At the Little Brown House

imperatively, flapping a newspaper vigoro

rom the great elm by the road.

ranches. "Shut up that book and listen to me. I've got some portentious"-she meant important-"news. Cameron's Shoe Store advertises shoes at forty-nine

d she thrust a ragged newspaper page into her sister's hands, crying, "What of it? Why, Charity Greenfield, you were saying just this mornin

onth. It took all she had to pay up Mike, so she could let him go. Besides, this paper says t

g we didn't have any summer so we could go barefooted, or s'posing we had as many legs as a spider, and had to buy a dozen pair of shoes each time.

aven't got the money. Cameron's Shoe Store is in

orty-nine cents,' I asked her if it meant sure-enough shoes for that little, and she said it did, and tha

the m

k his late strawberries, and he'll pay five cents a quart. We've often picked strawberries

rcasm. "'Twas likely wrong anyway. Do you mean to say you

ey is just as good as any other man'

er pay five cents a quart for picking berries, Peace. Now, if i

big hotels in Martindale pays him twenty cents a quart for all he will bring them. I

advertisement once more, and pondered the question of such

rply, after some moment

in the sun all day," yawned Cher

rom her sister's lap, she swung nimbly to the ground and s

g?" cried Cherry, scrambling off

. Hardman's strawberry patch," an

go, too. But s'posing he won'

ed strawberries before. Why, Allee knows how

ake Allee along if he

a long time yet. She do

farm adjoining theirs, and almost bumped into Mr. Hartman himsel

aside to avoid a collision. "What are you young rapscal

sing a stubbed toe and winking rapidly to keep the

ell now, what if

er's hand, she marched angrily toward the road, but h

d briefly, not looking around or

uh! Your price

at him. "You pay that to other folks, and we ca

's berries are

icked carefully so's

ce marched on with head high

he stopped her by saying, "What do you w

-nine cents a pair all this week, and Mrs. Grinnell is going in town Saturda

t your ma

and Gail hasn

pretty littl

them, for he was really in need of pickers in order to harvest his big crop of berries before

five cen

od at the job. Come

le lasts only till Saturday. It might rain tomo

the man. "But be sure you do good

eir post until the day was done, trying to forget the heat and dust in planning their trip to the big city, which they had visited so seldom. However, two long, thankful sighs escaped their dry

bathed her hot face at the pump, "I never knew b

icking wild strawberries. They ain't

el them crawling all over me now. I belie

awberries were bugs really, and when the hotel people ate them

eld!" cried Cherry

thirsty people bend over to drink, the snakes bite them. There might be bugs somewhere that looked like strawberries s

ave strawberries

rawberries, wouldn't they? And how rich we would be! Never mind, we picked ten boxes of berries this afternoon-that means a shoe a

e field again, and by noon the secon

bor. "We are done. Now we can get our shoes all right tomorrow. Why, what are you doing, Peace? Are you crazy?"

ring little maid. "I am jus

plodding down the field. "I am nearly cooked now, and hungry as a bear. Come on

rom her self-appointed task an

herry. "You told me yourself tha

scrubby. There isn't any more blacking in the house, and the ink I sopped onto them made th

picking silently, ploddingly until at last the third ten had been filled. Then she spoke, "Is this all,

sharply, for she was hot and tired, and Cherry's tone seemed to imply crit

filled, up to the berry shed, and the spirit of mischief sudde

rner of the fence surrounding one of his brooding pens, and pretended to examine each box critically, while the girls waited in anxious silence for his word of approval. "Hm!" he said at last, trying to frown

e, with lips so dry they c

rous and live up to my part of the bargain. Five cents a

otice, and she cried indignantly, "There are thirty

lf a nickel over; but I will be good and give you fifteen cents for your work." He dre

ent, "You numscullion of a cheat! Do you s'pose you will ever get to heaven? There are your old berries! You can hire your chickens to pick them up! I'll never work for you again!" One shove of the

derstand. The hot blood mounted to his forehead, he shook his fist in unreasoning anger and yelled, "Drat your pesky hides! Come

a quiet voice behind him, and he whirled angrily to

arts of fruit spoiled! Fou

n and it never would have happened. They

them. If she hadn't been quicker'n greased lightn

he best thing you can do now is to rescue that fruit before the chickens have spoiled it entir

f strawberries? Well, I should say not! They will never get another cent