The Key West Citizen Newspaper, August 13, 1947, Page 3

THE KEY WE . ee eer enn ements Te SRR ete Ee Te A yc a ten a Chapter 2 ; OUG crouched beside the cedar until he heard a voice: across the clearing and the an- swering bark of a hunting dog, then he stood up slowly, prepared | to dodge behind the tree trunk if| necessary. hs - A liver-spotted hound was sprinting toward him, avoiding the blackened shells of burnt-out stumps, and behind him strode a girl, a rifle carefully balanced in the crook of her arm. As she neared Doug her full mouth curved in a half-apologetic smile. “Sorry I frightened you.” Doug’s face was still red from anger and exertion but his sense of humor came to his res- cue. “Do you always go around taking pot shots at strangers?” he said. “Only in season, I thought you were a cougar.” “A cougar!” “Yes. There was one in this same tree yesterday but I didn’t have my gun with me then. He’s been killing our chickens and I want to get him before he does any more damage,” she explained, then added “You should wear a red hat.” “Then what would you mistake me for?” he‘ teased. Her amber-colored eyes ex- amined him sharply then sud- denly were filled with golden sparks of humor. “Guess I de- served that,” she laughed, “But you are trespassing you know.” Doug studied her for a mo- ment admiring the loose waves of tawny hair that framed her face and the even row of teeth made whiter by the smooth out- of-doors tan that would never fade completely even in winter. Her cheeks were scarlet above a green and beige plaid shirt com- plimenting tan corduroy slacks. “Not trespassing,” he corrected hastily, “—applying for a job.” “Do you really mean that?” “I was never more serious in my life.” “But—but I don’t understand. If you wanted a job why didn’t you apply at the mill office in the village?” “I always like to get in on the} ground floor. Besides,” he lied, “there wasn’t anyone in the mill office.” The bus had dropped him off at; the small waterfront village of Queets Inlet and the sign an- nouncing The Larson Lumber Co. and a smaller one saying; simply Office had been the first, things to meet his exploring eyes. ' But he had purposely avoided: em, a Queet’s Inlet had been the usual } ee ow Foster Parents ~ Needed, State Child Agencies What is to happen to all the, children temporarily cut loose’ from their families, as a result of the war or through accident or, death? That is the question child wel- fare agencies all over the country , are asking as they carry on a concerted for foster | parents. The problem of finding suitable ' foster homes for children, who, through no fault of their own, have been separated from their families, is particularly difficult in this community, according to Mrs. Ruth Whitaker Lange of Dis- , trict 10 Welfare Board for Mon- roe county. So acute has become the need that the local unit, for the first time, is advertising in the news- papers for foster homes. One obstacle that stands in the way of people taking children into | their homes is the dread of part- | ing with them should conditions make it possible for the children to return to their own parents, Mrs. Lange said. “Recently,” she said, “our unit took in a sturdy little boy with sandy hair and blue eves. His mother had died and the father’ was emploved, making it impos- sible to care for his son. “Fortunately a foster home available for this lad but the ter parents admitted looking for-, ward with dismay to the time when he would have to return to his real father. However, they cecided that the eventual pain of parting was a small price to pay for the privilege of giving a lone- lv child several years of happi- ness. i “In the second place, such part- ings, when thev do come, are not necessarily final. To cite one case out of hundreds, we know of a sailor who writes his foster mother as regularly as he does his own family. “Statistics show that most chil- dren do return to their own par- ents. They will be welcome anc safe when they go back or thev won't go: you can trust the agen- cv to make sure of that. “When a foster home has been found and approved the agency usually sends a caller once month or so to see how things are going and to offer any help that may be wanted. The caller is in no way a spy, since the agency foesn’t place ehilid a & hae % 4 | drive more fos- ! 7 y must be.met in order to be se-} the} ; dependent of —sw ST CITIZEN 7-41 TROUBLE SHOOTER BY CAMERON DOCKERY take me for?” he teased. small combination lumber and fishing port,—a general store, mill and warehouse, a long fishing dock and shed and a cluster of small frame houses huddled to- gether on a curve of the Sound, dwarfed beneath a background of towering evergreens. It was only when Doug had walked the length of the town and rounded a curve on the highway that he had come upon another sign an- nouncing the more prepossessing sheds and warehouses of the White Rapids Lumber Co. Slocum had said nothing about another logging outfit and Doug was won- dering if sheer competition could be the answer to the Larson’s troubles but that seemed too sim- ple a solution, one that Slocum undoubtedly would have known about and evidently put aside as improbable. DOUBTING frown was puck- ering the girl’s forehead as she stared at him now. “It’s strange no one was at the desk. [’m_ usually there—-being bookkeeper and so on is my job —but Ed tcok my place today.” “har “My half brother. He and Grandfather manage the logging end of our business.” jihat fails to meet its require-' bility; the child should have an ments.” Here are the requirements that lected as foster parents Welfare Boaru: by Foster parents must provide the child with adequate relig- ious supervision in the faith to which his natural family back- ground adhered; foster parents must be in good health and not beyond middle age (middle age is up to 60); their income must be sufficient to maintain proper home and living conditions in- payments from boarding children (the agency pays about $30 a month for the support of each child, and pro- vides necessary); foster parents must be happy and settled in their own home life; if there are two foster parents, both must agree on the application for boarding a child; foster parents must have the character and per- sonality which will assure a child a home with warmth, se- curity, steadiness, and flexi- Overseas Transportation Company, Ine. Fast, Dependable Frei Between MIAMI and KEY WEST Also Serving ALL POINTS on Florida Keys Between Miami and Key West Express Schedule: (No Stops En Route) LEAVES KEY WEST DAILY (EX- CEPT SUNDAY nighi. LEAVES MIAMI SUNDAYS) at night and arrives at Key West at 6:00 o'clock A. Local Schedule (Stops At All Intermediate Points) LEAVES KEY WEST DAILY CEPT SUNDAY M. and arrives at Miami at 4:00 o’- clock P.M, LEAV"S MIAMI SUNDAYS) at 9:00 o’clock A.M. and arrives et Fey P.M. FREE PICK-UP and FULL CARGO INSURE ANCE OfAice: 815 Caroline Sirect WAREHOUSE: Corner : rives at Miami at 12:00 o’clock Mid- of yey (em nee ne pn ay eR RRS ALCO, AP Newsfeatures A half brother, eh? Funny Slocum hadn’t mentioned him. Doug decided to let it pass for the time being. “I’m Doug Andrews,” he said. “You must be Elsa Larson.” “That’s right. How did you hear about our outfit?”. “I heard about almost nothing else for three years. ... Glen Slocum and I went through the war together until he was killed.” A swift pained shadow seemed to cover her features; Doug bit his lips, “I see it hurts you to speak of him as much as it does me ” Neither of them spoke for a minute then Elsa looked up at him uncertainly. “I can’t hire you,—Grandfather does that, but we need loggers and I’m sure he’ll have no objections.” As if-to corroborate her a hoarse shout came fron. the other side of the clearing. Elsa called “Over here, Grandfather!” then turned back to Doug. “Don’t let him scare you, his bark is worse than his bite.” He was glad of her reassurance for there was a formidable qual- ity about the man coming to- ward them. In spite of his seventy- five years Sven Larson was as straight as a Sitka spruce and moved with a vigor that would have been enviable in a man one half his age. Frosty green eyes peered from beneath bushy blond brows; his mouth was hard and unsmiling. Doug had seen the same expression graven on the faces of Viking images. “Who is this man Elsa?” Lar- son said shortly. “Doug Andrews, Grandfather —a friend of Glen Slocum’s. He wants to join our outfit.” Old Larson did not unbend. “He can if he has the quali- fications.” _ “I think I have sir.” Doug told of his past experience. When he finished, Larson nod- ded curtly and put his hand on Elsa’s shoulder. “Sounds good, Andrews, if you can live up to it you’ll keep your job. The road to the bunkhouse is over there. Tell Hardin I hired you, he’s the logging boss. Come Elsa, I must talk to you... alone.” As she turned away Elsa shot Doug an encouraging smile over her shoulder but he was stunned by old Sven Larson’s brusqueness to respond. He watched the stalwart figure with , the smaller equally straight one beside it until they disappeared into the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. (To be continued) opportunity to take part in com. munity activities and in normal family life. It sometimes happens that the ‘wrong child is assigned to the ‘wrong parents, Mrs. Lange ad- ,mitted. When that occurs. the agency wants the child returned j for its sake ds well as the ‘foster parents, she said; but added iat tsuck misfits dre"the ‘exceptions } } Shey invites ‘anyetie *dasititig® to i become a foster parent to inquire iat the District Welfare Board of- ‘fice for further information. | Java is an important source of }tea, coffee, chinchona bark and , quinine. ‘ free medical care when ;: Java is the richest and most densely populated island of the Netherland Indies. } Only four pre cent of the land ‘surface of Norway is cultivated. Not more than 25 per cent of ‘Norway is classified as habitable. ght and Express Service S) at 6:00 P. M. Ar DAILY (EXCEPT 12:00 o'clock Mid- M. (EX- S) at 8:60 o'clock A. DAILY (EXCEPT West at 5:20 o'clock DELIVERY SERVICE PF hones: 92 and 68 Eaton ari Francis Streets