The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-02-07
EDening Story
Hannah Manages.
By DORA NOLAN


present at the birth of Hannah Hemp
stead Brought a most excellent and
valuable gift; but being a generous
she brougI a bit too much of it. For
as an overdose of some drugs causes
an effect opposite to the one sought,
SO Hannah's extraordinary orderliness
of nature brought her more enemies
than friends.
Hannah never hid the light of her
gift under a bushel. She didn't stop
with putting in meticulous order all
her inanimate surroundings, but VEN
tured boldly into the perilous enter
prise of Strengthening out the affairs
of the humans of her community
whenever she decided that they needed
it. She never went out of doors that
she didn't itch to set upright every
crooked tree.
There was one person in the regula-
ton of whose life Hannah had a per-
feet score. The days of her younger
sister had been ordered in strict ac-
cord to the seniors ideas. Perhaps,
tho, she had taken an unfair advan-
tage, for there were eighteen years to
her credit when Harmonic was born
and to Hannah alone was left the task
of bringing up the baby sister.
An August sun beat down upon four
cords of wood stacked neatly at the
side of the Hampstead barn 1t was
a sight to delight the eye of almost
any householder; but to Hannah
Hampstead it meant an unsolved prob
lem thrust upon her by the hand of
death. Jed Henry shouldn't have been
allowed to depart this life until he
had carried out his yearly contract.
driven his portable power saw into
the Hampstead yard and reduced that
four-foot wood into convenient stove
lengths! At this point Hannah. gaz-
ing out at the wood from the cool
shelter of the kitchen. suddenly real
lied that her thoughts were yerging
on a criticism of the Almighty. Only
the Sunday before the new minister
had said something on that subject.
1.-THE new minister" Hannah spoke
the words aloud.
Harmonic, who had entered the
house unnoticed by the elder sister,
paused in the doorway. Well she
knew what Hannah's present facial
expression portended.
"Whose affairs are to be straight
ened out now?" No one but Har-
monte would have dared to take like
liberty with Hannah.
"Our own" was the terse answer.
Then the elder woman hustled into
the dining room We'll clean the
solid silver this afternoon" she an
nounced.
Heavens! Why do anything I'M
necessary this weather." But five
minutes later Harmonie's curly blonde
head and friendly blue eyes were bent
over the silver. She offered no fur
Their remonstrance.
Three days later Hannah told Har-
monte she had invited the new min
lister to tea the next afternoon. Har-
monte, who had Joined reluctantly >in
the orgy of work which always pre-
ceded the arrival of a guest in their
house. had suspected since the day of
the cleaning of the silver that Han
nah had plans afoot which concerned
the minister. What could she want
. of him? Mr.. Dunston was a bachelor
of forty but he looked about thirty:
looked forty-five. Harmonic put
certain possibility out of her mind
J altogether.
| After Harmonic had listened de-
murely half way thru the conversation
at the thigh tea it began to dawn on
| working" Mr., Dunston to take the
place of the inconsiderate Jed
| Henry's sawmiIl. There was mention
! of the minister's already celebrated
love of strenuous exercise: of the
scarcity of labor in the community;
men for chopping woodland of the
Hampstead woodpile. The Rev. Mr.,
Dunston seemed to fairly jump at the
bait. And Harmonic, disguised that
Hannah should show so little proper
pride, resolved right then and there
to tighten his iabors as much as she
| possibly could
The neighbors shifted. Hannah
beamed and Harmonic helped stack up
the stove lengths. The Rev. Mr.. Dun
ston seemed to enjoy both the exer-
else and the companionship of the
| younger Hampstead sister; also the
apple pie or fragrant spice cake which
Hannah usually produced. Harmonic
was not the type of girl to whom an
older man instinctively appeals New
ertheless she grew to Hike Mr.. Dunston
more and more; until all at once the
suspicion took root in her mind that
| it was Hannah's plan that she should
do that very thing. The thought
turned her square1y against the min
lister; for Harmonic had long ago re-
solved that when it came to the one
really important event of her life, Sis
ter Hannah, for once, should have
nothing whatever to say about It.
Harmonic was in this frame of
mind when Hannah one day informed
her that the Rev. Mr.. Dunston had
| asked if he might see her privately.
From several things he has said" she
volunteered, 1T have every reason to
believe he means to propose to me"
Harmonic stared at her sister in
amazement. "Propose-to your
why not?" Hannah's tone chal-
lenged all criticism. Hes tired of
boarding and he won't hear of putting
the old minister out of the parsonage
He fixes my cooking-and we need a
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
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