the letter to the professor. He read
II twice slowly and then handed # to
Barbara. He knew her but slightly
but she was the only person in the sta
| ton. and assuredly he needed moral
support.
"Our boys have MI been placed"
said the note, signed by the matron
/ OF the city institution. I'm sending
two sturdy, honest girls that are used
to hard work Don't be afraid to give
them enough 10 do. If they have plenty
/ to eat and enough sleep, work won't
hurt them. our visitor win be out in
two weeks 10 make inspections and TO
see how they are getting ON"
While Barbara was reading the let
! ter, Professor Osgood gazed mutcly ut
! g