Evening Star Newspaper, June 29, 1930, Page 74

cottage for the Summer is to take your prospeetive landlord aside and ask severely, “Why are you renting this cottage?” His answers will be unsatisfactory, but at least you will show him that you are going into the matter with your eyes open. He will say (a) that the people who usually take it are in Europe this Sum- mer, (b) that it would Mve in it himself if he hadn’t lost so heavily in the market last Fall, (c) that he is anxious to have high-class tenants, even though heé doesn’'t make any money. He will end by saying that if you .will take it at once he will let you have it at a sacrifice. Just who makes the sacrifice is something that you find out later. The Milfrets rented a cottage called Tumble- wood at Gooseberry Lake because it belonged to such a charming lady, Mrs. Petherton. “Not the commercial type at all,” as Mrs. Milfrct remarked to her husband after they had signed the lease. Mrs. Petherton had given reason (a) as her excuse for renting Tumblewood. “Dr. and Mrs. Gooche have had it for the last three years, but he had to go fo a convention in Vienna this Summer, so they won't be up here. Of course, they’re dreadfully disappointed, and so am I. I really hadn't intended to let the cot- tage to any one this season. * The Gooches are #0 refined, and very particular.” . . . “Perhaps,” said Mr. Milfret, “you'd rather . not have us——" “Oh no,” Mrs. Petherton assured him, smil- ing. “I'm a fairly good judge of character, and as soon as I saw you I said to myself, ‘I could trust those people in “Tumblewood”’ . . « Renting is such a risk. One is so likely to get undesirable tenants—foreigners and”— Mrs. Petherton raised her eyebrows signifi- cantly—“you know.” “Yes,” said Mrs. Milfret vaguely. “I'm especially anxious to have the right gort of people in Tumblewood,” she continued, “because I live in the next cottage myself— Tarry-a-Wee, it’s called. The Gooches were such delightful neighbors. We used to have tea together every afternoon. Mrs. Gooche was very English, if you know what I mean; very formal, and an immaculate housekeeper. So many women, when they are ‘roughing it,’ as the boys say, have a tendency to let down just a teeny-weeny bit. But not Mrs. Goocbe. You could drop into the cottage unexpectedly .at any time of the day and find everything in its place—neat as a pin.” “Of course,” said Mrs. Milfret uneasily, “we’ll do our best to keep things in order—.” “I know you will, my dear,” Mrs. Petherton -affirmed. “Somehow, you just seem to belong --to Tumblewood. . . . Now, let me show you -where Mrs. Gooche keeps the linen and silver. The place is completely furnished, you know. fmmtthl;ciodowhenmm: 'I THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 29, 1930. enting on the O1d Cafil By Weare Holbrook. “I'll speak to Mrs. Petherton about them the next time she comes over,” said Mrs. Milfret. But she didn’t. Mrs. Petherton spoke first, As soon as she entered the cottage she glanced at the mantelpiece in the living room and re- marked, “I see you've removed Lottie Vanse coy's appendix.” : “Whose?” exclaimed Mr. Milfret, startled. “Lottie Vanscoy,” she replied. “Perhaps you remember her. She was arrested for killing her husband with an ice-pick several years ago, and Dr. Gooche operated on her while she was in jail,. It was his first important ap- pendectomy.” “You mean the—the thing in the little glass bottle?” inquired . Milfret. S have put it in a safe place. Dr. Gooche prizes it very highly, you know, because of its associations.” * “Of course,” said Mrs. Milfret weakly. After that she hadn’t the courage to mention the anatomical charts in the dining room. Just who makes the sacrifice is something you will find out later. You really won't have to bring out anything but your own toothbrushes,” she added with a roguish little laugh. “Well,” Mrs. Milfret remarked to her hus- band when they had been left alone again, “jt will be nice to have our landlord living next door to us, in case we have any com- plaints to make.” “I've got one complaint to make right now,” said Mr. Milfret. “If she thinks we're going to have tea parties every afternoon she's mis- taken. We're out here for a rest, not for a - pocial—" “But we must be neighborly,” sighed Mrs. - Milfret, “and it is a nice place, don’t you ‘think? So complete. The Gooches seem to have thought of everything.” “Tll say they have!” agreed Mr. Milfret, surveying the mantelpiece in the crowded liv- ing room. “What's that thing in the bottle, between the stuffed owl and the bust of . Dante?” Mrs. Milfret examined it cautiously. “It looks like a deep sea anemone, or something. Not very pretty, is it?” “Let’s put it out of sight, behind that model Maria,” he suggested. “And you might ask Mrs. Petherton if she would mind . our taking down a few of the anatomical charts room. ducks are all right; we used to of them in the dining room at But that “View of the Alimentary Canal by Moonlight” and “The Vagabond -Lover's Farewell” must go. I don’t mind know- ing where my next meal is coming from, but ¥m not interested in its ultimate destination.” The still life studies of . Mr. Milfret did venture to suggest a change in the decor of the bed room, however., ~Its portions, except that you couldn’t shut it up and put it out of sight. After his first night in Tumblewood, Mr. ret had awakened to find Uncle Abime- lech Gooche staring severely at him from the foot of the bed. Uncle Abimelech resembled & minor prophet, with whiskers by Corot. He Anatomical charts were stored behind “Oh no,” cried Mrs. Petherton. “Really, I couldn't think of it. Dr. Gooche is very fond of those pictures. He always says that if he can't have his Joved ones about him the next best thing is to have their pictures.” “Well, there’s something in that,” admitted Mr. Milfret, “but after all, they aren't my loved ones.” “But they make the place look so ‘homey,’ don’t you think?” Mrs. Petherton argued. “They make it look as if it had really been lived in. Now, you take that picture of Aunt Minerva Gooche——" said Mr. Milfret eagerly. “Or the one of Agatha Maunder,” she went - on. “It’s really quite pretty.” “¥You mean the fat girl with the bangs and the bangles?” “Yes. That's Agatha Maunder, the concert soprano. She’s Mrs. Gooche’s cousin, twice removed.” “I can understand that,” sald Mrs. Milfret, “Let's make it three times—just for luck.” But all the family portraits remained where they were. Furthermore, Mrs. Petherton used to drop in frequently to make sure of it. Almost every afternoon, when Mr. Milfret had stretched out in the hammock with his shoes off and his flannel shirt unbuttoned at the neck, there would be a gentle tapping at the screen door. Mrs. Milfret would scurry into her kimono, whisk ‘wet bathing suits out of sight, remove a snarl of fishing tackle from the chaise longue and smile the brave smile of the involuntary hostess. “Don’t get up,” Mrs. Petherton would say cheerily, when Mr. Milfret made an unsuc- cessful effort to hoist himself out of the ham- mock and button his shirt at the same time. “It’s only poor little me. I do like o see ycu folks relaxing and enjoying yourselves. Mrs, Gooche, you know, was so formal—almost too formal. She used to make the doctor dress for dinner every evening, even when they were by themselves.” Sometimes Mrs. Petherton would bring over & cake which she had baked. “It isn’t much,” she would say apologetically. “Just a little neighborly offering. I know you folks must (Ground’ get just & teeny-weeny bit tired of store-bought ‘Then Desperately he took a large bite. Ah, Mr, Milfret]” she exclaimed. “Enjoying & little moonlight stroll and a bed-time snack?” “Yumph,” replied Mr. Milfret, swallowing valiantly and taking another bite. “Very fond of c-cocognut, I am.” Mrs. Petherton was glad to hear it, and promised {0 bring over a larger one next time. Dr. Gooche had been very fond of cocoanut cake, too, she said, but there were som: things that he just couldn't digest—mushrooms, for By the time Mrs. Peétherton had described all the doctor’s gastronomical peculiarities, Mr, Milfret had finished the cake and was feeling rather dizzy. He staggered back to Tumble- beginning of Mr. Milfret’s breakdown. Lying there in Dr. Gooche's bed, with the Mr. Milfret was beset by strange fancies. He began t¢ imagine that he was Dr. Gooche. It was & clear case of schizophrenia, with orange filling. He got up, put on a dinner jacket, and wandered through the cottage, gazing at the now familiar objects d'art with a friendly eye—the Vanscoy appendix, the anatomical charts, the stuffed owl, the bust of Dante, and all the other mementos of the for- mer occupants. And when WMrs. Petherton dropped in that afternoon with more cocoanut pie, he informed her that she ought to.have her face lifted. . “So many women, when they are ‘roughing it as the boys say, have a tendency to let down just a teeny-weeny bit,” he explained, “Now, I could fix your face in almost no time; it's a very simple operation. You come over tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock, and I'll have everything ready. I found some old surgical ~ instruments out in the woodshed——" “Really, Mr. Milfret!” gasped Mrs. Pethere ton, rising in alarm. “I hardly think——" “Don’t mention it,” he assured her, with a wave of the hand. “No trouble at all. You've been so attentive to us since we've been here, that I feel we can’t do too much for you—but we'll tryt” Mrs. Petherton departed hurriedly, and she did not return the next morning. In fact, the Milfrets haven’t seen her since. Occasionaliy when walking through the yard, they Lave noticed a slight stirring of the window curtains in the adjoining cottage, as if some one were peeking out mervously. But that :s all. Meanwhile, Mr. Milfret has completely ve- covered from his attack of schizophrenia, and Tumblewood has been transformed. Mrs. Mil- fret, free from Mrs. Petherton’s neighborly supervision, has been able to carry. out her own ideas of interior decoration, while her huse band carried out Dr. Gooche'’s ideas of interior decoration—and put them in the woodshed The absentee landlord system may have been a failure in Ireland,” remarked Mr. Mil- fret as he rolled up the last anatomical chart and stowed it behind the kindling box, “but it's a howling success at Gooseberry Lake!” Hardest Known Substance. black diamond is the hardest known ¢ substance, and is declared to be 3 per cent harder than the ordinary gem diamond. It is found exclusively in the State of Bahia in Brazil. It plays a highly important part in the industrial development of this country. The chief use of industrial diamonds is in the manufacture of drill bits for rock drilling and boring. The diamonds are set in the lower edge of a hollow cylinder of soft annealed steel. . By rotation the bit cuts out a cylindrical core of rock. 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