The Ontario Argus. (Ontario, Or.) 1???-1947, 1922-10-05
Observation-Disclosures
WAYS OF FATE
BY MILDRED WHITE

Copyright, 1922, Western Newspaper ~
The girl who walked down the vii
lage street, passed the row of qU"'nt
old fashioned houses. to turn IL al
a bungalow door. To this fran g1rl
whose health made country living Il
present necessity, Janey's home, and
Janey's bright society, were saliva
tion, and indeed without them Rosa
lind could not have stayed out heI
designated time. The new quiet life
was very strange to the city-bred
young woman, whose natural gayeties
perhaps, had been her disaster.
"Who lives in the bungalow with
the sun dial in the garden? Rosa
lind had asked her aunt the second
day of her stay
"Oh you mean Janey Peppers place
We always call her Janey Pepper"
Rosalind met the mistress of the
pretty bungalow soon after. Passing
the garden Of the sun dial when Its
mistress was there picking roses, that
sweet-faced little lady invited her in
Rosalind became Immediately inter.
ested In Janey Pepper.
Fate is the strangest thing" re.
marked Rosalind one day, here am 1,
a lonely stranger in strange place.
carelessly passing rose garden, j
find you-and am lonely no more"
Janey Pepper bent over the silk cur
tain she was sewing.
There's no understanding the ways
of fate" she said, and laughed.
Now take me, my dear, and the
way came to be married; had just
settled down cheerrully to single bless
edness when a bit of misfortune led
me straight to my husband and hap
piness. That sounds contradictory
know, but let me tell you about it.
was living, at the time, in the little
home my folks left to me. Then came
the hard winter when my collie dog
died and Black Beauty had to be sold,
and l fell off a tall stool and twisted
my back. / was standing on the stool
to take down Uncle Sias' old photo
graph that I'd got pretty tired of see
ing there, and after 1 fell there was
no Black Beauty to carry me over to
Doctor Hastings SO l put on loose
cape and walked, all twisted with pain
all the way to the Doctors office.
The doctor, himself, who had dis
charged an impertinent chauffeur that
morning and didn't know how he was
TO be driven around, was not very
sympathetic, being troubled with his
own problem. Then into the waiting
rnon wbara 7 xros itinp In 500 huR,
was to get back to my home, came
James N. Hodges of the grand house
on the hill. Every one spoke of him
as James N. Hodges, thinking always
of the mans aloof Importance. | re-
called, as he sat there in scowllng i'm.
patience, that his lovely butterfly wife
had died last spring. ! don't remember
that James N. Hodges had ever no.
ticed me before; he spoke now,
gruffly.
"When will the doctor be at liber.
ty?"
And, I impatient with my pain, re-
piled, II don't know anything about
the doctor"
James n. Hodges looked in sudden
fine eyes were reproachfully ques
tioning
The doctor opened the door and he
was as crusty as either of us "Janey
Pepper" he said, 81 can't take you
home as | hoped to do, Don't know
how I'm going to make the rounds
myself; but If you had used little
ha hn
with a lame back. Better have left |
your Uncle Silas picture hanging on
the wall"
81 can stand the lame back better |
than | could stand Uncle Sllas' pie |
ture," retorted, and in minute we
were all three laughing together |
James n. Hodges jumped to his feet |
"My car is at the door" he Offered |
pleasantly. II will be glad to drive you
home. l can send 1t back for your
use later Doctor hastings"
Janey smoothed thoughtfully the |
rose silk.
"rhat's how fate gave me my hus-
band" she said, Though Jim says his
Is the gift. do try to make him
happy. That's why we left the gloomy
old ancestral home on the hill for
this lovely sunny place. For soon
learned that my Jim was not self I'M
portant nor aloof. as we supposed, but
just man, plain, lonesome for COM
mon happiness and-love" Janey
laughed.
"Tll be bound If he expected TO find
those blessings In old Doctor Has
tings' office any more than expected
to find them-fall!ng Off STOOL"