Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1923-11-15
CHAPTER vliI-continued.

-
Jennie blushed. and to conceal her
slight embarrassment. got out for the
purpose Of cranking her machine.
But IL l canno line him up?" said
she.
II tank" said Haak0n, If you cam
line him up, you viii have a chance
to revoke his certificate when you
take Office"
Jennie thought OF Mr.. Peterson's
suggestion as to lining up" Jim Irwin
as so thoroughly sensible that she
gave 1t a good deal of thought that
day. To be sure. everybody had al
ways favored 'smore practical educa-
tion," and Jim's farm arithmetic.
farm physiology, farm reading and
writing. cow-testing exercises, seed
analysis, corn clubs and the tomato.
poultry and pig clubs he proposed to
have In operation the next summer.
seemed highly practical; but to Jen-
MES mind, the fact that they intro
duced dfssenslon In the neighborhood
and promised to make her official life
vexatious seemed ample proof that
Jiin's work was visionary and Imprac-
ticai. Poor Jennie was not aware of
the fact that new truth always
bringing, not peace to mankind, but a
sword.
Father" said she that night, lets
have a little Christmas party"
"All right" said the colonel. "Whom
shall we invite?"
Don't laugh said she. 81 want TO
Invite Jim Irwin and his mother, and
nobody else"
"All right" reiterated the colonel.
but whyY'
"Oh." said Jennie. 81 want to see
whether / can talk Jim out Of some
of his 'foolishness."
"You want to line him up, do your
said the colonel. .weilEthat,s good
politics, and incidentally. you may get
some good Ideas out OF Jim"
Rather unlikely" said Jennie.
Il don't know about that" said the
colonel, smiling. 81 begin to think hat
Jim's a Brown Mouse. I've told you
about the Brown Mouse. haven't II"
YES" said Jennie. you've told
me. But Professor Darbishire's
brown mice were simply wild and in
corrigible creatures. Just because II
happens TO emerge suddenly from the
forests Of heredity. 1t doesn't prove
that the Brown Mouse is any good"
Justin Morgan was a Brown
Mouse" said the colonel. "And he
founded the greatest breed of horses
in the world"
You say that" said Jennie, 'be-
cause you're a lover OF the Morgan
horse.r
Napoleon Bonaparta was a Brown
Mouse" said the colonel. $50 was
George Washington, and so WAS Peter
the Great. Whenever a Brown Mouse
appears he changes things in a little
WY or a big way"
For the better, always7" asked
Jennie.
NO." said the colonel. "The Brown
Mouse may throw back TO slant-head-
ed savngery. But Jim some
times i think Jim Is the kind of
segregation out OF which
get Franklins and Edlsons and
their sort. You may get some good
out of Jim. Let us have them
here for Christmas. by all means"
There is no doubt that on Christ
mas day Jennie Woodruff was justi-
lied in thinking that they were a
queer couple. They weren't like the
at all. They were OF q
pattern. To be sure, Jim's
were not especially note
being Just shiny. and frayed
II cun and instep. and short OF sleeve
md leg. and nI-ftting and cheap.
queerness lay not so much in his
as In his personality.
On the other hand. Jennie could not
'elp thinking that Mrs. lrw1n's queer
less was TO be found almost solely In
Ier clothes The black sipaca looked
respectable. Jennie felt
must have a story-a story In which
stopped, rusty. somber old lady
Doked like a character drawn TO har-
1onize with the period just after the
7ar.
But Jennie had the keenness to see I
II Mrs. Irwin could have bad an !
fp-fo-dafe ostum she would have I
Z rather ordinary and not bad '
old lady. What Jennie failed
, divine was that n Jim could have Z
a hundred dollars in the serv- {
- OF f~sil0Fs, haberdasherx. BARRIERS .
nd other specialists In personal APP Y
sarnnce and could have bIoffed "a !
II recovd an her fathers 6eidrhsnd.
. wonld havs pssrn<d ~ her = dis 7
nxuishsdiooking young mon. Not :
sndsosne, Of course, but the sorf PEG Z
10 seHsk aSm-~nA foByaw. 4