The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 1, 1904, Page 8

rs and the your _sisters,” ed -Miss you . nterpola Lut- 5 way. weather has, them.. 1 wish ted some of our Moun- &, LGy garden” we nujly enouzh under. this properly?”: watering ogot ‘a sun- stroke, @ e busted.” “Well, it been Zor Clara Simonds ances e. shouldn't have any said Miss Debo- rah. “I am very glad they_ niade,you buy a new hose. There is ong'comfort; their garden n almost ag bad a can- dition. What =m I saying?. T qughta’t to take comfort in a thing like that! 1 am glad Letitia.is away. The. stapé of the g den . would annoy hér exceeds ingly ¥ Deborah and Eucy missed ‘their sis: ter, but there was-a kind ‘of freedom that came with her absence. which W almost intoxicating tea in the woods two or three times'a week, and on pleasant mornings had - their breakfast Served on the piazza; they ate as often.as they never-to-be-f far as to liked, and ‘on’ bne ten occasion. went ‘so - indulge in a foast of pork. They even lost their heads to such-an extent as to invite old Peter Newhall - to spend a day -with thet. “All these things « red, however, after Miss’ Deboral at coup d'etat concgrning” the garden “I am sure the flowers will-do better §f we could import, a few toads to-eat wp the insects,” she said fo.Lucy, the morning after their return, “How are you . going* to'.get your ' t! You are the most.un- . 1! You are not lazy ed, and fvater and, back broke, but it gocur. té you -to. improve ' to this extract from blister- bugs ‘of évery description * welcomed by the fead. *.¢ + toalis in a garden will »m ‘the ordifaYy garden They are easily-tamed, and spéng.’ in some shaded nook xiong the™ r under pedes, qaterpillars; beetles and t free fr« a cabbage -ieaf, oming . y f at ‘night 0 find their There are teads enough in town.. offer to_pay Pdtrick § cengs for every toad.he brings tame¥' - - Pairick pr rth d°to be no more enter- as watering ang -. They took-their. - sked . languidiy. -y baked beans and brown-bread: . Thére are plehty of toads in Eppingham and plenty children, The only thing is to devise a scheme to bring them together. . How does this read? ” NTED TOADS!!" That will at- tract the eveé of the most hardened réader. : : 3 ews for t of - ***Childrgn, Irere is your chance. Five cents reward for eyery toad brought to No. 52 Main street, Eppingham. No trogs need apply.” " ; “F.think ‘it would be a liftle more dignified” t0 ‘leave out that @bout-the children, and say 5 ceits will be given for every toad brought o No. 52.Mdin street, ‘Eppingham; frogs not desired,” said Lucy with hesitation. 5 “It would take all the spice out.of the advertjsement to alter it; it can’t be Very dignified; no matter how you word - i&;” sald Miss Deborah, with a little Jaugh. 1 am glad Letitia is not at home. She would find it puch g depart- are. ' T have always said I wanted my fling, and riow I am having it:* Aren't Yyou 'afrald of - getting too many toads if.you advertise in a paper?” Luey asked timidly. “Too many! My dear Lucy, Patrick hag been hunting the town the last two days amd hasn't found ‘ome. I am afraid 1 shant get enough. ‘I don’t ex- pect more than ten or twelve at the prizsing than Lucy; agd Misi Deboran -outside.” wus obliged to -take mgre. stringent yneasures. Lucy found -her one, morning busily writing. “L wish Letitia were here to. put this advertisement _in’ proper " she, sgid. “Letitia is 80 cleyer en. But I can’t Wait to send- this t¢ Newvort, and I ,subpose she would think my scheme erazy. I have @ecided 1o “advertise * in ° the County Lucy went ‘down ta the office of ‘the County Newsg with her sister, who re- quested the editor to put the adver- tisement in ¢wo -issues of his semi- weekly paper. This was a lfttle ex- pensive, but Miss Deborah was sure it was better to give her experiment a fair trial. The paper was issued oa Saturday morning, and the day passed with no regults. Early Supday’ morn- “just. as the sisters were finishing theif baked beans, the doorbell rang, and’. Bridget: came in ‘with a broad smile on her face. : “Please, ma’'am, a boy. and girl want to’ see you, ang’ they've got something in_ a -basket.” 3 *“Toa ejaculated. Miss -Deborah; hastily. - an advertisement as said you -wanted toads,” the little girl ex- plained shyly. z . Miss Debovah opened the cover of the basket. “They are frogs,” she cried. “'I especially said I did not want frogs. If you can’t tell a frog from a toad, you had better go to vacation school. I am not going to give you_a biesscd cent, not one, and you can take these frogs back where you got them.” A pitiful expression came into the faces ‘of the children. They turned away sadly and silently. clothes and general air of dejection went straight to Miss Deborah’s kind heart. “Do you like baked beans?” inquired in a conciliatory tone. “You bet!” said the boy. She ‘ushered them into the dining- room, where ‘Lucy was finishing her coffee. O . “You didn’t have ‘much breakfast, I imagine,” she hazarded, as they humbly dispatched the baked beans and brown bread. s “No, ma’am. We had to be up very early; we wanted to get ahead of the Buxter boys.” 0 “Are they looking for toads?” ‘iYes'm. e and we was afraid mebbe youw'd have all the toads you wanted before we came along, so we got up at 4 o’clock.” ‘When Miss Deborah bade them good- by she had relented so far as to say, e saw she Their torn: There’s four Baxter boys,- “You can take the frogs back, -but I'll give yofi 10 cents each on account of your trouble.” . Miss Deborah. and Lycy were - just starting for church and were walking sedately down Mzin street in their gen- tly rustling summer silks, holding thelr pongee parasols to shield them from the torrid rays-of the sun. when they met a-straggling procession of four un- kempt children. - Two of them carried large tin p: “The Baxter bovs!” was Miss Debo- rah's prophetie cry. “Can ycu ted me, please, the house the toad lady lives in?” asked the old- est boy. “I am the toad lady,” replied Miss Deborah, assuming as much dignity as was possible. “I live in that white house with the lilac bushes in the front yard. Goudness, Lucy, what shall I do? We are late for church aiready. I shall be very late if I go back now, but I can't miss a chance like this or disappoint these children. I hope vou have brought me toads, and not frog. ™ “They are toads all right,” said tre oldest boy, lifting the cover of-the pail and allowing Miss Deborah to look in- side, where shé saw a Tnerry company of six bright-eyved toads. “There's eight in Jtm's box,” hé announced: Miss Deborah made a rapid calcula- tion. . “Five times’ fourteen are seventy cents,” she said, ‘and Bridget hasn't got home from early mass—eshe must have stopped at her brother’s; there is nothing for it but to go back. Luecy, go on to church, and if I don’t get there, for heaven's sake don’t tell Mrs, Lutterworth the reason why. Lie, Lucy, lie like a—a Filipino; say T am ill, that I mind the heat; say anything but the truth. If Sarah Luttérworth. should get hold of this 1 shou)d never hear the last of it.” . 3 ~toads or berries. “Shan’t 1 go back too?” suggested Lucy. “Then nobody can ask any ques-- tions. R Ep My dear, every one would think: we were at death's door if une of us ‘wasn't at church. We shculd have the whole. town coming to inquire.” o7 Lucy proceeded down' the quiet elm- shaded village street to the accompani- ment of church bélls. She was a little late, and slipped into her seat haif way up the “broad aisle unobtrusiveiy as she could, but she was conscious of innumerabie eves fixed upon She knew every o was wonde! why Deborah was not there—Deborah, whe. never missed a Sunday at church. After the service was over Lucy tried to slip out without speaking-to any one, but -Mrs. Lutterworth hastened down the.aisle and caught up with her be- he redched the church door. as “1 “h Miss Deborah isn't ill?” .she asked. od “No,” said 'Lucy, “she feels the heat a little.” : 0 “I am sorry! I never. knew Miss Deborzh to give up church for weather.” " “She wouldn't have stayed at home merely for that, but—the fact is she was detained by callers whe came just as we were leaving home,” said Luc; thinking it just as well to say some- thing approximate to the truth. She was sure the person who invented ly- ing did not live in a country town, for it is futile under these cireum- stances to tell anything but the blunt, unvarnished truth. Before the day day was over all the dristocracy of Eppingham knew who Deborah Wyatt's callers were. Mrs. Simonds, from her window, saw her greet the procession of boys and turn back with tiiem, and had a discussion with her mald as to whether the pails contained " They finally came to the conclusion that Miss .Deborah would not-have given up rhurch for anything less unusua) than ‘toads. Di- rectly after.dinner Mrs. Simonds tele- phoned the news to Mrs. Lutterworth. “I fancy Deborah Wyatt will have all the toads she wants for one while, before she.gets through,” she said. And, indeed, before Monday was over Miss Deborah’ had already re-; -gretted that her advertisement was destined to appear in two issues of the paper. 5 “This makes eight children who have been here already,” she said, as she bought a_modest quartet of toads, Monday morning. “Lucy, I shall have to trouble you to see the editor ‘when you are dewn town, and tell him - hear? to stop the advertisement. If he'll give me my money back for the time it isn’t put in the paper, so.much the better, but I would rather pay for something I don’t have than be .in- undated with toads. If it goes on miuch longer 1 shall be ruined.” [ don’t believe yow'll have any more * toads ‘brought you,” said Lucy soothingly. % “You don’t know anything about it. And this proved to be true. When Lucy came back Miss Deborah met “her with a tragic gesture. “You needn’t tell me that I shan’t have any more toads brought me. This thing is as bad as one of those endless chains. Every _child tells ten other children that 1 will pay five cents a toz The Baxter boys have been here again with ten. niore toads, - ten—Luey, do, you And some friends of theirs came with six.. 1 wish Jobn were here ‘to swear for me. I am ready to consign those foads to eternal perdition. Lucy, you neein't lawgh in that® heartiess way. Not another toad will I pay for T've told them not to come again, and to tell all their friends that the market is overstocked.” In spite of this warning the door bejl ran again late in | the afternoon, and® Bridget came up Wwith her face wreathed in those maddening smiles. “Well, who is it?” asked Miss De- borah shortly. “They didn't. give their names, ma’am, but there’s two of ‘em, little girls, this time, and they've got a bas- ket.” “Confound it!" Miss Deborah sgoke with deliberation and a certain refish. “It is a little late in life to begin - to swear,” she said to Lucy. “I don't know what Letitia would say. I won't take another toad—not one. I have thirty-two already. I shall fand in the poorhouse.” _ “But you promised,” said Lucy. “Hang it, Lucy, 1 can’t help if I daid.” . She descended the stairs in a stormy mood. “You can go away,” she said to the children. “I have all the toads I want. 1 did not mean to keep on taking them all summer.” . Tears came into the eyes of the smaller girl. “The paper said the lady would pay five cents for every toad,” she remarked in a faltering voice. “You can never believe all you see in the paper,” saild Miss Deborah with dignity. The little girl lifted up the cover of the basket in a hesitating way. “There’s six, and we worked real hard to get them,” she said. Miss Deborah was beginning to feel Meartily ashamed of herself. Come into the dining-room aid I will make you some lemona she told them. “After all, a promise is a promise. I will take the six to Thirty-eight,” she ‘added under her breath. The next morning » took another notice to ‘the editor, stating that no more toads were but in spite of this fact toads a 4 in rapid suc- cession. Before the week was over-Miss Debhorah found herself the possessor of sixty of these interssting creatures. Lucy always took the children’s part, but when the high water mark of sixty was reached, even Lucy thought it time to call a halt. “I've spent three dollars on those confounded toads,” Miss Deborah said, “not to mention twenty -cents for goes on much than one of the frogs 1 didn’t keep; longer it will be wor: plagues. I am serry Letitia is so dis- turbed. She writes that we are mak- ing ourselves the laughing-stock of Ep- pingham. I suppose Sarah Lutterworth has sent her one of her lively letters. It is funn: Of course, it is funny’. I can see myself that there is af amus- ing side to it, but I don’t see why Le- titia should mind when she is neatly out of it. Who would have supposed that toads were so numerous in Ep- pingham?” After Miss Deborah’'s sixty toads had been cheerfully disporting themseives in her garden for a few days, John Forsyth unexpectedly arrived to spend a night®with his aunts on the way to join his family at North East Harber. It was delightful to see the dear fel- low, but both aunts devoutly hoped he would not hear of the toad episode, for they were beginning to feel sensitive, and their nephew had a sense of humor. “It is so good to see you,” John said, as they all three sat out on the piazza after tea. “I was in Newport for a day or twa last week and I hunted up Aunt Letitia. She is at one of the swellest hotels, and T thought she looked in first-rate conditien, but she seemed a little homesirk.™ “Letitia homesick?"” asked Incredulous “I fancy heing Miss Deborah th Miss Macauley isn’t all Aunt Letitia’s fancy painted it.. She said something enigmatical about never knowing people until you live in thechouse with them. She « Miss Macauley was & most interesting woman, but that she liked her own way,” he added, with a gleam of amusement in his eyes. “In short, I think Aunt Letit!a will be quite recon ciled when her time Is uz’ How v your hollyhocks and. swiet pas dahnlias are looking, Auat Deborah.” “Don’t be satirical, John; the garc never looked so badly. Sul, if y could have seen It a fortn! when we came da%n’from t! tains, you would he mjnazed at the im- provement:” ot “Did I see a toad In the garden? John asked. I certainly did. There goes another! And there is a third one hopping along! How odd: There is a fourth! I never saw so many’tojds be- fore.” v “The garden is full of them,” said Miss Deborah. “They eat insects, so we are glad to have them.” “I suppose they all happened along of their bwn accord?” John inquired nonchalant “Quite so,” faid his Aunt Deborah. “The garden gate was ajar and they walked in.” “That was very convenient.” John began to laugh, and so did his Aunt Deborah. “I _might have known your Aunt Le- titia would have told you the whole * she said. “You forgot that Esther takes the County News. Just how many toads have you in your garden?” he asked denriall; Almost precisely the same num- age, John—just one or two oWw. you know .it isn’t’ polite ask a lady her age.” - “If you have only as many as you are years old, Aunt Deborah, it is a very small number,” he returned gal- lantly “Lucy, isn't it pleasant to be with some one who doesn’t tell the truth?” At this point a boy with a pail came up the pathway. “John, you go and tackle him,” said Miss Deborah. “‘He has toads. Tell him I don’t want any.” “Miss Wyatt want to see you; you can go home,” John said. The boy lingered. doesn’t Miss Deborah came down the steps. “I don’t want any more toads,” she aid; “and-what more, T won't take any more toads. I have sixty in my garden, 1 can’t be expected to buy hem the rest of my life. Perhaps Lutterworth would take tHem a&f he.added with cheerful malice. “Tell her Miss Wyatt sent you to her.” I ain't got no toads,” said the boy sullenly. “What should I be doing with toads? I've got some blackbérries Mr. Newhall sent you from the.farm, but if you don’t Want 'em, I'll take ‘em to the other lady.” “We do want them,” said Luey, hur- rying down the steps to get the pail. “It was very kind of Mr.-Newhall to send them.” John meanwhile had been disgracing the family by laughing immoderately. “I don’t want any toads!"™ he mimicked after the boy had departed. “If you could only have heard. yourself, as you made that statement, Aunt Deborah.” “Well, John, I don’t believe you would want any if you were in my eireum- stances.” “What do vou suppose that boy thought?” he asked her. “What report will he give the 0ld man? ‘“Miss Deborah Wyatt has gone crazy," will be the very mildest way he’ll put it. Poor .old Peter Newha'l! You owe him an ex- planations” And so it was that good came but of evil and that Mr. Newhall had that in- vitation’ to dine with .the Wyatts, an event that was ‘one of the crowning pleasures of a long life. John alone knew why the invitation was given, and he promised never to ten