Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-03-30
SOWING SEEDS IN DANNY
By NELLIE l.. McCLUNC
. Jaata Dy NELhC ". mCCLUNC ...-
Author of "The Next of Kin" Three Times and Ouf, efe

Pearl answered with dignity. 'I have
more fun in one day than Maudie
Ducker'll ever have IL she lives to be
frowsy standin' round doin' -nothin
that you kids coll fun, either" p,
| "Tell us about 1t, PEARL" they
shouted eagerly. Pearls stories had n
charm. H..
Well" Pearl began, ''yc know I
wash Mrs. Evans's dishes every day.
and gold with ,dinky little ivy leaves
cawlin' out over the edges Of the cups.
play am at the seashore and the
tide Is comm III DER and Ger the sand
aud round and round the land, far
as eye can see--thats out of book.
put all the dishes into the big dish
pan, aud / pertend- the tide Is risin' on
them, though. it's just me. pouriu' on
the water. The cups are the boys and
the sahcers are the girls. the plates are
the fathers and mothers and the but
ter chips are the babies. Then rush
in to save them, but not until they cry
Lord save us, we perish y OF course,
yell il for them, good and loud too
people don't just squawk at time like
that--it often scares Mrs. Evans even
yet. I save the babies first. ! slush
them around to clean them, but they
never notice that, and l stand them up
high and dry in the drip pan. Then
| J 20 in, after the girls, and they quiet
down the babies In the drip pan and
then the mothers / bring out. and the
boys and the fathers. Sometimes some
Of the men make dash out before the
women. but you bet lay them back IN
n hurry. Then ] set the. ocean back
| A. n tha hn Inc IN,
get their blood circlin' again, and ]
get them all put to bed on the second
shelf and they soon forget they were
so near deaths door" r..
Mary Ducker had finished the
Java March" and "Mary's Pet
Waltz" and had joined the interested
group on the lawn and now stood listen
ing in dull wonder.
1T rub them all and shine them
WE'LL" Pearl went on, "and get them
all packed of home into the china cup.
board, every man jack o them singin
Are we yet alive and see each Others
facc?' Mrs. Evans sings it for them
when she's there. -.
| "Then get the vegetable dishes and
bowls anl silverware and all that, and
that's an excursion, and they're all
drunk. not sober man on board. They
sing 'Sooper, up, old boys we wont
90 home till mornin' and all that, and
crash! cry bursts from every soul on
board. They have struck upon a rock
and are going down! Water pours in at
the gunnel chats just me with more
water and soap, you know, but l ain
sorry for them. for they're all old
enough to know that wine Is a mocker.
strong drink is ragin', and whosoever
is deceived thereby Is not wise But
when the crash comes and the swellin
waters burst in they get sober pret
quick and come rushin' up on deck with
pale faces to see what's wrong, and I've
often seen big bowl whirl round and
round kind O. dizzy and say woe is
mel and sink to the bottom. Mrs.
Evans told me that. Anyway, | do save
them at last, when they sec what whs.
Ky is don' for them. rub them all up
and send them home. The steel knives
they're the worst of all. But though
they're black and stained with sin.
they're still our brothers, and so we
give them the gold cure--that's the
bath brick, and they make n fresh
start.
"When 7 sweep the floor I pretend
! m the army OF tnc bOru tndI CohneS
to clear the way from dust and sin.
let the King Of Glory in. Under the
stove the hordes OF sin are awful thick
they love darkness rather than light,
because their deeds are evil! But j
say the sword Of the Lord and Of Gid
con y and let them have it! Sometimes
pertend I'm the woman that lost the
niece of silver and I sweep the house
diligently till find 1t, and once Mrs.
Evans did put ten cents in u corner just
for fun for me, and I never know when
she's going to do something like that
Here Maudie Ducker, who had been
listening with growing wonder. inter-
rupted Pearl with the cry of "Uh. here's
pa and Mr.. Evans. They're going to
take our pictures
The little girls were immediately "
reused out of the spell that Pcarlie's
story had put upon them, and began
to group themselves under the trees,
arranging their little skirts and frills.
The czar had toddled on his uncer
tain little fat legs around to the back
door, for he had caught sight of a red
head which he knew and liked very
much. It belonged to Mary McSorley,
the eldest of the McSorley family. who
had brought over to Mrs. Ducker the
extra two quarts of milk which Mrs.
Ducker had ordered for the occasion.