Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley

"'July 15 to July 19. The Beehive. 3 dollers and 1/2 Pade.' That's a

bargain store down in our parts. I went in fer to git Bud a cap and I

hearn the clerk askin' the boss about fixin' up a winder show with wax

figgers fer a weddin'. I step up to him and ask him if he kep surpluses,

and he sez as he didn't. I told him I could rent him one to put on the

minister, and he hedn't thought fer to hev it an Episcopal show, but he

sed he'd do it fer an ad fer his white goods. He wouldn't stand fer no

dollar a day. He beat me down to three-fifty, but he throwed in a cap

fer Bud.

"Next come Mrs. Hudgers. I didn't put it down in the ledger, though,

cause it didn't bring nuthin' but a pan of doughnuts. Her son Hallie

died, and he didn't hev no nice clo'es ter be laid out in, and she was

agoin' to hev quite a funyral, so jest afore folks come, she slipped the

surplus on ter him over his old clo'es, and then when 'twas over, she

took it offen him again. He made a swell lookin' corpse. Bein' a

neighbor we didn't go fer to ask her nuthin', but she give us the nut

cakes. They give her dyspepsy, anyhow."

The muscles of John Meredith's face grew rigid in his endeavor to

maintain a serious expression. He had taken out a notebook at the

beginning of the interview to jot down the addresses, but he copied

Amarilly's comments as well, for the future entertainment of Colette.

"'July 25 and 26. Mr. Derry Phillips, The Navarre. 2 dollers. Pade.' He

paints picters. He painted the surplus onto a man playin' on a orgin."

She hesitated a moment, and then continued: "I'm agoin' to work reg'lur

fer him instead of to the theayter. I'm agoin' to git his breakfast and

clean his rooms. He'll pay me the same as I got. He's a sort of

eddicatin' me too."

"Why, how is that, Amarilly?" asked John in perplexity.

"He larnt me not to say 'et' and 'kin.'"

The rector's eyes twinkled.

"And," pursued Amarilly, after another moment of hesitancy, "he's larnt

me how to fix my hair. He says red hair is beautiful! He took me to a

restyrant."

John looked troubled at this statement, and felt that his call at the

studio would now be for a double purpose.

"'July 27,'" resumed Amarilly. "'The Boarder. 25 cents. Pade.'"