The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

fflbslyi vn y i i nf i a i tlim i the acton free press page thrkb c here sold my twin from the v stepladder the secret portal is sealed the secret gun is buried the secret grease spots are hidden under pink and gray roses our dintog- xoom is papered and weve spent the price of six music lessons i reminded her janeft waved a lavish pastesmearsd hand think what weve saved dor othy a paper hanger would have nlp- ped our musical career in the very bud wish we could paper the whole bouse its hideous but took at my ceiling not a miss i its beautiful but oh my neck how it achest i just adore this wall paper i cried arent they the darlingest roses mother will love it and grandfather too this room wiirfheliow him at hreakfast time every morning thank you so much for your trouble cried janet here take some figs for your breakfast my visitors- were saying they liked flgl said mrs tohey gratefully we watcheu her rlcte wabblingly away and of course we werent at all troublco because we knew that old lady walt rs cruld come shewas deaf and lonesome and loved to visit we carried our baskets indoors ed tjhe horses gathered the eggs from dark nests and restored to the roost a hen that insisted on sitting a this untimely boot mou1 rep with m season then we came in and had a ed incredulity hell miss the old wall papet he liked its grimness gray and green r and grimy and cracked 5 th old jolntofstoyebip stick ing out at tfou the secret gun i shuddered and that mysterious papered door in to tp stair closet the secret portal and that appalling picture done in grease where the tobey baby pounded the wall with a chicken bone here my tired twin fell giggling from the stepladder into my arms she is dainty blond and soprano while i am plump literary and contralto but its because fmt brunnette i think that i jnfl nlninyi mmtrtctwl mysolf t- rimry presence but mrsr tobey came to an uncertain halt and annriunced apologetlc- ally that she had visitors and would have to stay at home but i came early to tell jdu so youll have plenty of time to get old tjidy walters hurries supperfh the kitchen oh how pretty the new paper looked at night we had had some doubt alibut papering the ceiling but now we were mor than glad that we cou d look uo it the stiver hes gathering it upi well its plated let him have it its mothers dont you remerrrocr i whispered we put on mothers wed ding silver janet atrlghtenc like a lance mid whipped her yellow braids back so that she could listen better it seemed an age before we caught another sound and then creak snap snap the burglar was walking again instantly janet was out of bed the car looked up at us it was grand father whats the matter he exclaimed irascibly tsfihnt tricks are you young sters up to now w co lo f who wetarelaccjdentelly locked in our are you dotag for a second there was silence and then bang ie sounded as if the buig- lar had fallen across the table forks i inant twin i fanned her it is true that the events of the next thirteen hours pro jane courageous and me 3 coward but during the whole seventeen years of our lives i had said i mine whileshe said we and ours i found it natural somehow to look one r janet and make up her mind for ter and keep her conscious that though sweet she was only a twin and a blonde at that while i farmed her janet gazed gener ously at my walls you didnt make a single miss except in that corner she said wont grandfather and mother be astonished that we could do this fine job without a single lesson from a paper hanger they 11 be home for breakfast and the paste makes the walls so damp that we must build a good fire tonight and have the house warm theres going to be a frost i think dows and looked out on a clear cali fornia sky it was the third of novem ber the prune trees stretching like a perfect lesson in perspective as far as the eye could see were already bare but near the house stood our group of fig trees handsome as sycamores white barked big leafed with purpleblack firs still hanging it was these trees that had yielded us our precious music mney tdorothy groaned janet frost is coming i feel it we cant lose even the last of the crop or grandfather will say we failed to face our duty like true jmaoqregors come we went the sun was close to setting we were mortally tired but the crop was ours we had persuaded grandfather tc let us have it on the same termstnat roses instead of grimy plaster and ugly cracks what a sweet air of order the paper gave to the upper regions of the diningroom filled though the floor was with the debris of our amateur jabiv we could hardly wait to begin the final clearlngup we stuffed ail the trash in the dining- room stovertopped it off liberally with pine and oak wood and started a big fire to dry the walls of course we opened the windows and doors because the vapor we thought had to get out somewhere and besides the room was t6o hot to work in then we scrubbed the floor and set the table for breakfast because it was grandfathers economical habit to come home on the night train and use ataxrtodrive out-befotebreak- fast the garage man owed grandfather money and that was the only wayhe could ever get paid we wanted to have the breakfast table sound was awful then creak rattle crash if there were two burglars in our diningroom they were now beating each other with- their loot the villains cried janet 111 scare them away wheres something iseto- tog my curling tongs she made for thd door dont you dare open that door i cried in terror but janet opened it and raised her voice in a threatening soprano what are you after she challenged leave every single ttdng in this house alone or ill fire 1 was dumbfounded at janets ulti matum for she had nothing except my c tiings fire with igutjshe stood there lifthe awful gray of the dawn a warlike little figure in a red kimono with my heart pounding and my back bone strangely fickle i got out of bed and clung to the bedpost let him atone i implored in a trembling voice doesnt everybody say to let a robber take what he wants hes desperate or he wouldnt be here hed shoot at the first alarm but plainly janet meant to alarm him disregarding me entirely she threw open the door into the little hall wecouldseethe blacknesfof the4n closed stairway leading down into the- alningroom who are you cried janef an swer iv i there was nn snnnri from the robbei just perfect so instead of using grand fathers everyday plated sliver we went down to the bottom of mothers trurdff where she was obliged to keep certain things that grandfather considered too good to use and brought out her elegant wedding silver the whole room seemed to be finer the moment the silver was to place jant went out into the moonlight and picked an armful of lovely purple astera just the color of our figs a lot of these i arranged in an old yellow vase for a janet and i walked to the west win centrepiece and then i filled a big yellow her had- offeredto john theslavonian- ing wonder what tlmoltisnow we had done all the work ourselves even the marketing and the price our pretty leaflined baskets of perfect fruit brought in the local market made grandfather blink i think he considered that we bad got the best of him in a bargain and he loved us the better for it of course we had inherited no shrewd ness from dear mother she is not what grandfather calls sensible her only talent is to keep the heart of the home warm bless her and for seven years of her widowhood she had been doing that in grandfathers house now he was re warding her mith a flue trip tr ran francisco ddrothy called jan6t pepping out like a wood nympth from her fig tree in our autobiography arc you going to describe the flg trees that gave us our start in music of course i said and began immedi ately to plan how i should describe them for im not quite certain yet which i shall be a great concert singe or an author faint husky almost inaudible the old livingroom clock began to strike eleven oclock janet and i looked at each other in dismay we had completely forgotten old lady walters well its too late now janet said consciencestricken i wouldnt mind so much but we promised mother shes so deaf we could never make her hear now we are bettor off without anybody mrs tobey kept hearing noises all night long and waking us up old lady walte s would talk all night when mother comes hcmeanrlflnds us aljrightandthe diningroom looking so lovely shell be too happy to worry about what couldn t be helped so come to bed to bed we went forthwith i was almost asleep when janet began to speak i wish grandfather were in the house shq murmured a man is a great pro tection i suppose a mans snore is like his beard and big voice tcf- make him formidable i wish he wetp here do you know she concluded nwith the air we really loved our corner of the of stating a startling theory sometimes orchard it was moth who pointed out i think that grandfathers stinginess and that flg trees have personality poetry tradition curses and blessings haw tested on them since bible times only one ot our trees was cursed it stood off wickedly by itself and refused to bear but with scarcely a rest between the two fall crops the healthy milkfilled branches of our other trees put forth their hard little green figs continuously figs come curiously without bloom and grow bigger and bigger till at last the open their little windows to pollenbear ing flgloving insects and ripen dellclous- ty janet and i picked figs till it was s dark that we couldnt tell which were purple and which green we were just carrying in the baskets when somebody came wabbling down the driveway on an old squeaking bicycle it was mrs tobey fat and unsteady we thought that she was coming to spend the night with us because mother ksot to go to san francisco till she had mrs tobey s promise to protect us overy night by her bcwl with the finest of our purple figa and set little ellow bowls at each place ready to be filled at breakfast time wijt peeled figs and yellow cream urn thais a dish that makes even grandfather rash with praise last of all we hung our freshly ironed yellow scrim curtains the room was a dream janet and i were sc full of pride that for a few moments we were speechless shall we close the windows j janet at last yes vnd til give the fire a poke that oak wood will burn all night they will becold when they get here oh i dont beheve i can sleep a wink waiting to see how perfectly dumbfounded and delighted they 11 be what time will they be home theyll get hee by six in the morn- shame on you exclaimed janet in joud indignation if you g any manhood in you at all7stop acting like a sneak come out and show yourself t was sure that this would bringthe robber thundering up the stairs but there the the car hello mother i cried with the effort or my gay what did you buy me why dont you come down demand ed grandfather room dorothy threwt the key out the window there it is at yorur feet pick it up grandfather here janet floun dered a minute and pushed me to the jangled and jumped bowls crashed the- t window which would not open so that i wouldnt speak the house is cold sojyou had better drive mother to tobeys and leave her there bring mr tobey back with you and a gun a gunlexetft1medmother borne one is in our dinlngtoom he has been making the strangest noises maybe its a robbed and maybe its a crazy man or it may be a cat but you ought to have a gun i baseonojsald grandf i bought it to shoot hawks hereached into the ear and brought out a gun now wheres your robber unlock the front door aatt go into the diningroom through the stair closet we papered over the little low door opening into the diningroom the one but the man said lb was properly bed room paper and then when you said to go ahead and buy paper for the whole house yes he did girls and rugs and new curtains and paint and that new car outsldej 1 why grandfather cried my twin and i to concert and janet continued alone i knew it i knew it i always knew it knew what ousiy knew that you were thetdhdest man alive declared my twin embracing him trtthunthiiikable courage crops were good said grandfather briefly though his hand patted janet jthe beautiful look on his face was pjeantjor mother who had kept the heart of his home warm for seven years we call the secre portal th6 robb wont expect you to come that way just give the secret door a hard push we had nothing but one nail to fasten it with be sure you are ready to shoot shoot scoffed grandfather shoo youmean mlshootyourcat but-he- cocked his gun to shoot it with mother now sat up looki dazed grandfather disappeared and in about the time that it would take for him to burst into the diningroom through the secret door we heard ajpud ripping thur then two gun shots the next thing and i w the most noxmaland happy sound that naa reached us to many an hour we heard grandfathers loud sar castle ha ha whats there i screamed who is it shrleked janet orange pekoe blend said grandfather curl- tossed into friendly arms once tbee- was a happy chinese home fii the yangtze valley it was propahly not very grand but it seemed very good to the son and heir of the house aged eighty fc there was always mother to give you food when you were hungry tuck you up to bedwhen you were tired and bathe your bruises when you fell down and there was father coming home each evening who was so big and strong and could put anything right if lt went wrong it seemed as safe as houses that home dn the valley bmv when a great river loses its- temper and comes pouring dis aster over its banks houses are not safe one terrifying morning the waters came sweeping down upon them the little family just had time to turn something perhaps a door or a bit of roof intoa raft they were carried off on the flood the two parents were washed away drowned like thousands of others in that fearful happening but the whirling river spared the little boy and after carrying him for some miles threw him up like a bit of drifr- j has hap ci m ha ha ha shouted grandfather lan they could guess his story woo on t a b h h there a forlorn bewildered hungry sodden bundle was discovered by some british sailors they could not leave a boy of eight to fend for himself and though thev collld tint nnrfprshitiri vilg fresh from the gardens timetested befom it leaves the ml ll it gives you satisfaction through years o ha weather we air ojlbway copper bearing zinc insulated crustiness are just a pose yes im almost sure sometimes that hevthe kind est irian alive after that we slept i suppose it was four to he morning when i was suddenly awakened by a startling crash in the diningroom i sat up clutching janet what is it she gasped i dont know where is it in the diningroom we listened a long time it was the cat she said no i put him out i dont hear a sound you dreamed it listen i commanded creak creak snap the sounds were lthy and far apart as if made bj c one walking cautiously i its somebody whispered janet its a robber i said janet began to get angry the coward what does he want was not a sound the awful silence continued filling me with sickening fea i gripped the bedpost pulled myself up and reaching janet collapsed on her shoulder she prodded me with the curling tongs brace up she said talk to- him talk deep i cant make him think theres a man here i cant i quavered in a voice s thin and high i scarcely could believe it was my own for as ive said im contralto ytalk anyway hell know tben there are two of us u cant i whimpered you frighten v wli meto death janet come back to bed ih heat of ourterri9e the tl and then i sobbed oh if there were oturse onjy a man in the house janet seized the suggestion get out of this house instantly she shouted to the robber or i will wake my husband this preposterous threat from seven teenyearold janet was rewarded by hurried noises from the robber as if he were indeed hastening to get away but we didnt hear a door open or shut or any noise outside we watched at the window to see if he were leaving the front way my courage began to dome slowly back but after perhaps fifteen minutes wo heard a soft creak to the diningroom like the protes of a board under stockinged feet i gripped janets hand he hasnt gone yet i said she shook me off tm going down she declared you are not i am he is a coward and a villain and he shall not steal my mothers silver the way she said my mother left me completely orphaned and disgraced by cowardice but- 1 still opposed her ypu foolish girl i said in a frenzy do you think fillet you go down there and be murdered the mans a maniac i puljed her back slammed and locked the door and when slie struggled for the keyt threw it out of the window are you crazy she cried the mans crazyfqstrrotna v pandemonium reigned to the lnlng- room crack rip zp bang it sounded as if the burglars moved to fury were tearing the house down we listened to the most incredible onslaughts of noise with long periods of deadly silence be tween the mystery and vollence of hfc behavior seemed to have no effect on janet except to make her more and more angry and indignant silly 1 she said to me scathingly to throw the key out the window now hell pull the house down under us dress ay dressed with sharp reminders now and then from janet when i forgot es sential garments the darkness lifted somewhat the roosters crowed i took my station at the window sooner or later a car would come along the gray belt of road beyond the pepper trees i meant to call to the car for help help help help i called sudden ly for a car had appeared janet pushed in beside me what lslt she demanded somebodys car help help hello there hello hello janet shouted with a lustiness that made my feeble outcry rldlcuous the enf- stopped beneath out windows down to the diningroom a loud crash warned us that the robber was still ioot- ingthe house sh careful there is a robber in this house hissed janet the man who had just stepped out of again for us two prisoners- there wa nothing to do except wait for the oor to be unlocked motler and grandfather come up together it was plain that mjther st 11 had no idea of the real enor of the ight and grandfather keplchuckling and laughing though his big arms felt comforting and kind as he herded ns out ol the bedroom come down and se your ro jbir he seid jokingly he sandbagfed me- nrarly knocked me over thens when i fired but he is flat on his back now come on it was all so madk tog so mysterious apparently mother was the most puzzled of us all but graidtather led the way down the stairs ana marshaled us into tfic diningroom ph what a sight met our eyes it was did it our lovely paper had literally tornttself off the walls in ye night it had dropped from the celling in crack ed and brittle festoons it cluttered the floor it hadpeeledln- ragged ribbons from the spaces between windows our demoralized table was a mess of figs spilled asters broken bowls and scattered silver even as we stood in our flrot amazed and stupefied silence creak rattle crash another crackling length of paper curled up on the wall then broke and fell with jangling violence into mothers wedding silver so this was our robber at his wort boo hoo boo hoo sobbed janet her intrepid spirit was breaking you told him to go away or you d wake your husband i reminded her almost sobbing myself o janet to so they took him on board their gun boat washed him fed htmr and made him new clothes then they presented him to the quarterdeck and got permis sion to keep him jjow he is dressed like a real blue jacket and helps to peel potatoes and polish brass he has lessons and can count up to 20 in english as no one can pronounce his real name he is called ableseaman flood except when he remembers the raft he is the happiest boy in the district the cruel river made amends as far as it could when it tossed him into the arms of the british navy if you are not missed you how to make your think it was our paper our lovely paper all the time who was your paper hanger asked grandfather i were who told paste nobody and who advised you to build a great big fire and then close the win- atfws we didnt want you to get to sneezing at breakfast grandfather grandfather eyed us with still greater sharpness and where did you get the monei for hlsspturge it was part of ourfnuslc monej wailed janet tha makes it worse still well yoq two girls ought to take a lessen and ask rdviee about undertak ings you know nothing about youve ruined the dininproom loat yojr money and been good and scared into the bar gain wheres mrs tobey she had company and couldnt come do you mean to say that you twe puis have beer jrtiut up with v nar you thought was a robber all aline we thought it was a manac cor rected janet beginning o laugh giddily grandfathei took a turn about the room then ijiie to us your good sensible mother has raised you to be sensible plucky country gills brave as they make em he turned away again and we went to mother who was deeply embarrassed grandfather had never called her sensible before she clung to us struggling for composure i held out a scrap of our illfated wall paper aimlessly isn t it pretty all pink and grav loses i suggested mother glanced at the paper then took it to the window in some excite ment why rather she exclaimed this is the verypattern we chose ourselves for the girls bedroorn pirif roses little gray buds thorny stems everything i knew they would just love it and i thought of it first for the diningroom v mosquitoes 500 000 of them are what doctor harrison o dyar curator of cpldoptera is showing at the national jmuseum thic one nf tbo rnojit-jtx- haustlve studies ever made shpwing 500000 different breeds and many varia tions erom the total number only 150 classes are encountered in he united states but most of us will probably say that is enough if you drop out of your sunday school class or some other organization to which you belong and are away a month or two on account of illness you are very much aggrieved to find your as sociates have not missed you it seems to you that this indicates a very serious lack in them on the contrary it shows a very serious lack in yourself if you are not missed it is because yiu have not been doing all you should it is no indication of the hardness of their hearts when your associates do not miss you missing is spontaneous t is impossible to help missing certain people and it is impossible to miss others if youare filling your place as you should doing your work as well as you can and radiating kindness and helpfulnessjand good cheer as ou go along you cannot be away from your post for a day with out being missed if you are not missed there is only one person responsible and farlvpfence zinc insulated ohbway that is yourself put a collar on him husband now that ive lost every thing to wall street do you mind being poor dear wife not at all everybody thinks the wolf at our doov is our police dog makes study of mosquitoes bladder weakness makes life misery daily annoyance troublesome nights wrecking lives ef thousands states writer who tells what to do for quick relief backaches headaches pains in feet and legs nervousness restlessness ire- quent but scanty urination with burning and pain gettlnupnlghta ale some of the more troublesome signs that should have prompt attention before they reach a more serious stage no matter how stubborn your case may seem to be or how many medicines you have tried without results dont think jour condition is hopeless or the natural consequence of advancing years until you have tried the amazing value of dr southworth s ukatabs on a strict guarantee of money back on flrst box purchased if you do not re ceive swift and satisfying relief any good druggist will supply you with uratabs in sealed packages containing a ten days supply if they bring great relief inside f 48 hours and a wortderful improvement inside of ten dav3 you will be greatly pleased lfthoy do not help they cost vou n thing ask your druggist today at copper bearing steel farm fence full no 9 gauge gal vanized wire throughout will stand four one minute immersions in the preece acid test the severest test of zinc galvanizing known to science thafs why you know ojlb way farm fence will give lifetime service for economy and endurance erect ojibway farm fence on banner steel posts built like a railroad rail large slit wing anchor plate locks the post perman ently into the ground dirt set end and corner posts no cement no post hole digging easy to haul and drive ask your dealer about the ojlb way guarantee of service zins insuated made and guaranteed by mills- and head office ojibway essex county ontario cqunter check boxks we are now rn a splendid position to quote merchants and business housesontheir supplies of counter check books we offer a wide variety of designs and almost any style of book to fit your needs and the prices are the lowest consistent with good quality all we ask is an opportunity to quote you on your require ments sufcmit samples or well gladly call at any time and talk the matter over with you and show the samples or design- a bbok for your requirements i phone 174 the acton free press quality printers acton ontario j i i