ieve you are right."

"Ya-as, ain't she?" Aunt Almira said proudly. "An' our Janice
has done suthin' this time that'll make Polktown put her on a
ped-ped-es-tri-an----"

"'Pedestal,' Maw!" giggled Marty.

"Wal, never mind," said the somewhat flurried Mrs. Day. "Mr. Middler
said it. Mr. Haley, ye'd oughter hear all 't Mr. Middler said about
her this arternoon at the meetin' of the Ladies' Aid."

"Oh, Auntie!" murmured Janice, turning very red.

"Go on, Maw, and tell us," said Marty. "What did he say?" and he
grinned delightedly at his cousin's rosy face.

"Sing her praises, Mrs. Day--do," urged Nelson. "We know she deserves
to have them sung."

"Wal! I should say she did," agreed Aunt 'Mira, proudly. "It's her,
the parson says, that's re'lly at the back of this temp'rance movement
that's goin' ter be inaugurated right here in Polktown. Nex' Sunday
he's goin' to give a sermon on temperance. He said 'at he was ashamed
to feel that he--like the rest of us--was content ter drift along and
_do nothin'_ 'cept ter talk against rum selling, until Janice began ter
_do somethin'_."

"Now, Auntie!" complained the girl again.

"Wal! You started it--ye know ye did, Janice. They was talkin' about
holdin' meetings, an' pledge-signin', and stirrin' up the men folks ter
vote nex' Fall ter make Polktown so everlastin'ly dry that all the old
topers, like Jim Narnay, an' Bruton Willis, an'--an' the rest of 'em,
will jest natcherly wither up an' blow away! I tell ye, the Ladies'
Aid is all worked up."

"I wonder, now," said Uncle Jason, reflectively.

"Ye wonder what, Jase Day?" demanded his spouse, with some warmth.

"I wonder if it can be _did_?" returned Uncle Jason. "Lemme tell ye,
rum sellin' an' rum drinkin' is purty well rooted in Polktown. If
Janice is a-goin' ter stop th' sale of licker here, she's tackled purty
consider'ble of a job, lemme tell ye."

CHAPTER XXI

WHAT WAS IN THE PAPER

As the days passed it certainly looked as though Mr. Day was correct in
his surmise about the difficulties of "Janice's job," as he called it.
The girl was earnestly talking to everybody whom she knew, especially
to the influential men of Polktown, regarding the disgraceful things
that had happened in the lakeside hamlet since the bar had been opened
at the Inn. And it was among these influential men that she found the
most opposition to making Polktown "dry" instead of "wet."

She had thrown down her gauntle