The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-09-04
EVENING STORY
Keeping the Chaperone
BY OSBORN JONES.

siderably disgruntled when the POM
pous Mrs Van Deusen arrived before |
his farmhouse in her spotless dove |
gray Limousine with its spotless gray |
1iveried chauffeur and spotless gray
liveried feotman to tell him that the
supply of labor was not forthcoming.
We'll, l can't say that was esPe-
eially stuck on the idea of having a
bunch of girls working in the orchard.
from the first" he commented. But
! you ladies who are boosting this idea
| talked us farmers into the idea-and
besides the peach crop is bully this
year and there just isn't a man to be
| had now" He cast a look all but con-
temptuous at the two spetless gray
liveried ones and would have suggest
i ed to Mrs. Van 'Deusen that by way of
| showing her mueh-vaunted patriotism,
she might dispense with at least one
of these able-bodied retainers, but Mrs.
Van Deusen was not interested enough
in any ones point of view but her own
to be at all likely to suspect his senti-
ments.
| She explained patiently for the Sec
ond time just wherein lay the hitch.
The army of eight girls had been Sc
cured: They came from the other end
OF the state-they were good, strong.
sure-and the chaperone had been se-
cured and the cook was on the horiz>
and an order for the first weeks sup
plles made out by the chaperone had
already been delivered to Mrs. Van
Deusen's provision dealers The trou-
BILE all lay with the absence of an
available house in which to shelter the
girls Mrs: Van Deusen had really
worn herself quite out, and had used
t, boring country for some sort of empty
mouse In which to lodge the girls. She
had thought even of setting up cots
and other temporary furnishings in
lf he u
one was positively falling to pieces and
1 the other was already occupied by a
gang OF Poiaks who were keeping the
roads in condition for the army
trucks It must have been quite APP
parent to Mr.. Rogers that Mrs. Van
neusen had done her best and that ii
his peach crop went to waste and the
country was thereby deprived of that
contribution to the general food sup
ply. it would not be in the least her
fault. -''i
Worst of it is, I counted on those
girls" commented the persistent agri-
culturist, leveling his brown eyes on
Mrs. Van Deusen's flabby face. az
could have housed in the sheds, but
you'd asked me to save the work for
the girls, SO I let the chance Slip"
well. you can't in the least blame
4 me-" Mrs Van Deusen drawled.
i I wasn't blaming you'll was Just
wondering whether you had thought
tof putting up the girls yourself. You
are a little down on the folks around
here because they won't move out and
let your girls take their houses-well
there are no more than three in your
family and I guess there are twenty
rooms in your house"
"Fwenty-eight corrected Mrs. Van
Deusen automatically.
I'D fetch the girls every morning
and carry them back at night
70
crimson at the suggestion. Perhaps it
had troubled her before but she as
sured Mr.. Rogers that it was "ebvi-
ousiy out OF the question
I'll let them have my own house"
declared Rogers, more in defiance
than as a result of a calm decision.
Quite irnpessible-we are RESPONSE
BILE for the girls and obviously we can't
, board them around promiscuously
among the farmers"
. But Mr.. Rogers explained that he
would set up a portable shack for
himself quite at the remote end of
:. his large farm and would surrender
his entire large old farmhouse to the
girls and their chaperone.
| So Mrs. Van Deusen went away feel
.. ing that she had scored a triumph,
and took great pleasure in telling her
associates in the patriotic work how
she had argued Farmer Rogers into
; taking the step he had taken. BY the
/ was ON its way from the nearest city.
The girls were learning their task in
? the orchard under the guidance of
Mr.. Rogers's one and only hired
man." and the chapefone, Miss Phoebe
Ferris, by profession il not by natural
inclination a public school teacher.
was working miracles in the old farm
house. Incidentally. she was making
E mental comments on the domestic ar
rangements of bachelors, but that
these thoughts were not un1lnd yau
could tell from the amused smile that
played around her mouth as she put
|. up white swiss curtains at the upstairs
! windows, rearranged heavy old pieces
: of furniture and added a hundred and
> one touches to the place that were to
: transform 1t to an Adamless Eden
: from a place that had surely been
2 Eveless but not surely an Eden. And
T the cook was pottering over kettles
: | and pans in the eld-fashiened kitchen,
T grooming to herself the satisfaction she
!. felt in doing this. her share, IN bring
a ! ing comfort to the eight girls now IN
a the orchard.
Mrs Van Deusen did not forget her
: responsibility and. tho she did not
forget that Miss Ferris was all OF
thirty-five and did not miss an opPor-
4 tunity to tell her associates that she
!. | was plain little motherly body who
V | would be safe anywhere" still she
q lowered around the farm with what
t seemed to Mr.. Rogers to be unneces-
d sary frequency. He could see quite
n clearly that she was going to take full
u personal credit for the bumper crop ei
| peaches his orchard was yielding, and
she did seem to forget entirely thai
| by the arrangements he was making
n he was paving very full value for the
e amount of labor he received. She
n apparently forgot that the rent ct his
t house had been L gift, since he pale
n the girls wages that did not take into
n consideration their shelter. Appar-
a emily, Mrs. Van Densen wanted t.
make perfectly sure that Mr.. Roger
kept entirely at the far end of thu
I farm She even stipulated to Mis-
Ferris that he should never take &
meal in the house. and I want to b