PRUDE of the PARSONAGE By E T H E L H U E S T O N (B ob b s M errill, C o p yrigh t, 1918) T H E TW INS T R Y TO EM- BARRASS FAIRY W I TH SOM E PRACTICAL JOK­ ING WHEN HER BEAU C O M E S T O VISIT H E R . Mr. Starr Is a widower Methodist minister with five charming daughters. Prudence, the eldest is nineteen. She keeps house. Fairy, aged seventeen. Is a college freshman. Carol and Lark, twins, are in high school, and Constance Is in the grades. Mr. Stark is assigned to the congregation at Mount Mark, la„ and the advent and establishment of his interesting family In the parson­ age there stirs the curiosity of the whole town. The story concerns the affairs of the parsonage girls. Prudence has her hands full with the mis­ chievous twins and Connie. Fairy has Just announced that her beau la coming to spend the evening. The twins decide to have some fun, and havs made tbeir plans accordingly. C H A P T E R V— Continued. As soon ns they finished supper Lark said. “ Don’t you think we'd better go right to bed, I’rue? We don't want to taint the atmosphere of the par­ sonage. O f course Fairy will want to wash the dishes herself to make sure they are clean and shining. “ Oh, no,” disclaimed Fairy, good- naturedly. “ 1 can give an extra rub to the ones we want to use— that is enough. I do appreciate the thought, though, thanks very much.” So the twins plunged In, carefully keeping Connie beside them. Connie had a dismal propensity for discov­ eries— the twins had often suffered from It. Then they all three went to bed. To be sure it was ridiculously eurly, but they were all determined. “ You keep your eyes open. Fairy." Prudence whispered melodramatically. "Those girls do not look right.” And she added anxiously. “ Oh, I’ll be so disappointed If things go badly.” Fairy was a little late getting up­ stairs to dress, but she took time to drop Into her sisters’ room. They were all in bed, breathing heavily. She walked from one to another, and stood above them majestically. “ Asleep 1” she cried. “ Ah, fortune Is kind. They are asleep. How 1 love these darling little twinnies— In their sleep l” An audible sniff from beneath the covers, and Fairy, smiling mischievous­ ly. went into the front room to prepare for her caller. The bell rang as she was dressing. Prudence went to the door, preternat- urally ceremonious, and ushered Mr. Fabler into the front room. She did not observe that the young man sniffed in a peculiar manner as he entered the room. “ I ’ll call Fairy,” she said demurely. “ Tell her she needn’t primp for me,” he answered, laughing. “ I know just how she looks already.” But Prudence was too heavily bur­ dened to laugh. She smiled hospi­ tably, and closed the door upon him. Fairy was tripping down the stairs, very tall, very handsome, very gay. She pinched her sister’s arm us she passed, and the front room door swung behind. But she did not greet her friend. She stood erect by the door, her head tilted on one side, sniffing, sniffing. “ What in the worid?” she wondered. Eugene liubler was strangely quiet. He looked about the room In u pe­ culiar. questioning way. “ Shall 1 raise a window?” he sug­ gested finully. “ It’s rather— er— hot In here.” “ Yes, do.” she urged. “ Raise all of them. It’s— do you—do you notice a— a funny smell In here? Or am I imag­ ining it? It—it almost makes me sick r “ Yes, there Is a smell,” he said, in evident relief. “ I thought maybe you’d been cleaning the carpet with something. It's ghastly. Can’t we go somewhere else?” “ Come on.” She opened the door Into the sitting room. “ W e’re coming out here if you do not mind, Prue.” And Fairy explained the difficulty. “ Why, that’s very strange,” said Prudence, knitting her brows. • “ I was in there right after supper, and I didn’t notice anything. What does It smell like?” “ It’s a new smell to me,” laughed Fairy, “ but something about it is strangely suggestive of our angel twins.” Prudence went to Investigate, and Fairy shoved a big chair near the table, waving her hand toward It light­ ly with a smile at Babble. Then she sank Into a low rocker, and leaned one arm on the table. She wrinkled her forehead thoughtfully. “That smell,” she began. “ I am very suspicious about 1L It was not at all natural— ” "Excuse me, Fairy,” he said, 111 at ease for the first time In her knowl­ edge o f him. “ Did you know your Sleeve was coming out?” ; Fairy gasped and raised her arm. “ Both nrms. apparently," he con­ tinued. smiling, but bis face was flushed. “ Excuse me Just a minute, will you?" Fairy was unruffled. She sought her sister. “ Look here. Prue— wbat do you muke of this? I'm coming to pieces! I'm hanging by a single thread, as It were.” Her sleeves were undoubtedly ready to drop off at a second's notice 1 Pru­ dence wus shocked. She grew posi­ tively white in the face. “ Oh, Fairy,” she wailed. “ We are disgraced.” “ Not a bit of It.” said Fairy coolly. “ 1 remember now that Lark was look Ing for the scissors before supper. Aren't those twins unique? This Is almost bordering on talent. Isn't it? Don’t look so distressed. Prue. Eti­ quette Itself must be subservient to twins. It seems. Don’t forget to bring In the ste at a quarter past nine, and have it as good as possible— please, dear." “ I will,” vowed Prudence, “ I'll— I ’ll use cream. Oh. those horrible twins I" “ Go in nnd entertain Babble till 1 come down, won’t you?” And Fairy ran lightly up the stairs, humming a snatch of song. But Prudence did a poor Job of en­ tertaining Babbie during her sister’s absence. She felt really dizzy I Such a way to Introduce Etiquette Into the parsonage life. She wns glad to make her escape from the room when Fulry returned, a graceful figure In fine blue silk! A little after nine she called out dismally, “ F a iry !” And Fairy, fearing fresh disaster, came running out. "W hat now? Whnt— ” “ I forget what you told me to say," whispered Prudence wretchedly, Sufferer From Annoying Complaint Can Generally Make Correct Diag­ nosis of His Particular Case. “Yes, There Is a Smell,” He Said. “ what was it? The soup Is ready, and piping hot— but wbat Is It you want me to say?" Fairy screamed with laughter. “ You goose!” she cried. "Say anything you like. It doesn't make any difference what you say.” “ Oh, I am determined to do my part Just right," vowed Prudence fervent­ ly, “ according to etiquette nnd all. What wns It you said?” Fulry stifled her laughter with diffi­ culty, and said In a low voice, "Wouldn’t you like u nice, hot oyster stew?” Prudence repeated it after her breathlessly. So Fairy returned once more, nnd soon after Prudence tapped on the door. Then she opened It, nnd thrust her curly head inside. "Wouldn’t you like a little nice, hot oyster stew?” she chirped methodically. And Fairy said, “ Oh, yes. Indeed, Prudence— this Is so nice of you.” The three guthered sociably about the table. Babbie wus first to taste Early morning headaches may be due to many causes— eye strain, kid­ ney trouble, dissipation, too much smoking, overeating o f proteins, ex­ cessive mental labor or too high blood pressure. The Medical Record quotes some observations by the French Doc­ tor Renon, which extended over 15 years, and In which he found In many caws excessively high blood tension. When the persistent headaches ars so severe that they unfit the sufferer for work. It is generally found that his heart Is enlarged nnd his kidneys nre affected. Such eases often speedily terminate fatally, but Intensive treat­ ment will alleviate the symptoms. The Medical Record says coul-tur deriva­ tives and tobacco must be shut off. The patient must have mental rest; he must go on a purely milk diet for at least a week, after which he may eat fruits and vegetables on certain days for two weeks more. A light, low protein regimen follows for sev­ eral weeks. His Case. “ Everything I have In this world I owe to my wife.” “ I’m almost like you, too. Every­ thing I owe In this world my w ife bought.” Practical Geography. “ Are you Hungary?” "Yes. Slam.” "W ell, come along; I’ll FIJI.” — Na­ tional Geographical Magazine. It is better to be able to turn yoar hand to unythlug than to put your foot In It QUIT MEAT WHEN KIDNEYS BOTHER Take a jjltiss of Salts if your Hack hurls or Hlmltlcr troubles you. No man or woman who eats meat regularly can umko u mistake by flushing the kidneys occasionally, says a well-known authority. Moat forma uric acid which excites the kidneys, they become overworked from the strain, get sluggish and fall to filter the waste and poison* from the blood, then wo get sick. Nearly all rheuma­ tism, dizziness, sleeplessness und ur­ inary disorders couio from sluggish kidneys. The moment you feel a dull ache In the kidneys or your back hurts or If the urine Is cloudy, offensive, full of sediment, irregular o f passage or at­ tended by a sensation of sealdlng. stop rating meat and get about four ounce# of Jud Halts from any phar­ macy; take a tablespoonful In a glass of water before breakfast and In a few days your kidneys will act fine. This famous salts Is made from the aeld o f grapes and lemon Juice, com­ bined with llthla, and has been used for generations to flush and stimulate the kidneys, also to neutralize the adds In urine so It no longer causes Irritation, thus ending bladder weak- neas. Jud Halts Is Inexpensive and can­ not Injure; makes a delightful effer­ C H A P T E R VI. vescent llthla water drink which everyone should take now and then to keep the kidneys clean and active Practicing Economy. It was a dull day eurly In Decem­ and the blood pure, thereby avoiding ber. Prudence and Fairy were sew­ serious kidney complications. ing In the bay window of the sitting room. There are thousands of "W e must be sure to have nil the scraps out of the way before Connie children w ho are bright gets home,” said Prudence, carefully but fitting together pieces of u dark. warm, but fr a il— not sick furry material. "It lias been so loug u n d e rd e v e lo p e d — they since futher wore this coat, 1 am sure she will not recognize It." play with their food— they “ But she will ask where wo got I t catch colds easily and do nnd what shall we any?" "W e must tell her It I* good* we have not thrive— they only need had In the house for a long time. That the pure, rich liquid-food in Is true. Arid I made this fudge on pur­ pose to distract her attention. Poor ch ild!" she added very sympatheti­ cally. “ Her heart Is Just set on n brand- new coat. 1 know she will be Itterly disappointed. I f the members would Just pay up we could get her one. No­ vember and December nro such bad months for parsonage people. Every­ one Is getting ready for f'brlstmns now. and forgets that parsonage people need to start them growing and keep Christmas money, too.” them going. Children rel i sh Fulry took a pin from her mouth. “ I S C O T T ’S and it carries rare have honestly been ashamed o f Connie the Inst few Sundays. It wns so cold, nutritive qualities to their blood and she wore only thnt little thin sum­ streams and gives them flesh- mer Jacket. 3h** must have been half food, bone-food and strength-food. frozen." the steaming stew, lie gasped, and gulped, and swallowed some water with more haste than grace. Then he toyed Idly with spoon and wafer until Prudence tasted also. Prudence did not gasp. She did not cry out. She looked up at her sister with wide eyes —a world o f pathos In the glance. But Fairy did not notice. "Now, please do not ask me to talk until 1 have finished my soup,” she wus saying brightly. Then she tasted I t ! She dropped her s|>oon with a great clntter, und Jumped up from the table. “ Mercy I" she shrieked. “ It Is poisoned I” Babble leaned buck ill Ills chair and luughed until his eyes were wet. Pru­ dence’s eyes were wet. too, but not from laughter! Whnt would etiquette think o f her. ufter this? "Whnt did you do to this soup. Pru­ dence?” demanded Fairy. "I made It— nothing else.” faltered poor Prudence, quite crushed by this blow. And oysters forty cents n pint.’ ” IFs pepper, I think," gasped Bab­ ble. “ My Insides bear startling testi­ mony to the presence o f pepper.” And he roared again, while Prudence begnn u critical examination o f the oysters. She found them llterully stuffed with pepper; there wns no doubt o f It. The twins had done deud- ly work 1 "Revenge, ye gods, how sweet,” chanted Fairy. “The twins are get­ ting even with a vengeance— the same twins you said were adorable. Babble.” It must be said for Fairy thnt her good nature could stnnd almost any­ thing. Even this did not seriously disturb her. “ Do you supjiose you can find us some milk, Prue? And crack­ ers ! I’m so fond o f crackers and milk, aren't you. Babble?" “ Oh, I adore It. But serve a micro­ scope with It. please. 1 want to ex­ amine it for microbes before I taste.” But Prudence did better than that. She made some delicious cocoa, and opened a can of pear preserves, donut- ! <‘d to the parsonage by the amiable j Sirs. Adams. The twins were very | fond of pear preserves, and had been j looking forward to eating these on their approaching blrthduy. They j MANY CAUSES O F H E A D A C H E were doomed to disappointment I The three had a merry little feast, after all. and tlielr Ipughter rung out ao often and so unrestrainedly that the twins shook in their beda with raga and disappointment It speuks well for tho courage of Babble, uud the attractions o f Fairy, that he cume to the parsonage again amt again. In time ho beenmo the best of friends with the twins them­ selves, lint he always culled them "tho adorable*." and they never naked hliu why. The punishment Inflicted upon them by Prudence rankled In their memories for inuny mouths. “The offense was ugalnst Fairy.” said Prudence, with n solemnity she did not feel, "nnd the reparation must be done to her. For three week* you must do all of her bedroom work, uud run every errand she requires. More­ over. you must keep her shoes well cleaned and ulcely polished, nnd must do every hit of her durnlngl” The twins would huve preferred whipping n thousand times. They felt they hud got a whipping's worth of pleasure out o f their mischief 1 But a punishment like thla sat heavily upon their proud young shoulders, nnd from that time on they held Fairy practi­ cally Immune from tlielr pranks. Prudence did not bother her head about etiquette after that experience. "I'm strong for comfort," she declared, “und since the two cunnot live together In one family, 1 say we do without eti­ quette." And Fulry nodded In agreement smiling good-naturedly. SCOTTS EMULSION N o th in g h a r m fu l in S C O T T 'S . Scott f t Bownc. Bloomfield. N. J . There are a lot o. us careless about providing for the preacher and his family. Some of us seem to forget that his needs are Just as real and urgent as our own. Are you prompt with your tithes? IH T H I C K , GLO S SY HAIR F R E E FROM D A N D R U F F Girls! T r y It! Hair gets soft, fluffy and beautiful— Get a 25 cent bottle of Danderine. If you caro for heavy hair that glis­ tens with beauty and la radiant with life; bus an Incomparable softness and la flu ffy and lustrous, try Dundurlne. First American M. D. Just ono application doubles the The first native o f Engllsh-spenklng America to receive flu? degree o f Doc­ beauty f your hair, besides P. Imme- | dlately dissolves every particle of tor o f Medicine was William Bull, who i dandruff. You can not have nice died In Loudon Just a century anil a ! heavy, healthy hair If you havo dan- quarter ago. lie was born In South j druff. This destructive scurf robs tho Carolina In 1710. and In Ills young man­ ! hair o f its lustre, Its strength and Its hood went to Europe to study .nedl- very life, and if not ovorcomo It pro­ clne, receiving Ills M. I). degree at Ley- duces a feverishness and It hlng of ren. He practiced Ills profession with tho scalp; tho hair roots famish, loos­ considerable success In his native col­ en and die; then tho hair falls out ; fast. Surely get a 25 cent bottle of ony, und In 1740 became lieutenant Knowlton's Danderlno from rny drug governor o f South Carolina, a position j store and Just try It. he retained until the revolution. Re­ maining loyal to the crown, In 1782 he As we grow more sensible, we refuso drug accompanied the British troops to Eng­ cathartics and take Nature’s herb cure, (iar- I field Tea. ________________ land. where he resided during the re­ mainder o f ills life. Lawrence Bohurn 10 C E N T “C A S C A R E T S ” was the first physician In the English IF B ILIO U S OR C O S T IV E Colonies o f America, arriving In 1010, and holding the position o f physician For Sick Headache, S ou p 8tomach, Sluggish Liver and Bowels— They general o f the colony o f Vlrglnlu for work while you sleep. one year. Ills successor, John Pot, wus the first permanent resident physician Furred Tongue, Bad Taste, Indiges­ In the colonies. tion, Sallow Skin and Miserable Head­ aches come from a torpid liver and clogged bowels, which cause your Facts About the Eye. stomach to become filled with undi­ There are uny number o f differ gested food, which sours and ferments nerves nnd muscles which must w< like garbage in a swill barrel. Th at’s In harmony, or vision will he defect! the first step to untold misery— Indi­ The great switchboard controlling gestion. foul gases, bad breath, yellow these motions must act Immediati skin, mental fears, everything that Is making the proper connections betwi horrible and nauseating. A Tascarot the brain which Is culling for n ni tonight will give your constipated her, nnd the many wires which hi bowels a thorough cleansing and straighten you out by morning. They to act to connect all o f the nerves « work while you sleep— a lOcent box muscles which must focus the eye u| from your druggist will keep you feel­ the object to he seen. The eyebnll m ing good for months. he turned In the proper direction, thnt the light strikes the pupil prope Garfield Tea, by purifying the blood, erad­ nnd tho pupil Itself must expand icates rheumatism, dyopepHia and many contract according to the dlstnnce chronic ailmenta. the object. In order to see It clearly. Jollied the Judge. "This is the seventh time you’ve Growing Teak Timber. been before me,” said the magistrate Forestry experts hnve demonstrated sternly. that teak timber can he grown on plan­ “ That so?" replied tho culprit. “ It tations thnt Is ns strong as that from do beat all how some folks hold on to natural forests. office, don’t It?” — Boston Transcript. iiU UK C O N T I N U E D . )