The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1923-04-20

Copyright by George H. Doran Company

had no modern methods of dealin,
with cooking and laundry work. Per
haps II was fortunate that LettIe'i
industry was largely conferred on gath
ering infammable material of all de
scriptlons. And certainly she enjoyed
1t. On this particular day she hat
discovered a pile of cornstalks thai
had been discarded as no longer use
ful-or even amusing to cows 1t wal
part OF Lettie's business to intercepi
the process Of natural d~isintegratior
whenever possible. She believed thor
oughly that the vegetable world
should be wiped out by fire, and In
her immediate locality she was rak-
ing the earth fairly clean of plant
life that vas not thought much Of by
its growers.
An enthusiastic co-worker was FIJI
buster Caesar Pen1eld, the family
pup. As Lettie dragged a heavy
company of c0rnstalks around the
house, he followed after, plunging at
the long, rustling leaves, barking at
this imagined prey, charging with q
force that severed the more brittle
sections and SEN them flying. Flying
where7 Why. over the walk, into the
side yard of Mr.. Josiah Wopple. This
piece Of t~respassing wal the easier
because there was no fence to inter
fere. the boundary being marked only
by a few old posts
Returning from the second trip, Let
tie found results well under way. Mr..
Wopple, with a highly injured express
sion. was ostentatiously sweeping tat
tiers Of corr tissue, together with a
great deal Of soil, across the commu-
nifty walk into Mrs. Penfeld's yard.
When he saw Lettie, he paused and
glowered at her. Lettie stopped short
and glowered back. And she did 1t
well, too; glowering was a specially
with her on similar occasions.
you'd better be careful" he said.
81 amt goin' to have my yard all
Uttered up"
81 didn't do It," she returned. "Fil
done it."
This was the way they usually be-
gan. gradually working up to a tem-
perature that Is dangerous to body
and soul.
"If you was my child, I'd learn you
to do somep'n sides traipsin'-"
"You shut up" advised Lettie
tersely. Her pale cheeks grew a
shade winter. With a Jerk she
grasped her cornstalks more firmly
and dashed with them to the back
yard. Filibuster, thinking this meant
the end of a conversation to which he
had listened with manifest disap-
pounced eagerly upon the rus
Ting mass and detached portions for
distribution.
But Lettie had merely cleared the
decks. Unencumbered, she turned to
her ~protagonist.
whats eating you, anyhow" she
in disgust. 1--WE hain't
done you no harm"
you been Interim my yard" he
maintained.
1--WE hain't Uttered 1t, sol All FIJI
lone was playing. And just two OF
.hree leavesl Nobody else'd ha' no
iced EN-"
II tell you they Uttered, and 1
won't have 1t. You amt to NEEDLE
IN my prop'ty-neither you nor your
old dog"
Lettie's thin chest lifted, as If a
Iteel hook had pulled 1t upward. Her
lands clenched. HE amt a nasty
Id dog. He's worth a darned sight
nore'n you are"
That's a lie."
"'Tain't a lie. Turn you loose, and
'ou couldn't find a home, way Fiji
lone. Wouldn't nobody have you"
This shot gave Lettie a temporary
Mr.. Wopple, willing to
ubscribe to wellnigh anything for the
axe Of disagreement, hesitated mo-
1entarily before the vivid picture of
imself seeking charity from door to
DOR. Possibly some misgiving about
he outcome Of such a venture
his rejoinder. %Splotches of
ed appeared In his sallow cheeks,
Ike spatters of anger. The hand on
he broom handle shook visibly. Pres
ntly he returned the personality with
choice one OF his own devising.
you're a sassy tyke. If you was
~ child"
The growing possibilities of belong
lg to Mr.. Wopple's family circle were
ut short by the efforts of Filibuster
aesar to relieve the stiffness of the
,ene. Having detached half a corn
-alk with branches pendant. he
joyously into Mr.. Wopple's
ard, careening madly in intersecting
Irves, giving up scraps Of corn ma
rial to the thorny grasp Of rose
lshes as he passed.
Raising the broom t~hreateningly, Mr..
started for the intruder.
"Here, get outi" he shouted. Darn
)u, get out"
Fflibuster Caesar was In his element.
ose to the ground, mouth full Of corn
ak, eyes fixed attentively, he await
the coming of his supposed play
ate. Mr.. Wopple brought the broom
,wn with force and excellent aim