The Mount Holly news., 1918-08-20
An
Experiment in
Orphans
e><1
By JANE OSBORNE

october. Naturally the course of the
summer would shape itself In only one
way. His defective eyes prevented him
from enlisting, the possession of ter
acres made 1t his patriotic duty tc
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.
He could not cultivate ten acres In.
tensively himself. Labor was scarce
1t was necessary In the community
where his ten acres was located to pay
three dollars and q half a day for a
laborer. 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 1t. So he wrote
to the nearest large city where there
was an asylum for motherless and
fatherless girls and boys and asked
for two young boys of fourteen or
fifteen who would profit by 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
left 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-f1ve or six.
; Barbara Grayson, whose five acres
adjoined his, was also at the station.
She was knitting q sock to save time.
and the fact that she wore a 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 war measure, and that
1t was not her regular occupation. Not
having book to write and having q
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 Qsgood
was still casting about in search of the
two sturdy boys, when the train chug-
chugged out of the station and two
girls dressed in blue gingham, each
carrying a cotton umbrella and cheap
wicker suitcase, advanced toward
Barbara.
Were the orphans" one said In q
monotone to Barbara, and another held
out sealed letter, which, from the
appearance of the envelope, had been
held closely by a warm hand all the
way from the city. The Ink had run,
but Barbara saw 1t was addressed to
Professor Osgood" Barbara, not
having the slightest idea of Professor
Osgood's plans, was entirely mystified,
but smiling on the two girls, handed
the letter to the professor. He read
1t twice slowly and then handed it to
Barbara. He knew her but slightly,
but she was the only person in the sta
tion, and assuredly he needed moral
support.
sour boys have all 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 to do. If they have plenty
to eat and enough sleep, work won't
hurt them. Our visitor will be out in
two weeks to make inspections and to
see how they are getting on"
While Barbara was reading the let
ter. Professor Osgood gazed mutely at
the two sturdy girls over the top of his
spectacles.
wont we do?" asked one
"Neither one of us wants to go back"
faltered the other. Its nice here"
This with an approving glance at the
very green, very sunshiny country
around them.
Professor Osgood thought a minute
more, and then concluded that they
would do, and while Barbara trudged
back by one road. the professor, with
his two orphans following him,
trudged through the dusty road to his
old farmhouse.
At one o'clock, as Barbara sat for a
minute after her midday meal, map
ping out on paper exactly how she
would sow the remainder of the seeds
she had just received, there was a
knock at the door of her shack-it was
of the portable, put-up-and-t9ke-down
variety with only two rooms and a
species of kitchen-and Professor Os-
good appeared. Barbara invited him
to sit down with her and drink a cup
of coffee, quite as if they were old
friends, and this the professor accept
ed with apparent gratitude.