The Prescott daily news., 1918-05-18

 don't use all-wheat desserts ever. My, MT. Perry. Pm surprised that you can afford so much cream-this is solid cream, I'm sure," she said, tasting of the frozen dainty. "Even if you could afford 1t. I'm surprised that you use It, Knowing how active Lollabelle was In food conservation"
 gloom spread over the party with these words, and although Mrs. Keen dld manage to eat all of the refresh ments, and apparently with relish, she said she did so because 1t was just as wicked to waste them as it was to vio- late any of the other regulations of the food administration. and then. turning to one of the guests: 'Mr. Blank, don't you think that the clean plate idea is splendid?"
 Taylor remembered later that he had heard of wheatless day before and that he had also heard of meatless day. But he had left those things to Lolla- belle and he imagined that she had in- structed Dinah to make any necessary restrictions of that sort. Now he thought of it, they had been having meat every day-sometimes twice and three times day, and there had been bacon every day.
 It was the day after his guests had gone and he was hurrying to his commuters train, through the short back-cut, when he beheld Mrs. Keen lowering in his back yard. He paused and shielding himself behind a lilac thicket, watched her as she went gin gerly up to the large covered pails in which Dinah deposited refuse from the kitchen. Mrs. Keen removed the cover and. with a stick, poked about with a critical gaze. Presently she brought tip the stick with piece of bread almost quarter of loaf-1abbed on the end. She examined this minutely and for five minutes more examined various trophies that she brought to light in this way with equal attention. "Well, I'm comparatively in the dark" thought Taylor as he took to jog trot so as to be able to catch his accus- toned train. As he was hurrying on he met Patricia. Patricia seemed to blush as he spoke to her and, for some reason that Taylor did not wish to an- alyze, he felt the color rise to his own cheeks just little, and he went to town that day with an annoying re- currence of the image of the pretty Patricia as she had looked when she passed him.
 Before another week had passed Perry was frankly alone. His engaged friend could not spend another week end. as he had to visit his fiancee and the dancing friend had announced his engagement. He actually thought of seeking Patricia's society for consola- tion, but Patricia was unaccountably cool to him. Mrs. Keen had called one day and delivered a long lecture to old Dinah. which Dinah did not under stand, and had left little card which she wanted Dinah to read and then put up in her kitchen window. But Dinah only muttered to herself after she had told Taylor of the proceedings and said something about reckoning she'd never skimp for no one-least wise not when she was cooking for Mir. Perry"
 Once or twice after that Mir. Perry noticed that Mrs. Keen, who must have suddenly become exceedingly eccen- tric, was poking around in the refuse pails in his back yard. Once he met Mrs. Keen and some other women of her following on the station platform and he felt that they all looked upon him with something like coolness.
 For two or three evenings in sue cession he telephoned to Patricia to ask whether he could not come to see her, for he was lonely, but always Mrs. Keen answered the phone and made some excuse for Patricia. Then one warm night as Taylor was sitting dejectedly smoking in little summer house in Lollabelle's garden, Patricia stole through the hedge and came and sat down by him. "I just had to ex- plain" she told him. Mother hasn't let me see you. She's so unreasonable. And--now-now she says she'll report you to the food administration officer and she would--only she found that Lollabelle is the food administration officer in this district. But she says YOU let Dinah throw away lots of bread and things, ana she got the butcher boy to tell her that you have meat every day-and you know the cake. But I know you can't help it.. You don't mean to be unpatriotic, do you. Mir. Perry?"
 And then after Mir. Perry had with almost unnecessary fervor assured her of his perfect loyalty and thanked her for coming to explain to him, she