The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1927-03-17
At the Old Yellow
House
BY JANE OSBORN

| w come ont to Oakyille with the
| avowed intention of spending a
| weeks vacation in the old home
where. as a boy, he had spent his
| summers. But Jeremiah, who was
| very astute business man for his
| thirty years. had other things in
| mind.
The day of Jerry's arrival in Oak
vile he drove very slowly up from
the village to the old Borden farm
much more slowly than was his
| custom. He wanted to get good
idea of the surrounding property.
| He had not revisited these scenes
of his childhood for fifteen years,
| and he was prepared to find more
| changes than actually met his eyes.
There the last thing before he
reached his own territory was the
broad, low-lying yellow house set
amidst maple trees that belonged
to the POntiacs. Pleasant associa-
tons came to Jerry as he looked
at the yellow house, and as he saw
the curl Of smoke rising from one
of the many chimney pots he al
most thought he could smell GIN
gerbread.
There certainly was strong as
ISOLATION of gingerbread with that
house. He remembered old Grand
ma Pontiac whom he had known so
well when he was a boy running
barefooted back and forth between
| the two houses. Grandma Pontiac
always made gingerbread for him
every Wednesday and every Satur-
day all summer. She seemed to
think that because he had reddish
hair and freckles and his name
was Jerry he ought to have more
gingerbread than a boy like his
brother, who had dull brown hair,
clear olive skin and was named
Charles.
These thoughts of old Grand
mother Pontiac occupied Jerry's
mind until he had passed well be-
yond the Pontiac property and
neared his own driveway. If he
undertook to open up his own tract
of land as a suburban building
tract the Pontiac property was
bound to be benefited thereby. He
would spend all the money for the
boom and the Pontiacs, whoever
they now were, would reap the ben
efits. That would not do. It was
property that would eventually
fetch a good price. But maybe the
present Pontiacs or Pontiac did
not know this. Possibly, too, they
needed money. Jerry determined
to visit them within the next few
days and buy their property.
Not wishing to bother with any
sort Of servant for the week of his
visit, Jerry had planned to take his
three meals day at the Oakville inn.
But he was In gloomy frame Of
mind when he returned to the old
house after supper at the Oakville
inn, which had been neither n0ur-
ishing nor palatable.
Then 1t was that q rap came
on the old door. Jerry went and
there stood in the big old doorway
the slender figure of girl-a girl
in white with rather wistful brown
eyes-a pretty girl, too. She hand
ed him a plate spread with white
linen and fed.
"Here is some gingerbread for
YOU" she said as she fed.
The very odor of that ginger
bread seemed to brace Jerry, and
as he sat down and munched the
golden brown squares his mind
seemed to turn back to years of his
boyhood and he felt as if in truth
the gingerbread had been q gift
from old Grandma Pontiac, though
he knew she had died six years be-
fore.
The girl had not said who she
was, but Jerry felt convinced that
she had come from the Pontiacs.
He would carry back the empty
dish and napkin that evening. That
would at least give him an excuse
for calling upon them.
The pretty girl in the white cot
ton frock met him at the old yell
low house. Yes, she had brought
him the gingerbread but
she would have to explain. She
asked him to sit down with her on
the veranda while she did so. Old
Grandmother Pontiac had been very
fond of her boy Jerry, as she called
him, and when she died she had
asked her to go on making GIN
gerbread for Jerry. II he ever
came back to Oakville she wanted
him to have 1t twice week. She
left her recipe for the dainty and
a small amount which was to be
used for that purpose. The girl,
who was named Nelly Pontiac. was
the youngest Of the grandchildren.
The old Pontiac farm had been left
them all-three brothers and her
self. They were away and she was
trying to keep things going for
them getting men In by the day
and making jams and preserves
and things. But they would rath-
err sell the place at almost any
price.
"But you don't want to sell it at
any price," Jerry heard himself
telling her. ''This property Of
YOURS is bound to come up in value.
ri tell you more about it later.
Only take my advice. A few years
from now you may be able to sell
It at a very big profit. In the
meantime If you want some money
I'll be glad to lend it to you. An
INSCRIPTIONS person might want
from unr1-