Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-08-11
DAILY NOVELETTE,
BLUEBERRIES AND
FATE
By Helen Ahlquist

- since 3 o'clock that morning and
with a great sigh of satisfaction as she
noticed that the top of her pail was
nicely rounded with berries at last
house where she had been boarding with
Granny" and Granny" Robbins
for the last two weeks. She existed
in town over a ledger forty eight weeks
of the year and lived for the four
she spent in the country each summer.
She sang as she trudged along, with
never a care In the world except getting
back home in time for dinner.
She had gone about half way when
she spied a bunch Of mountain laurel
by Atwood's ledge. She had often heard
Granny Robbins bewail its scarcity in
their vicinity. so she carefully put her
pail of berries under a clump Of bushes
which were nearby and started off to
get bunch of It.
They'll be perfectly safe there" she
thought. land I'll only be gone min =
ute anyway"
But she was gone more than an hour
and got back just in time to see a
young man ruefully trying to gather up
the contents of the pail He had spilled
every berry!
you see" he started apologetically
q"
Don't you dare to say another
word" Betty interrupted rudely
i,,gt 0pin0 - H..
tinucd vaiantly with his explanation,
only to be cut short again by Betty.
II don't care what you were going to
DO. You spilled every one of my ber-
res-every one of them she added
tragically. You ought to be arrested
for robbery, so there! I think you're
a-you're a. But she couldn' t
think of word of sufficient expression
to describe him, so he took advantage of
her pause to finish his explanation.
''To sit down" he .murmured con e
tritely.
Betty gave him a look of withering
scOrn and started on her way again
while he stood watching her repent
antly.
There isn't a thing l can do about
It," he murmured hopelessly. "She's a
regular little spitfire."
Betty was nearly home when she re
mcmbCred that she had left her noun =
tain laurel behind and went back to
get it. When finally she reached the
farmhouse there sat the offender on the
piazza comfortably chatting away with
Granny Robbins! Granny saw her
from the kitChtm window and hurried
out to introduce her to the new boarder.
for, as she so often said, Granny
will forget little things like that, you
know"
Betty acknowledged the introduction
frigidy and as frigidly excused herself
Granny looked with troubled ex-
preston from one to the other and
then hastily followed Betty upstairs.
"Why, Honey, what's the matter? l
never saw you in such a mood before.
Mr.. Moore is a friend of Wills, and
I'm sure he couldn't be nicer! I was
just going to ask you to show him
around the farm"
"Oh. / couldn't do that" exclaimed
Betty in horror, 81 just couldn't. Why,
he's the man that spilled my blue
berries -
Granny was a most sympathetic per-
son usually and she realized if she
laughed at Betty's tragic statement that
she'd never be forgiven. She hastily
ran downstairs, shutting the door be-
hind her and then sat down and
laughed till the tears rolled down her
cheeks. She even took Granny and
Mr.. Moore into her confidence and the
three of them considered it huge joke.
"Ncvcr YOU mind, Mr.. Moore.
Granny consoled him, "she's stubborn
you wait and see if she doesn't"
And that very same day Betty did
"get over it," The Robbinses went
shopping down to the square and left
Betty at home to get supper. Moore,
leisurely reading in the hammock
could hear her singing as she worked
and regretted that such small ac-
cident should keep them from being
friends. She's acting just like al
eight year old" he thought, "and al
she needs is a good spanking" Hi:
thoughts were rudely interrupted, ant
quickly he ran to the kitchen.
"Oh. Granny, Granny, oh, any
body" she cried, "the kitchens OF
fre.'
And sure enough--somehow. or othe
the box of kindlings by the stove hat
caught, and was blazing merrily away
but the two of them put it out in ;
second. After the excitement wa
over Betty bravely started to thanl
him. but she only stammered for
while, and then quite suddenly burs
into tears.
ooh, come now, please don't" urge,
poor Moore awkwardly, really, yo,
mustn't do that You see," he adde
brightly, to cheer her up, I'm gla
it happened, because now we're goin
to be friends, real friends, aren't we
+ never put much stock in fate before
but guess he's pal of mine afte
all. Betty, you cant hold out agains
blueberries and fate, can you! We'v
lust got to be friends!"
And Betty, smiling up at him thr"ug
her tears, agreed with him
The next complete novelette-Sea
sOned La Cora.