Mayes County Republican (Pryor, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 21, 1918 Page: 2 of 10
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MAYES COUNTY REPUBLICAN
PRUDENCE SAYS SO
By ETHEL HUESTON
The Story of a Houseful of Loveable Girls
Copyright Bobba-Mtrrill Co.
CIRCUMSTANCES INDUCE FAIRY TO REVEAL HER LIFE’S
ROMANCE-THE TWINS FOR A SHORT PERIOD
ENJOY THEMSELVES HUGELY
Synopeia._Tbe story opens In the house of Rev. Mr. Stnrr. where
Prudence, his eldest daughter and feminine head of (he house, con-
sisting of her father, herself, her sisters, Fairy, the twins—Carol und
Lark—and Connie, the youngest, are awaiting the arrival of their aunt
Grace. Liveliness of the smaller members of the family results dis-
astrous!^ for their appearance. Carol and Lark Investigate Christian
Science. Prudence postpones her wedding when Carol catches measles.
Then Carol tries to convert thb town roughnecks. The twins score a
triumph at the church entertal»nent.
CHAPTER VI.
Making Matches.
Aunt Grace sat In a low rocker with
a bit of embroidery In her hands. And
Fairy sat at the table, a formidable ar-
ray of books before her. Aunt Grace
•was gazing Idly at her sewing basket,
a soft smile on her lips. And Fairy
was staring thoughtfully Into the twi-
light, a soft glow In her eyes. Aunt
Grace was thinking of the Jolly parson-
age family, and how pleasant It was
to live with them. And Fairy was
thinking—ah, Fairy was twenty, and
twenty-year-olds always stare Into the
twilight, with dreamy far-seeing-eyes.
In upon this peaceful scene burst the
twins, flushed, tempestuous, In spite of
their seventeen years. Their hurry to
■peak had rendered them Incapable of
speech, so they stood In the doorway
panting breathlessly for a moment,
while Fairy and her aunt, withdrawn
thus rudely from dreamland, looked at
them Interrogatively.
“Tea, I think so, too,” began Fairy,
snd the twlas endeavored to crush her
with their lofty acorn. But It is not
easy to express lofty scorn when one
Is red In the face, persplrey and short
of breath. So the twins decided of
necessity to overlook the ofTense Just
this once.
Finally, recovering their vocal pow-
ers simultaneously, they cried In uni-
son:
"Duckle P
“Duck 1 In the yard 1 Do you mean
a live one? Where did It come from?"
ejaculated their aunt.
“They mean Professor Duck of their
freshman year,” explained Fairy com-
placently. “It’s nothing. The twins
always make a fnss over him. They
feel grateful to him for showing them
through freshman science—that's all.”
"That's all,” gasped Carol. “Why,
Fairy Starr, do yon know he’s em-
ployed by the—Society of—a—a scien-
tific research organization—or some-
thing—In New York city, and gets four
thousand dollars a year and has pros-
pects—all kinds of. prospects 1”
“Tes, I know it. Ton haven't seen
him, auntie. He’s tall, and has wrinkles
around his eyes, and a dictatorial nose,
and steel gray eyes. He calls the twins
song-birds, and they’re so flattered
they adore him. He sends them candy
for Christmas. You know that Duckle
they rave so much about. It s the very
man. Is he here?"
“He’s in town,” said Lark.
“Going to stay a week/ added Carol.
“And he said he wanted to have lots
of good times with us, and so-we—
■why, of course It was very sudden, and
we didn’t have time to ask—”
“But parsonage doors are always
open—’’
“And I don’t know how he ever
wormed it out of us, but—one of us—”
“I can’t remember which one!”
"Invited him to come for dinner to-
night, and he’s coming.”
“Goodness,” said Aunt Grace. “We
ore going to have potato soup and
toast.”
"It’ll keep,” SRld Carol. “Of course
we’re sorry to Inconvenience you at
Will
He’ll only be here n few days,
you do that much for us?"
"Why, I would, twins, of course, to
oblige you, but you know Gene’s in
town this week, and I've got to—"
“Oh, you leave Babble—Gene, I
menn—to us," said Carol airily. Fairy
being a Junior In college, and Eugene
Balder a student of pharmacy in Chi-
cago, she felt obliged to restore him to
his Christian name, shortened to Gene.
But the twins refused to accede to this
propriety, except when they particu-
larly wished to placate Fairy.
“You leave Gene to us," repeated
Carol. “Weil amuse him. Is he com-
ing tonight?"
"Yes, at seven-thirty.”
“Let'B call him up and Invite him for
dinner, too,” suggested Lark. “And
you’ll do us a fnvor and be nice to
buckle, won’t you? Weil keep Babb—
er, Gene—out of the road. You phone
to Gene, Carol, and—’’
•Til do my own phoning, thanks,” said
Fairy, rising quickly. "Yes, we’ll have
them both. And Just as a favor to
you, twins, I will help amuse your pro-
fessor. You'll be good, and help, won't
you?”
The twins glowed at Fairy with a
warmth that seemed almost triumph-
ant. She stopped and looked at them
doubtfully. When she returned after
telephoning, they were gone, and she
said to her aunt:
"I’m not superstitious, but when the
twins act like that, there's usually a
cloud In the parsonage skylight. Pru-
dence says so."
But the twins comported themselves
most decorously. All during the week-
they worked like kitchen slaveys, doing
chores, running errands. And they
treated Fairy with a gentle considera-
tion which almost drew tears to her
eyes, though she still remembered Pru-
dence’s cloud In the parsonage sky-
light 1
They certainly Interfered with her
own plans. They engineered her off on
to their beloved professor at every con-
ceivable turn. And Gene, who nearly
haunted the house, had a savnge gleam
In his eyes quite out of accord with
ids usual chatty good humor. Fairy
knew she was being adroitly managed,
but she had promised to help the twins
with "Duckle.” At first she tried ar-
tistically and unobtrusively to free her-
self from the complication in which her
sisters had Involved her. But the twins
were both persistent and clever, and
Fairy found herself no match for them
when It came right down to business.
She hnd no Idea of their purpose—she
only knew that she and Gene were al-
ways on opposite sides of the room, the
young man grinning savagely at the
twins’ merry prattle, and she and the
professor trying to keep quiet enough
to hear every word from the other cor-
ner. And If they walked. Gone was
dragged off by the firm slender fingers
of the friendly twins, and Fairy and
the professor wnlked drearily along In
the rear, talking Inanely about the
weather—and wondering what the
twins were talking about.
And the week passed. Gene finally
fell off In his attendance, and the twins
took a much-needed rest. On Friday
“I—guess he is," she said confusedly.
“Let’s cut and run, will you?" he
suggested hopefully. "We can be out
of sight befoi e— Come on, Fairy, be
good to me. I nnven’t had a glimpse or
a touch of you the whole week. What
do you reckon I came down here for?
Come on. Let’s beat it." He looked
around with a worried air. “Hurry, or
the twins’ll get us."
Fairy hesitated, and was lost. Gene
grabbed her hand, and the next ln-
stunt, laughing, they were crawling un-
der the fence at the south corner of
the parsonage lawn just as the twins
appoured at the bam door. 1 hey
stopped. They gasped. They stared
at eneh other la dismay.
“It was a put-up job," declared
Carol.
"Now what’ll we do? But Babble’s
got more sense than I thought he had,
I must confess. Do you suppose he
was kidnaping her?"
Carol snorted derisively. "Kidnaping
nothing! She was ahead when I saw
’em. Whnt'll we tell the professor?”
Two humbled gentle twins greeted
the professor some fifteen minutes
later.
"We’re so sorry,” Carol explained
f-intly. “Babble came and he and
Fairy—I guess they had an errand
somewhere. We think they’ll be back
very soon. Fairy will be so sorry.
The professor smiled and looked
quite bright.
“Are they gone?”
"Yes, but we’re sure they'll be back
—that Is, we’re almost sure.” Carol,
remembering the mode of their depar-
ture, felt far less assurance en that
point than she could have wished.
"Well, that's too bad," he said cheer-
fully. “But my loss Is Babler's gain.
I suppose we ought In Christian de-
cency to give him the afternoon. Let’s
llanefi—Just for a moment, yon spoiled
It all by—"
“Yea-^talk English, Carrie. What
was It you tried to do for me?"
"Well, If you want plain English yon
can have It,” said Carol. "Yon know
what professor Is, a swell position like
his, and such prospects, and New York
city, and four thousand a year with a
raise for next year, and we tried to
give you a good fair chance to land
him squarely, and—"
"To land him—”
"To get him, then! He hasn’t any
girl. You could have been engage!? to
him this moment—Prof. David Arnold
Duke—If you had wanted to."
"Oh, is that It?”
"Yes, that’s It."
Fairy smiled. "Thank yon, dear, It
wns sweet of you, but you're too late.
I am engaged."
Carol’s Ups parted, closed, parted
again. "You—you?”
“Exactly so."
Hope flashed Into Carol’s eyes. Fairy
saw It, arid answered swiftly.
"Certainly not. I’m not crazy about
your little professor. I am engaged to
Eugene Bnbler." She said it with
pride, not unmixed with defiance,
knowing ns she did that the twins con-
sidered Gene too undignified for a par-
sonage son-ln-lnw. The twins were
strong for parsonage dignity!
“You—are?”
"I am."
A long Instant Carol stared at her.
Then she turned townrd the door.
“Where are you going?”
"I’m going to tell papa."
Fairy laughed. "Papa knows It.”
Carol came slowly back and stood by
the dresser again. After a short silence
she moved away once more.
“Where now?"
"To tell Aunt Grace, then."
“Aunt Grace knows It, too."
"Does Prudence know It?”
"Yes.”
Carol swallowed this bitter pill In
silence.
"How long?” she inquired at last.
"About a year. Look here, Carol,
I’ll show you something. Really I’m
glad you know about It. We’re pretty
young, and papa thought we ought to
keep It dark a while, to make sure.
That's why we didn’t tell you. Look
at this.” From her cedar chest—a 1
(
U7 ASHINGTON.—Under the dally, personal direction of Mrs. Franklin K.
W Lane, wife of the secretary of the Interior, nearly hulf a thousand women,
of the Interior department are using every spare minute sewing, knitting ana
packing things which will comfort and
cheer sick and wounded American sol-
diers In France,
When the office day ends they hun-
ry from all parts of official Washing-
ton to the rooms In Secretary Lane's
big building, where the Interior De-
partment War Work association \s In
continuous session, to turn In finished
work and get material for more sweat-
ers, sheets, towels, pnjumas, stockings,
slippers and the other articles which
are packed in big shipping cases, one
of which has gone to Neullly, France, every ten dnys. The Interior Depart-
ment War Work association is an auxiliary of the American Red Cross. It
hnd Its beginning almost immediately after war with Germany was declared,
when the Home club, which Is u soclnl organization of the department with
nearly a thousand members, began planning for relief work. For a time the
association met In the Home Club building on Jackson place, and in the early
days of the movement Its output was distributed through the American-
French clearing house. .. . .
Here Mrs. Lane, surrounded by the wives and daughters of her husband s
assistants, commissioners, directors and chiefs, manages an organized patriot-
ism which ramifies into the far North where the Alaskan engineering commis-
sion is pushing a railroad to reach precious coal deposits; Into Isolated res-
ervations where the people of the Indian service are; Into the arid plains
where the men of the geological survey are working; into the depths of coat
shafts where the bureau of mines’ experts gather; Into prairie towns where
the men of the general land office work; Into the green-clad Irrigation areas
where the engineers of the reclamation service are constructing canals an*
ditches; Into the mountains and canyons and great forests of the big trees
where the rangers and fire fighters of the national park senvice climt. the
trails, and to the desks and offices of the bureau of education the pension
bureau, the patent office and all the other branches and divisions of th»
Interior department.
For the men of the service are back of the women with their money.
Thousands of dollars have been pledged und paid and the enthusiasm In the
good cause has been so practical in Its nature that though the work Is only;
Just beyond the stake of Initial organization.
Tragic Little Story of Washington’s Icy Streets
at this.” From her cedar chest—a WM a Iarge fat »culIu(j lady” and was coming along the street early
Christmas gift from Gene-she drew> M . raorn|n'g with a milk bottle In one hand and a package in the
out a small velvet Jeweler’s box, and K Evidently she was the cook. Dut sho’ was a slippery momln’. Every-
displayed before the admiring eyes of ’ where the eye could see there was Ice.
Carol a plain gold ring with a modest
diamond.
Carol kissed It Then she kissed
Fairy twice.
“I know you'll be awfully happy,
Fairy," she said soberly. “And I'm
glad of It. But—I can’t honestly be-
lieve there’s any man good enough for
our girls. Babble’s nice, and dear, and
all that, nnd he’s so crazy about you,
and—do you love him?" Her eyes were
wide, rather wondering, as she put this
question softly.
Fairy put her arm about her sister's
shoulders, and her fine steady eyes met
Carol’s clearly.
"Yes," she said frankly, "I love him
—with all my heart.”
"Is that what makes you so—so
shiny, and smiley, nnd starry all the
time?"
"I guess It Is. It Is the most won
/
A JSUrjio ll io, Ac *“ *** - ^ • • i
derful thing la the world, Carol. You
The streets were coated with Ice an*
the sidewalks were glazed as well. A®
far as the skating quality of the sur-
faces were concerned, the ice might
Just as well have been a foot thick.
One's propensity to fall down is Just
ns great on a thin coating of Ice as on
Ice two feet deep. It Is only possible
to skate on the outside of Ice, anyway
—did you ever think of that?
The large cook was well aware of
this natural law, "here for the first
time announced,” as General Crowder said In his report to congress on the
first draft under the selective service act.
Swinging the quart of milk in one hand and balancing her lee side with
the package extended at the full length of her arm, she made her way safely
across tlie Ice a la Eliza.
She came to shore on a trail of sawdust thoughtfully sprinkled In front
of an apartment house by a man whose name deserves to go down In th»
annals of 1918 ns the Abou Ben Adhera of Janitors.
“Uh-uh,” sighed the cook, happily, as she hit the 6awdust, “Now I kin
"I'll I
“Come On, Let’* Beat It!"
go out to the creek for a stroll our-
selves, shall we? That’ll leave him a
clear field when they return. You think
they’ll be back soon, do you?"
He looked down the road hopefully,
but whether hopeful they would re-
turn, or wouldn't, the twins could not
have told. At any rate, he seemed
quite Impatient until they were ready
to start, and then, very gayly, the
three wended their way out the pretty
country road toward the creek and
Blackbird lane. They had a good time;
the twins always did Insist that no one
on earth was quite so entertaining ns
f.”
So firm were her steps that when she got to the end of the sawdust she-
forgot that the ways of life are slippery when it rains nnd then freezes.
She thought she was still on sawdust
But she wasn't
One foot went to the left and the other foot shot to the right.
The hand carrying the package weDt down, and the milk bottle went sky»-
ward.
She alighted. . ..
The milk bottle followed, crashing Into various pieces, the content*
out, gently closing the door behind her.
In the hallway she stopped nnd stared
at the wall for an unseeing moment.
Then she clenched nnd shook a stern
white fist at the door.
“I don’t care," she muttered, "they'ri
can’t Imagine it—beforehand. It li
magical; It Is heavenly.”
"Yes, I suppose It is. Prudence says
so, too. I can't'Imagine It, I kind of
wish I could. Can’t I go nnd tell Con-
nie nnd Lark? I want to tell some-
body !"
"Yes, tell them. We decided not to
let vou know Just yet, but Blnce—yes,
... .. . ,.ii
Senator Smith Rouses Pity for Girls From Dixie
r PURRED by a heartfelt appeal by Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia, for_ the-
"I don’t care," she muttered, "tneyra 3 hundreds of "lonesome” young girls who have come to Washington to help
not good enough for Prudence nnd benr tj,e nation’s clerical war yoke, tire Georgia society of the city In special
Fairy! They’re not! I Just believe I geSslon laid certain plans to remedy
i ______ „n iinloQU It’l , i ...___i.Lu whloh on ^■ ■ "V
rr was vtwr
KIND of I
5FNAT0R.
Surf —
mu ui "u-j - - ........r ---i
each other gleefully and went to the fegMr ba(, and the twln* were
haymow to dls.-uss the strain and sleeplng soundly, when Fairy crept
her annoyance Ignoring * Early the next morning she stalked
SiSSXSA SteTnS W. room, where Fairy
must think up a pretty fair meaL Four
thousand a year—and prospects!
Aunt Grace turned questioning eyes
toward the older sister.
“All right," said Fairy, smiling. “It’s
evidently settled. Think up your menu,
twins, and put Connie to work."
“Is he nice?" Aunt Grace queried.
“Yes, I think he Is. He used to go
•with onr college bunch some. I know
him pretty well. He brought me home
•from things a time or two.”
Carol leaned forward and looked at
her handsome sister with sudden In-
tentness. "He asked about you," she
said, keen eyes on Fairy’s. “He asked
particularly about you."
“Did he? Thanks. Yes, he’s not
•had. He’s pretty good In a crowd.”
By the force of her magnetic gaze.
Carol drew Lark out of tbe room, and
the door closed behind them. A few
minutes later they returned. There
■was about them an air of subdued ex-
citement suggestive of Intrigue, that
Fairy found disturbing.
“You needn’t plan any nonsense,
twins," she cautioned. “He’s no beau
of mine.”
“Of course not” they assured her
pleasantly. “We’re too old for mis-
chief. Seventeen, and sensible for our
years! Say. Fairy, youll be nice to
Duckle. won’t you? Can’t you try to
make it pleasant for him this week?
he said he wts going to New London
for the day. Now we’ll have to chase
down there and shoo him off before
was conscientiously bringing order out
of the chaos In her bureau drawers, a
thing Fairy always did after a perfect-
and started. But they started too re-
luctantly, too leisurely. They were not
In time.
Fairy sat up In the hammock with a
cry of surprise, but not vexation, when
Gene's angry conntenance appeared be-
fore her.
"Look here, Fairy," he began,
“whnt’s the Joke? Are your fingers
Itching to get hold of that four thou-
sand a year the twins are eternally
bragging about? Are you trying to
(hat she spoke at Inst, after standing
for some two minutes watching Fairy
ns she deftly twirled long ribbons
about her fingers nnd then laid them Id
methodical piles In separate corners of
the drawers.
"Fairy,” she said sadly, “you don't
Lark for a time takes up a
"literary career,” the dream of
her life. She finds newspaper
work too arduous and abandons
It
despise men, all of ’em, unless It I jjils lamentable condition which an
daddy nnd Duck!” She smiled a little emergeney has provoked,
and then looked grim once more. “Eu- Mothering and caring for the
gene Babler, and a little queen like Georgia giriS( Senator Smith pointed
Fairy! I think that must be heaven’s out( ,8 the p|an of the orgnnlzntlon.
notion of a Joke.” She sighed again. "pitiful letters are coming to me
“Oh, well, It’s something to have some- pnrents of these girls,” Senator
thing to tell! I’m glud I found It out gm,th toI(1 the Georgians. “They ask
ahead of Lark!” me (0 ]00k out for them, and I am
anxious to do that. I would like to
meet every Georgia girl who has come
to work for the government during
the last six or twelve months. I would like to shake her hand and talk to her
about her pnrents.’’ The senator Is proud of girls who arc reared In Georgia.
Senator Smith wrote to the chief clerk In each of the government depart-
ments asklug them to prepare for him the nnraes of all the Georgia girls under
his direction. These names he turned over to Commissioner of Patents James
T. Newton, who, as chnlrmnn of the special committee, was to apportion
_ personal sponsors for each of the listed girls. .. ,
Irishmen at the Front. 1 Senntor Smith seemed deeply moved over the 'lonesome tfrl problem In
The first American officer to oe v)ew the faet that some Georgia girls were coming to Washington before
killed In France was Lieutenant Fitz- Qjey bad received definite appointment,
slmmons of Kunsns City, who lost his --
SSrSErMSS: m Gives Up Society to Help Director McAdoo
where he was stationed as a medical “ ___
officer In churge of wounded. The WASHINGTON society girl. Miss Frances Hawthorne Brady, who gave
first American noncommissioned offl- ^ un parties, dances and teas of the debutante set In Washington to help
cer to lose his life In the overseas ex- mraent during the period of the war, Is the first and only woman on
pedltlon was Sergt. Patrick Cassidy die staff of Director General of Rail-
pro BE CONTINUED.)
of Syracuse, N. Y. The first Ameri-
can private soldier to give up his life
for his country In France wns Private
James Tracy of Philadelphia. *The
first American soldier to win the
“Fairy,” she said sadly, -you oont ----- ;---------
, „ French wnr cross with palms, awarded
seem very appreciative, some way. 1 v „„„
„ T I . . t u „„ . for conspicuous gallantry, was Private
Here Larkle and I have tried so hard ' v v. A.i
HE FOIL HIS
me—
John McClain of Peeksklll, N. Y. All
these young men, as their names in-
dicate, were Americans of Irish de-
scent which Is a fair enough record,
says the San Antonio Light, for the de-
scendants of the Emerald Isle. All of
them are said to have been native-
to give you a genuine opportunity—
we've worked and schemed and kept
trying iu ourselves In the background, and that's
thrown yourself Into the old school the way you serve^ns 1 It’sdisappoint-
teacher’s pocketbook, or what?” «* d, ™ ® « ‘Hshoari:ening
"Don’t he silly, Gene,” she said, la'nr folded a blue veil and laid It
“come and sit down and-” ™ »"P White one Then she turned. ^ Aluerican8i too
"Sit down, your grandmother!" he Yes. \Miat? She Inquired coolly,
snnpped, still nngrily. "Old Double D. “There are so few real chances for a ]
D. will be bobbing up In a minute, and | woman In Mount Mark, and we felt |
the twins'll drug me off to bear about a ! that this wps once In a lifetime,
sick rooster, or something. He Is com-
ing. Isn’t he?"
the staff of Director General of Rail-
roads McAdoo.
I'M CLM) MR- Miss Brndy was selected because
PICKED her ability nnd efficiency In Liberty
^. - I non n'Arlr in ihn find
Gentle Hint
Wearied Young Lady (hastening the
An<1' departure of tedious youth)—I think
y-iu know how hard we worked. And i we are going to have a beautiful eun-
thi>t) when we relaxed our—our vlg-1 rtsq I
Loon work In the treasury, and she
was the second appointee of Mr. Mc-
Adoo as director general of tbe rail-
roads.
Miss Brady's official title has not
been fixed. She Is acting, however, as
gpneral assistant in the director’s
ofllce.
Since leaving a finishing school In.
Washington, Miss Brady, who Is but twenty-one, und consequently not a bit
diffident about telling her age, has been prominent In nil of the affairs of the
I younger set Her two grown brothers entered the regular army ns engineer®
i In the first dnys of the war. She offered her services to the government and
wus appointed a clerk In tbe Liberty Loan bureau.
Miss Brady has no time for teas or parties now. For months she has
l been working from nine in the morning to almost any hour at night. Th®
I hours will certainty not be any shorter In the railroad office.
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Harding, L. D. Mayes County Republican (Pryor, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 21, 1918, newspaper, March 21, 1918; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc956560/m1/2/: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.