Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1920-08-11
Send for Owens
BY JANE OSBORN

t@l 1920. by Mcclure Newspaper syndieate.l
When the last vote had been cast
and the last ballot had been counted.
and 1t was fact beyond disputing
that the candidate for whom Richard
LeaVenworth had spent so much of
MS youthful end jealous enthusiasm,
had lost the election, Richard Leayen-
worth took the defeat really harder
than the mar himself The fact that
Richard had never fully convalesced
from the hardships he had expert
eneed two winters in France made
him less hardy against the sharpness
of the disappointment.
When it became apparent to Mrs.
Leavenworth and Richards sister that
he had taken the thing so TO heart.
when the thermometer thrust into his
parched lips had shown that he was
actually i'll in consequence one
was especially wrought up about it.
Poor Dick has always been that way.
He's very bad loser, and always did
play too hard"
The old family doctor had assured
Mrs. Leavenworth that, while Richard
was not in actual danger. he ought TO
have a change of air Immediately lie
would recover from the fever as soon
as he had his sleep out, but after that
he should be packed off to the noun
tains 10 get the mental rest his nerves
demanded.
But ii was perfectly obvious that
none of the Leavenworths wanted to
bury themselves off in their mountain
cabin In November. Loretta was GO
ing to be married in January and Mrs.
Leavenworth certainly could not go
of with him. much less could Loretta.
1t was still the day after the defeat,
sinewy Richard-helpless i'm his room
above stairs and Loretta and her moth
er were settling the situation.
We'll just have to send for Owens, -
quoth Loretta with finality. Certain
ly we can't go off up there, and, any
way. If anything were going to be the
matter with him II would be necessary
10 have a nurSe-way off there with
out a doctor or anything. Besides, |
any comfort to him."
Mrs. Leavenworth upbraided herself
for not having thought of Owens he
fore and within FIVE minutes a tele-
gram was off to that nurse of his
childhood instructing her to he at the
mountain resort TO meet Richard with
in two days. She had been there
often enough-she knew the way. She
was further instructed to wire if she
would be unable to be there.
So Richard was bolstered- up with
the doctors prescriptions. bundled in
to closed car with the Leavenworth
chauffeur who could be dispensed
with for few days, and Loretta and
her mother went back to the important
work of planning bridesmaids dresses
with a free conscience.
For after all Richard would be
content with Owens, the old Welsh
woman who had nursed him through
all the small ills of childhood and then
had always been willing to come back
whenever her vigilant care was needed
to help Richard through any Illness or
accident.
Owens, TO be sure, was a baby spe-
clalist. 1t was her rule to take no
one over twelve, but she had never re-
fused to come back to Richard. So
when he broke a rib or so at hockey
n high-school days she hurried home
from a belated vacation to be at his
side.
Later it was she who went up 10
college TO take her place I'm the in
Urinary while he recovered from The
gatherings received at his fist can,
spree. In fact 1t was a family byword
when anything went wrong with Rich
ard, who had not always been the
most docile of patients, to "send for
Owens"
Meantime, how were the Leaven-
worths to know that Owens had gone
back to the land of her nativity for
a few months sojOurn? And how was
Madge. her pretty niece, who had fol-
lowed her aUnt's example in taking
the training course in the baby hos
pItal, TO know that the aunt made
one exception to her rule to take only
children? When the aunt had left she
had told Madge TO go out on any case
to which she was summoned.
She had perfect confidence in the
younger nurses ability to take her
place. So Madge had come In from
one case only TO find the telegram
to come at once on the next, and, he
ing young woman of resources, she
had started out at once. gone by rail
as far as 1t would take her, and had
then landed in the forlorn little
mountain hamlet a few hours before
the arrival of Philip and the chauf-
feur.
"A sick child from the LeavenwOrths
is coming up" she had told the post
master. by chance. have you the
keys to their cabin?' She got them
without difficulty, and had one Of the
natives get the fires started so that