Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-03-03
OUR BOYS
and GIRLS
.o4c+o+ Eo+O+o+ CTOIC
The DOCTOR

Now YOU are all clean and lovely
said Mrs. Hart as she twisted up the
last curl OF the last girl And YOU
mustn't get into the dirt or muss your
hair while l am gone to the station to
meet Sammy's mother. for | want her
to see you all looking your best
I'VE will be awfully careful prom
Used the girls. and Sammy said: Il
want to be very. very clean 70" my
mothersshe loves me the hardest
when I'm clean" So when Mrs Hart
drove away to the station TO meet her
sister she left her own children and
their cousin, Sammy, sitting in a
stiff proper row on the front porch.
Sammy had been left with his aunt
and cousins while his mother went
to the San Francisco fair. and his
aunt wanted his mother to see what
good care she had taken of him.
The stiffness of the row of children
on the porch didn't last long, First
MoIle and Sadie began to play
Jacks on the top step. One of the
jacks rolled down on TO the grass.
and when Sadie got up from hunting
it there was big grass stain right in
front Of her dress whore her knees
came.
oh, my, just look at that" she
cried And | only crawied such lit.
tie Bit"
Come right up on the porch and
sit down" said Josie She was the
oldest, tho that wasn't very old. and
she thought the rest ought always to
do as she said. And when Aunt
Frances comes you had better stand
behind something so she won't see
your dress"
After that they sat quietly for
few minutes, then Josie said Il am
going to fix the sprinkler so that It
will water my pansy bed. want
Aunt Frances to see them looking
nice"
She went 10 the hydrant and turned
off the water and then moved the
sprinkler very carefully, stepping on
her tiptoes where the ground was
damp. When the sprinkler was right
over the pansy bed she turned on the
water again, but dear me. She had
forgotten that the pa"sy bed was
right by the hydrant. and before she
could get away the sprinkler had
whirled around four or five times and
poor Josie looked as tho she had been
out in a rainstOrm.
When she was safely back on the
porch the other girls wiped Ler as dry
as they could with their nice clean
pocket handkerchiefs, and then Mollie
said: q think we had better 20 into
the house. Sammy and | are the
only ones left to look nice, and if We
stay out here something may happen
to us"
Let's 20 IN and play hide and seek
in the house-mamma lets US do it on
rainy days, and Josie looks IS II 1t
had been raining"
This was Sadie's idea, and il suited
everybody, and right away they count
ed "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo-" TO see
who was to be at" Molly was the
first one to do the hunting. She said
that the hall bench was the base, and
that it was mo fair out of doors;
then she covered her eyes and began
to count as fast as she could. while
the others scampered away 70 hide.
II was a nuisance being so dressed
up; it wasn't safe to use some OF the
best hiding-places because you might
get dirty crawling under sofas and be-
hind stoves. Sadie remembered her
dress Just as she was going TO jump
int. the wood box in the kitchen. and
Mollie cried, All eyes OPEN. before
she could think of another place. so
she was the first one caught. The
next time they hid Josie was caught.
Sammy had been hiding with her
/ every time so that she could help him
get in free, but now that she was "it'
he said he was going TO hide all by
himself.
81 know a lovely place" he whisper
de to Molle, as Josie started to count,
Then he ran into the parlor, while
Mollie followed Sadie upstairs. As
soon as he was sure that there was
no one to see him, Sammy pulled the
piano stool close up to the music rack,
and climbed from the stool to the
rack and from that clear to the top
of the pianoi There he lay, perfectly
still. and when Josie peeped into the
parlor as she began her hunt. she
didn't think of looking way up so high,
and Sammy nearly rolled off from
laughing when she went out without
finding him.
At first. as he lay there listening, he
could hear only Josie tintoeing about