Evening star., 1923-01-21

X n
SSI TELL you it's mighty good to
i see somebody from home." says
she. "And you look just as natural.
Trilby May. Amt changed hardly at
lall. Now keep OF hef. you boys"
''oh. let them, Huda," says I.
How they have grown! Why, Buddy
must be foot taller! And little
Pete's almost up to his dads shoul-
der, isn't he? And Elsa! Truly, /
wouldn't have known her"
That wasn't stretching it a bit.
For Elsa had bloomed out-bobbed
hair. earrings. piucked eyebrows, the
whole bag Of fiapper tricks. Rather a
stunning kid, too. with those Swedish
blue eyes and that wonderful Swedish
complexion. But there was peevish
droop to Elsa's mouth corners that
was new.
Did dad tell you about-about the
house?" she demanded.
There, there, that'll do. missw
broke in Pete. 'T don't hafta tell all
I know at once. do I? And you just
let your NAV and me do the tellin'."
Whatever 1t was. Elsa kept II to
herself. but looked sulky about II.
II wisht ia known you was comm >,
said Hilda. "I'd had something fit to
eat for dinner-something you like.
Such as 1t is. though, it's most ready.
Excuse me just a minute until 1 see
II them dumplin's is getting soggy."
you don't mean boiled chicken
and dumplings, Hilda" says I. "oh,
am sad came. Will your cook
mind II I go out and take a sniff
now
At which Pete snickered. I'VE got
the same old cook. Trilby May" says
he. That's her there"
I must have stared foolish for a
second at Hilda before I had sense
enough to put in: We'll. you're In
luck. then"
Hilda seemed bit fused. but she
fcame right out with her defense.
You know, it's mostly his fault"
says she. Hes got to have things
just SO or he won't eat. And I did
try havin' in hired cooks, but they
wan'n't any good"
"As bad as eatin' at hotel. says
Pete. Fancy stuff"
"And I simply couldn't stand havin'
'em round my Kitchen" adds Hilda.
"As for them maids we got to wait on
Us, they was Just too snippy for any
use. Why, we couldn't act natural at
meals, any OF US"
HUH sneers Elsa
"Oh, youi" says little Pete. You
liked to show off before 'em. They
made me sick. Specially that last
one that had her hair fixed UP SO
fancy"
That's right" adds big Pete.
Honest, didn't dast take my coat
off for meals, with her givtn' me the
cold eye"
Anyways" says Hiida, I'VE shipped
off the whole lot and we been gettin'
along fine ever since"
Having known the Jensens so we'll,
I could get their point Of view. I
suppose Hilda had been doing her own
work for twenty years or more, cook
ing and scrubbing and washing; and
as for Pete. after he'd had the corned
beef and cabbage and boiled potatoes
set within reach for that length of
time. It wasn't easy to get used to
having them passed by a snippy
the way you gripped your fork.
4 y * X
A NYwAY, with no outsiders pres
IA ent, we had q perfectly comfort
able meal; Pete in his shirtsleeves
and with his napkin tucked carefully
behind the rubber collar. And after
he'd had his second big cup OF coffee
suggested that now I'd like to know
what Elsa meant when she asked il
I'd heard about the house.
And for the first time Pete looked
a bit fused. WELL" says he, "I ex-
pect you might as well know. This
amt it."
"Eh?" says I.
"The real one" says he, is up on
top of the hill. Tits kinda big for
US, you know"
rKinda" breaks in Hilda. 'I should
say 1t was. More'n thirty rooms
First time Pete brought me out here
to show 1t to me I near had a At.
why, Pete Jensen says to him,
| what you think I'm gonna run-a
hotelT But he'd already bought the
place, SO there was nothing to do
but take It as It was. I was Just
tellin' him how I'd wear myself out
takin' care OF all them rooms and that
raft Of furniture and stuff, when the
agent lips in and says Of course we'll
need servants and. while he don't gen.
orally do such things, he'll stop in at
a bureau he knows Of and send US
out some"
! "welI, he did," chuckies Pete.
! 'I should say SOP says Hilda.
Seven! A cook, laundress, three
maids, a gardener and-say, Trilby
May, what do you think-a butler!
And you should have seen 'em look
US over. Why. you'd most thought
, they owned the place and we were
boarders."
".Boarders who hadn't paid up
| prompt, too," puts In Pete.
(, Honest" says Hiida, II felt like
bawlin'. was SO mad. And they got
worse and worse. Tried to tell me
what was what and so on. Reg'lar
impudert. And stood for It q whole
week. Then we found this place
down here, where that gardener
fcller was gettin' ready to move In
with his wife and kids. Pete says
IL, don't. you let him. We're gonna
Hive there ourselves and nre this
Il p ~f.~~ -