The Coolidge examiner., 1933-11-10
Lockout
a a
By DOROTHY BARNES
g. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.
WNU Service.

II was lhS NIuu > ldulI-OT JOuu
sisters fault-or the puppy's fault
But not Anne's.
TO begin with. Anne and John
had chosen Green Nook cottage be-
cause it was in such secluded po-
sition. Anne wasn't afraid. There
were no tramps. Besides, there was
the friendly collie puppy. And
Green Nook cottage was the pretti-
est place Anne had ever dreamed
of owning. 1t was on a little spur
Of cliff that reached out into the
ocean. The winds were so tenn
pered that trees grew protectingly
around tht little house. And trees
and ocean were combined to make
a really beautiful outlook.
OF course, if you turned the other
way, you saw the road. And you
knew that, mile along that road,
there was quite a little settlement
of cottages.
John and Anne settled for their
first summer Of marriage at Green
Nook cottage. After they had been
at the cottage for few weeks,
Johns older sister Prudence, wrote
that she would like to come visit
them.
Never mind, Anne" John had
said. "Pru isn't so bad as she
sounds. OF course she's rich. And
she's had so much money for so
long that she forgets it isn't conven-
lent for other people, perhaps, to
drop everything and entertain her
whenever she wants. But she's not
so bad.
So Prudence was coming to visit.
With her husband, and two sons of
fourteen or fifteen. And Anne had
spent busy day getting ready for
them.
The two rooms for PrL and her
family were all in order-excepting
that the pillows ne> ded pillow slips.
The living room was in perfect or
der--excepting that the dust mop
and dust pan leaned against the
chimney, for last run-around after
dust. The dining room table was
set-but Anne's italian lace and lin
en- napkins were even now piled on
the ironing board in the kitchen,
where the electric iron was heating,
to be pressed into sparkling smooth
ness. Dinner was under way. Float
ing out the kitchen windows came
tantaliZing odors, even now, of this
and that cooking on the stove and
In the oven.
And now Anne was locked out.
To get through the rest of the mat
ter quickly, Anne had suddenly dis.
covered that the cream was not as
| fresh as it should be and had de-
cided to run down to the nearest
village for more. She had given
quick mental look around and real.
lied that everything was good for
twenty minutes. Then she had
rushed out the front door-and the
door had slammed. A perverse gust
of wind had done the trick.
The windows were all screened
with screens that hooked in on the
inside. Anne decided she would go
| for the cream and think of a way
to get in on her trip. If she couldn't
think of way, she'd get help. But
when she reached her car, she real
lied that her keys were in her hand
bag. And that's where the dog
came in. She had left her handbag
on the porch, but the dog had
dragged it within doors. He liked
to chew leather handbags.
Anne walked around and around
the house, peeking in the windows,
taking stock Of things. The collie
pup chewed contentedly on her
handbag in the living room, and
each time she circled past the
kitchen door the pots and pans
steamed a little more tantalizingly
the fact that soon one of them
might go dry. Everything seemed
to mock at Anne.
Minutes had passed-perhaps half
IL hour.
Finally Anne started to walk for
help. She didn't know just what
sort Of help she was going for. Per
haps just a strong knife to cut out
hole In one of the screens. Per
h!ps locksmith with a master key
only of course there wouldn't be
one within miles. But anyway
Anne, still dressed In a pink ging-
ham house frock. started to walk
for help.
And then the wayward breeze,
that had so unobligingly closed her
front door, played her a pleasant
trick. Turning, it suddenly brought
her the sound of an approaching
automobile. And Johns automobile,
at that. None but his could make
such chuckling, coughing sound
and still progress.
The breeze shifted again, and
waited for several minutes before
she had further news of John. Then
she saw his car round a bend In the
road not far away. In a few more
minutes, they were back at the cot
tage door, Anne's troubles ex-
planned.