Lillian Elizabeth Roy

“ Now the interesting thing about a radish is this: the plant stores up food in its root for its own use. It takes the first half of its life to make a great big root, and when the root is fully grown and the upper green leaves are through, it dies. Then there shoots up a long slender stem, and on top of this the flowers of the radish bloom. As these in turn fade and die, the seeds form and the entire plant dies—its work accomplished. ”

“ Camp work was through sooner than ever that morning and before ten o’clock Miss Martin was seated before the impromptu desk in the quiet shady grove.
“Now, Molly Brown—you were so anxious to sign up this morning—what can you do to entertain an audience?” said Miss Martin, smiling at the ten-year-old girl.
“I kin ride bareback!” was the startling answer.
“Ride bareback—but what good will that do us in a show-house?” gasped Miss Martin.
“You’se don’t have to keep yersels to one show, does you? In Noo York der’s a theayter an’ a hippodrome, too!” was Molly’s quick reply. ”

“ Creation which was made so perfect and eternal by the Father of All, the kine turned their heads and listened. When the farmer-boy had overcome his shyness in singing such wonderful truths, the angel disappeared but the singer knew it not. He was now so uplifted by his singing that he even failed to hear the men who came running from the kitchen to see who the great singer could be. ”

“ And some of the Blue Birds and Bobolinks are not nearly as good-looking as you are,—if you were plump you would be as pretty as anyone.”
“Mister Uncle Ben, you don’t unnerstan’!” replied [106] Maggie, with a worried expression. “I diden’ mean looks, don’che know—I mean somethin’ else, but I can’t call it like I wantta!”
“I understand, Maggie; and I know that you wish to call it ‘individuality,’ or the mental beauty of the soul. It is this grace of each one’s thought-power that makes true beauty and attractiveness.” ”

“ We expect a number of new arrivals at camp next week, and no one knows what talent may be hidden in the heart of each one of those Little Citizens. We have already found valuable material to work upon here, and it must be educated and taken care of—we must not permit it to die for lack of nourishment—mental and moral, you know.
“I have discussed this plan with Miss Selina, Miss Martin, and Mr. Richards, and they agree with me that it is not only feasible, but necessary, if we are to keep up the ambition and education of these talented children. ”

“ Meredith Starr was the strongest man on earth and was seen lifting great balls of iron and heavy bars of metal. The spheres he picked up as easily as if they were feathers were marked 5,000 lbs. each, and were as large as a barrel.
[204] “Mr. Richards, do tell me what he is lifting?” queried Aunt Selina.
“Can’t you see they are marked iron?”
“Oh, but they aren’t really! They look like hollow paper cubes bronzed over to look like rusty iron,” replied Flutey.
“Maybe you’re right at that,” laughed Mr. Richards.
The last side-show was a huge cage with a curtain hanging before its opening. ”

“ Uncle Ben and some of his helpers were clearing away the brush and stones that were in the way of a smooth eating-spot. The grass must be clean and level, for dinner to be safely served there. The boys were wildly applauding a “home-run” and some of the riders in the swings were “letting the old cat die,” when Jakey stepped into a boat just to sit down and rock it for fun! ”

“ With all the other talent I have discovered, I should say we might give an excellent circus—lacking only the wild animals and freaks.”
“If I agree to supply the freaks and wild animals will you promise to produce a good circus troupe for a show?” asked Uncle Ben, seriously, yet his eyes twinkled humorously.
Miss Martin looked steadfastly at him for a few moments before she said: “Are you serious?”
“Certainly I am. Don’t you think the Little Citizens ought to give an entertainment to all the friends who have worked so hard to make this camp a success?” ”

“ Every day, and every hour, you will find ways to show your gratitude to Miss Selina for this camp. It may be that a child is frightened at something—you can comfort and encourage it. Maybe a boys’ quarrel or fight is on—you can separate them and make peace. It is more than likely that someone will use slang or swear words, or call names or use improper English! ”

“ If the boat doesn’t come in or isn’t caught before it reaches that place it is impossible to say what may be the consequences. An old water-wheel turns the mill and the race feeds the wheel. The child is in danger out there with no means of helping herself and we are here with no way to reach her,” said Uncle Ben, anxiously.
“What’s all the excitement—anyone fall overboard?” called Jinks, coming up and asking his question laughingly.
“Little Prunel is afloat in that boat—see her down the lake there?” replied Mete, who was standing beside Uncle Ben. ”

“ Some time after this event, the eggs laid by Spot that lovely moonlight night, hatched into queer little black things with but two legs and a slippery tail. Some of the saucy polliwogs whisking about in the outside creek jeered:
“‘Pooh! You Tads! Where are your front legs?’
“‘They’ll grow soon, and when they do we’ll come out there and duck you impudent Polliwogs!’ threatened one Tad, named Tibby.
“At the bare mention of ‘duck’ every Tad jumped and even Tibby Tad shivered with apprehension, for it was well known that a duck was a deadly foe to a Polliwog or a Tadpole. ”

“ Inside of twenty-four hours, Skinny’s eggs began to hatch out, but they were not mosquitoes—they were wrigglers. In appearance they resembled wooly, little caterpillars, but one end of the squirming body was the breathing tube for air. The fuzzy part of the wriggler was the means of its moving about, and they all wriggled or jerked about continually. Some grew faster than others, but all grew very fast, their heads seeming to grow faster than their bodies. ”

“ The old mosquitoes that should come to visit the pond or pools, will light upon the glassy, oiled water and instantly find it impossible to remove their hairy legs; besides, their noses will be filled with the fumes and soon choke them so that they, too, will sink down to the bottom of the stagnant pool or float dead upon the oil.
“Happy Hills will then become a comfortable place at night and a more enjoyable camp for the children at day.” ”

“ Finally the Little Citizens had such itching red spots on their bodies, and so many of the younger children had to keep away from the fascinating little brook because of the pesky, stinging insects, that Uncle Ben said something must be done at once to rid Happy Hills of this menace.
“But what can we do to so many? If we have to catch every wriggler or mosquito about Happy Hills, it will take ten times the number of Little Citizens here to catch and kill them—and then there will be thousands of insects left to breed new pests. ”

“ As the children went from one well-kept farm to the next, something interesting was learned from each plot.
For instance the Blue Birds heard from Farmer [96] Jones that a radish was really a root. Because of its red color it could be mistaken for fruit or a bulbous vegetable, but it grows and produces stems with leaves, so it must be classed with root vegetables.
“Besides all this, a thin root tapers from the round bulb. It is this long tapering root that finds the food and drink in the deep, dark ground for the plant above ground to grow upon,” explained the Farmer. ”

“ THE STREET CLEANING SQUAD
It took little time for the news to spread around the camp that a picnic was planned for that day, and many a Little Citizen forgot newly acquired table manners, in the eagerness to talk it over.
Breakfast out of the way, the cook and her helpers went to work to freeze cream, bake cookies, and prepare other delicious goodies for the treat. The Little Mothers hurried to their Nests to attend to their several duties. ”

“ You have most likely heard the proverb: ‘Fire makes a good servant, but a bad master.’ Now just as long as we keep fire in its rightful place to do all sorts of work for us, and to keep us warm in winter, or to create steam in the water placed on it for many important services, then fire is the servant. ”

“ The next few days were very busy ones for the Little Citizens, but the comfort and peace about camp was remarked by everyone, especially Uncle Ben.
“I declare, I never dreamed flies and mosquitoes could make folks so miserable and irritable with each other!” said he.
“Now that those two pests are diminishing, I wish to mention another cause of impatience and concern in camp. The boys and girls past the age of eight or nine, who are not actively engaged with the Police, Firemen, or other departments established at Happy Hills, really need something to occupy their thoughts and time. ”

“ It was not difficult, as Maggie was frank and confiding by nature, so she stopped short in the pathway and exclaimed rapturously:
“Oh Mister Uncle Ben! I loves de flowers growin’, I loves pickshers! I loves pritty people like Miss Martin an’ de Blue Birds an’ you! An’ oh! how I loves singin’!” ”

“ See the big lake for the older boys where they can fish and swim? Over there is a stretch of forest land where we often go to hunt up wild flowers and other interesting things in Nature. And just a few miles on the other side of the station there is quite a town where we can buy anything we might need during the summer. Now when we reach Happy Hills you will see how complete everything is there for an outdoor life for Little Citizens.”
The boys paid attention to the remarks and agreed with Uncle Ben that the location was ideal for everyone. ”

“ The great estate and farm of Happy Hills in the Valley of Delight, had a fine large woodland tract where the Nests were built. A shallow brook ran through the woods, offering all sorts [39] of fun and convenience to the little campers. At one side of the woodland lay a fertile stretch of land that was divided into many squares, one for each child at camp, to be used as farms. In this soil, a Little Citizen might dig and plant and harvest different kinds of vegetables and flowers and have them all for his own. No one could trespass or take away what a child planted on his or her own farm. ”

“ So much for the musical talent at Happy Hills!
A few days following the advent of the music [122] teachers, Miss Martin called Uncle Ben’s attention to little Nelly Finn.
“Have you seen the child use pencil and paper?” asked Miss Martin.
“No. But don’t tell me we have a born artist among us,” laughed Uncle Ben.
“Really, Mr. Talmage, I think we have a designer with unusual talent,” replied Miss Martin, anxiously.
“Designer! Why the child has never been outside of a dirty tenement room. Being crippled, you know, she could not run about as other children do. ”

“ Don saw it and knew what had caused it to roll away. He glared at Dot, and then turned to the boys.
“Mighty good thing I got my wits about me! [23] You boys aren’t worth a cent to look after a bunch of youngsters! I know how to travel, all right! I’ve been to Jersey City, Hoboken, Erie, and Christopher Street, Ninth Street, Fourteenth Street, Eighteenth, Twenty-third, Twenty-eighth and Thirty-third Streets, all in an hour—and here I am as fresh as ever!”
“Fresh—of course you are! And I’m going to have Uncle Ben take a lot of it out of you just as soon as we get to his office!” ”

“ We have a great work to accomplish here, Miss Martin.”
“Yes, I can see that. How I should love to be connected with such a plan, where money is no object, but the welfare of Little Citizens is the main idea. Now let me see what you plan to do this afternoon with the boys. I heard it was a drill.”
“Yes, I am just organizing a staff of helpers to look after the general good of those at camp. Won’t you come over and stand under the shade of the trees while I give the boys their first lesson?” said Uncle Ben. ”

“ Another good flat-house is over where the dump-ground is. We can always find decaying fruit or rotting stuff there,’ returned one of the new arrivals.
“So Flossy and her husband started housekeeping in the dump-ground, while Noisy and her spouse settled in the manure heap by the barns. Noisy crawled about over the damp straws that had been swept out from the stable-stalls and soon found a fine spot to deposit her eggs.
“That evening Noisy and her husband flew back to camp to visit Little Citizens and see what they could do to interfere with the wholesome plans of Uncle Ben and Miss Martin. ”

“ I see that it will be necessary to bring all those interested welfare workers together here to see for themselves just what good a home in the city will do to you all. It isn’t the circus so much, as the idea to get them here and see the improvement in Little Citizens.”
Joe grinned at the confidence shared with him and said he would do all he could to make the show a success.
Uncle Ben then stopped at Mother Maggie’s Nest to ask her which of her songs she had decided to sing at the entertainment. ”

“ Dey made up dis camp, and Miss Selina what’s got a heap of money is lookin’ after us an’ payin’ de bills. Uncle Ben is her nephew, but everyone calls him Uncle Ben, ’stead of Mr. Ta’mage, an’ he says he likes to have so many nieces an’ nephews,” explained Maggie all in one breath.
Miss Martin now had her first glance at the man she had heard so much of—not only in the Welfare work but also from the papers at the time of the Christmas Tree and Easter Picnic in New York.
She saw a tall well-built man with the happiest, cheeriest face she had ever seen. ”

“ East Side, when any patent medicine quack wanted to get a crowd around to buy his stuff,” admitted one of the big Firemen.
And a score or so of boys all cried that they wanted to play something in the band. Uncle Ben knew music was a great thing in a community even if it had a discordant sound at first; it would be helpful and elevating for them even to try and play.
“I’m going to act on Bill’s suggestion at once! I will wire Mr. Richards to pick out the instruments we may need to begin a Camp Band. He will know what to buy,” declared Uncle Ben. ”

“ There were none, so Uncle Ben led his young visitors to inspect the farms.
“Mr. Ta’mage, we’se gotta street cleanin’ squad, an’ a police force, an’ a health board wid nusses, an’ to say nuttin’ of dem firemen, but we hain’t got no head farmers in camp to show helpers all de time, what we wants to know,” ventured a voice from the crowd that followed at Uncle Ben’s heels.
“That’s so! Farmer Jones is master here, but he can’t be at everyone’s beck and call. We’ll have to plan a farmer club tomorrow, and I will send down books and pamphlets for all to read or study.” ”

“ We men have to share [94] alike with you women now that you have the vote in New York State!” said Uncle Ben, smiling at his Citizens.
At the Little Farms the visitors were delighted to see what had already been done. Mr. Jones was there to explain things.
“You see, we worked very hard at digging the plots when the first Little Citizens arrived at camp, and now, as new arrivals come each day, they too are set to work at their farms; so we will have some farms harvesting while others are just sprouting their first crop. ”

“ Little Citizens hated the flies almost as much as did Miss Martin and the other grown-ups at Happy Hills, and as soon as the oil-barrels were opened and ready for use, everyone started out to find breeding nests of flies and soak them well with oil. ”

“ The paths that lead through or across the camp-site will be cleaned of papers, or any other trash that is likely to fly about where there are so many children. It is the duty of every Mother Wings to have the trash-bag waiting in front of the Nest [63] so the Cleaning Department can remove the bags and leave empty ones in their place—exactly as we do in New York.
“The Health Board must visit and inspect the Nests each day and report any lack of attention or seeming cause for concern to the Mother’s Helpers, Nurses, and Infirmary Head. ”

“ In a very short time every one of Skinny’s children was laying a multitude of eggs that would hatch out in a day or two, and in ten to twelve days there would be a pest of mosquitoes at Happy Hills.
“By the time Little Citizens were running about these woods, playing, or digging by the creek, or making mud-pies from the soft mud in the little pools, thousands and thousands of nasty [170] mosquitoes were flying and humming everywhere, while hundreds of thousands were being hatched from the wrigglers that had been the outcome of eggs laid by every mosquito in the place. ”

“ We all gotta remember to say what folks like you’se say to each udder, ef we’re goin’ to live at Happy Hills!” rebuked Ikey Einstein, thoughtfully.
“That’s right, too, Ikey, but you have had more opportunities to practice than Micky had; when he meets us often, he, too, will begin to change his habits and ways of expressing himself.”
[38] As Mr. Talmage spoke, Micky Finn recalled the words his pal Skelly had said a short time before: something about becoming a little lady with fine manners but no fun!
“Good gracious, Uncle Ben—aren’t you most done talking to those boys?” ”

“ We are keeping house in the pig’s trough, so how could we hope to reach camp so far away?’
“‘I’ll tell you about a plan I have, Flossy. Of course, there will be lots of children staying the summer at Happy Hills, and where there are little ones there is sure to be food and things lying about for flies to picnic upon. Now we can steal a ride from the pig-sty to the camp when Farmer Jones feeds the pigs. We can sit [174] in the bottom of his swill-cans and sneak into camp without anyone seeing us. Once there we can set up housekeeping at any of the Nests. ”

“ Dere are reel berries a-growin’ on bushes over on dat hillside!” and Maggie pointed at a sunny slope a short distance from the camp grove.
“My!” chorused most of the little girls.
“An’ birds, an’ bumblebees, an’ snakes, an’—oh, heaps of awful stinger things what you’se have to run from er jump over!” warned Maggie with awesome tones and rolling eyes to impress her hearers.
“Snakes won’t sting, Maggie, unless you tease them. And even then there are many snakes [48] quite harmless. As for a bumblebee! The big, clumsy fellow is as good-natured as a puppy,” said Miss Martin. ”

“ The twins waited and waited, and then another train came in where the downtown train had pulled out.
“Hurrah!—Read the sign in the windows! ‘Uptown New York,’ Dot!” cried Don, crowding on before anyone could get in ahead of him.
Thus it happened that Don walked into a car without waiting for Dot, and she, being small, was pushed back by the grown-ups till the last. [19] Just as she was about to step on, Jinks caught her skirt.
“Thank goodness! Here you are! We’ve all been hunting high and low for the two of you.” ”