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About The Coos Bay times. (Marshfield, Or.) 1906-1957 | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1915)
Ill HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION The Tent-Lady's Conquest of Youth 1JY IIAKKIET CKOCKBil M3 HOY. TUB Tent-Lady lived In a Biiow-whlto canvas tent among tlio tull cucalyii tus trees on tho Hlono of tlio gentlest, greenest Httlo hlllHldo In tlio world. All day long tho leaf-shadows quivered and danced upon tho while walls and root of the Tent-Lady's homo and all day and night tho Hwoot, spicy odors of tho euca lyptus trees found their healthful way Into tho Httlo dwelling. At night tho moon shono whltuly through tho long branches of tho sheltering trees or soft darkness enfolded It protecting!)'. Tho Tent-Lady had n Httlo cough just n Httlo troublesome cough of which she tried to tnlto no notice. Not oven a box of cough drops or tho smallest, mildest bottle of cough mcdlclno could hnvo been found Inside tho Tent-Lady's home, for sho did not bullcvo very much In medicine. Sho hnd laughingly protested, but at last con sented, when anxious friends in tlio Enst hacked by tho rumlly doctor, hud bundled her on to California. Fortunately sho had come In time. Tho Httlo cough still hung on but was slowly disappcaiing. Tho Tent-Lady's voice, when sho called out cheerily to tho pass ing school children, was getting stronger and clearer and ono duy they even hoard her singing to herself In a wonderfully sweet Httlo voice the gay, catchy chorus of some popular song. So the school children loitered along to school, scuffling their feet along the sldowallc and looking back over their shoulders at tho Tent-Lady who stood in the tent door polishing a tumbler with a snowy towel and smiling at them. Tlio girls said lo one another that sho was "awfully dear," and tho boys, after tho manner of boys, didn't say anything but Jostled and punched ono another rudely off tho sidewalk and looked over their shoulders with non-committal eyes. Tho Tout-Lndy had been a school teach er back in Ohio although tho boys would never have suspected her of It, and alio did not tell thorn. For boys, It Is well known, are perfectly suro that school teachers, as a rule, arc tho meanest, hatefulcst, dried up old maids In tho wholo worldl Although they know better and often havo a snenkliig regard for ono of tho despised class It seems to bo tho fashion among boys to mnko bellovo they think so whether they do or not. Gradually slowly but surely, tho Tcnt Laily won tho honrt of every slnglo boy and girl who passed her whlto tent be neath tho tall eucalyptus trees on their way to srjwol. Little by little, Just by tho magic of her smllo and her happy words of greotlug sho made for herself a following. , , nut ono Saturday morning sho clinched matters and settled tlio business for nil lime. Suroly tho Tont-Lady understood to tho linger tips and too nails that oft in comprehensible crenturo a boy. And girls, too, for that matter, but porhaps not qulto so well. On this ovffntful Saturday morning sho had called out n blight greeting to I'otey Smith, who was straggling homeward with a pound of butter and a parcel of sausage for breakfast. "Just ono minute, plcuso." called ho Tent-Lady, running toward him In her big gingham all-ovor apron. "I wonder if you ran tell mo of any pluco not far away whore I'd bo allowed to mako a nro and cook my dinner. I'm Just wild to go out romping today, but I don't know whero to no. I want to fry bacon on tho end of n willow switch over tlio flro and roast po tatoes In tho ashes nnd mnko coffee In a lard pall and cook onions In a frying pan and spread n newspaper on tho ground and all tho good things on tho newspaper nnd- cat'" l'etoy Smith stared nt her. Ho squeezed the pound of butter tightly under ono arm and stuffed tbo sausago Into his coat pocket. Ho wanted ail his fingers froo to point with. , , "There's, a dandy placo over beyond Templo street," ho said, "somo of us fel lows went Uicro onco an played Injun. Won't nobody earo If wo mako n. flro there If wo stomp it out when wo'ro through with It." Tho Tent-Lady laughed. "Wo?" sho re peated. "Will you go too? My! W! i thought I'd havo to go alone and I Uldn t want to. Ono person makes such nn awful small picnic, you know." .,,,. Pitey Smith grinned and scratched ono baro sun-browned log with tho toes of his other foot. "I guess Jim Sanderson dlluo to go along too," ho said. "Him an mo was goln' rabbit huntln' today but wo can Rlvo that up easy enough. Aln t a alngio cottontnlo, Just Jackrabblts, whero wo wus goln', anyway." ., , , , . "Well, uow, I'll tell you." said tho Tent Lady briskly. "You round up a fow boys and girls anybody and havo them bring something for tho feast anything a loaf of bread or a fow potatoes or a dozen doughnuts or bomethlng, and como along hero about 10 o'clock. I'll bo ready nnd we'll go over there nnd bo real savages sure enough Not too many now, please, Just a nlco Httlo crowd." m L l'etoy Smith moved off on willing foct. "You bet you!" bo called back and all that tho Totit-Iady could boo prosontly as a confusion of corduroy pants nud lave KgS as I'otey Smith flew honiownrd. To un tho truth tho Tent-Lady was lonely lonely and a Httlo homesick. No ono had come to seo her. People who Hvo In a lent aro not nlwu)s desirable ac quaintances, you know so much tubercu losis, you see nnd you don't know Just what kind of persons they arc and any way It hardly pays, don't )ou know, to get acquainted for they're only transients after all ana all tho rest or It. So tho Tent-Lady was a llttlo lonely Just a little. It becomes monotonous In time to conlluo nil one's temnrks to tho grocery boy, bo ho ever so friendly. Long beroro 10 o'clock the eauor guests arrived In n body. I'rtey Smith, full of Importance, with a flour sack over his shoulder halt full of potatoes; Jim San derson with a can of salmon and no can opener but his trusty Juckknifo; Fatty Watson with n bakery cake crushed under ono fat arm; Scrubby l'ierce with a berry plo already oozing crimson Julco through tho newspaper wrapping; Scrubby's small sister, l'earl, who had "tagged along," ho disgustedly Informed tho other boys, healing a loaf of broad and her chum, Gladys Donovan, who had also "tagged." Tho Tent-Lady welcomed them alt and In a short time tho gay procession started, tlio boyn laden Hku pack mules with tin plates, cups, frying pan, baskets and boxes. On tho way tho Tent-Lady and the girls picked up and carried every bit of wood they came across and when they reached tho clump of eucalyptus trees over beyond Templo street and deposited their burden there was a goodly pile of fuel. The boys, with wild whoops of Joy, scat, tercd In search of more all but l'etoy Smith, who, under the Tent-Lady's In structions, stnrtod to construct a wonder ful furnace of cobblestones on which to boll coffee and set the frying pan. It was a glorious dinner. Tho Tent Lady in her big nil-over apron knelt be fore the tiro and burled the potatoes in tho hot ashes, fried the bacon and mndu tho coffee, ably assisted by all-too-wllllng hands. Tho Tent-Ludy would havo made a good general. Sho set thu two llttlo girls to work spreading tbo newspapers on tho grass and arranging tho tin dishes with some semblanco of-order; kept Fatty Wat son eagerly stuffing in more fuel and col oring his round face crimson witli his exertions and tho heat; got Jim Snndcr son to opon his can of salmon and mado uso of Scrubby l'lerco as "general utility man." Not ono but was allowed to help about that dinner and nt last it was ready and Ihey all sat down. Why do baked beans wanned over In a tin pall tosto better than any other wn ? Why do strips of bacon, smoky and curly from toasting on tho end of n gieon switch over tho firo tasto hotter than In a restaurant or hotel? And why do baked potatoes, too well dono on ono sldo and a llttlo rare on the other, tasto inoro delicious than when served nt homo In tho usual conventional way? That was tho beginning. Every Satur day tho Tent-Lady and her happy crowd repeated tho delightful performance. Sat urday morning work was done on I rluay after school, candy money saved to spend for "stun to cook," other boys smuggled In and a girl or two added until tho Tent Lady declared a round dozen of them was suroly enough. .... e And when school closed for tlio Sum mer vacation and the haudsomo homos In that section closed too. nnd tho fam lies went to tho various beaches, envious ulaucea wero sent toward the Tent-Lady a Httlo whlto tent and thepoor rich boys would gladly havo stayed at borne all Summer because it was fun to go oer tho hill and camp out. ,, For they kept It up all Summer tho Tont-Lady and her Jolly crowd of wor shipers. By this Unto sho had become tho rising and setting sun In evory boys heart, whllo tbo girls told ono another over and over again how sweet and "dear" she was. , By tho Fourth of July when, firecrack ers and all, they sought tho well-known clump of eucalyptus trees and made preparations tor a wonderful , d nnor In honor of tho day, oveiy last llttlo bit of ho Tent-l-ndy's cough was gone. In fact she bad forgotten how to cough. Her iaugi was like a peal of silver sleigh bells and sho could lend tho boys and ulrls straight through a gleo club song Without slopplne onco to clear her throat. n there wore plulc roses blooming In r clweks aid sho could run up bo itoBiiest little 1'Hls ou the way to tho cam dug "nnrnd lout oven I'otey 3miUi'H erlmy paw to help her. S I Sep ember when school reopened thoro was a wonderful surprise for tho sixth-grade boys and girls. There at tho teacher's desk sweet and bappy-faccd. In ho whitest of tailored shlrtwaUts nud tho leatoit ot blue skirts stood-tho Tent- Lasho laughed at their astonished faces. "You didn't dream that I was a school imi'iim did you?" she asked. Aul'r they had settled Into quiet and wero staring at her with unbelieving eyes, ?X Smith. ' n0,w sch001 8Ult aml "llaV-olofto'qult our cu.pl.' out. Saturdays?" ho asked, with his appealing eyes fixed on the Tent-Lady' face. The Best Time to vlult the CALIFORNIA EXPOSITION Tho trip to tlio RxpoiiUloiiA throiiKli Oregon nml Cali fornia (Omnia In: miKlo NOW, nmlilxt Krcen flelile, Rlturlnfr bird and with nattiro treating Iter richest trail). Three Comfortable Trains every day, with alt modern convenience nnd l lie bent UlnhiK-car cervlco to lie Imtl. I.Krrnlurr nn (lir K&pffiilllonN, llooklrt HcMrt-llilnn; I'nlntu of tntereat I'u lloiitr, Mat of llutrln, TlrkrU and Full liirortntitlnii I'nim Nrurrtl Anenl. SOUTHERN PACIFIC John M. Scott, General Passenger Agent, Portland, Or. 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