l so sore she cant write
you yet. My brother Calvin is very sweet. God had to give him to us
because he squealed so much he sturbed the angels. We are not angels so
he Dont sturb us. I thank you for my good little book. and I love you
for it too.

very speakfully,
JERRINE RUPERT.

XXII

THE EFFICIENT MRS. O'SHAUGHNESSY

_May 5, 1913._

DEAR MRS. CONEY,--

Your letter of April 25 certainly was a surprise, but a very welcome
one. We are so rushed with spring work that we don't even go to the
office for the mail, and I owe you letters and thanks. I keep promising
myself the pleasure of writing you and keep putting it off until I can
have more leisure, but that time never gets here. I am so glad when I
can bring a little of this big, clean, beautiful outdoors into your
apartment for you to enjoy, and I can think of nothing that would give
me more happiness than to bring the West and its people to others who
could not otherwise enjoy them. If I could only take them from whatever
is worrying them and give them this bracing mountain air, glimpses of
the scenery, a smell of the pines and the sage,--if I could only make
them feel the free, ready sympathy and hospitality of these frontier
people, I am sure their worries would diminish and my happiness would
be complete.

Little Star Crosby is growing to be the sweetest little kid. Her mother
tells me that she is going "back yan" when she gets a "little mo'
richer." I am afraid you give me too much credit for being of help to
poor little Molly. It wasn't that I am so helpful, but that "fools rush
in where angels fear to tread." It was Mrs. O'Shaughnessy who was the
real help. She is a woman of great courage and decision and of splendid
sense and judgment. A few days ago a man she had working for her got
his finger-nail mashed off and neglected to care for it. Mrs.
O'Shaughnessy examined it and found that gangrene had set in. She
didn't tell him, but made various preparations and then told him she
had heard that if there was danger of blood-poisoning it would show if
the finger was placed on wood and the patient looked toward the sun.
She said the person who looked at the finger could then see if there
was any poison. So the man placed his finger on the chopping-block and
before he could bat his eye she had chopped off the black, swollen
finger. It was so sudden and unexpected that there seemed to be no
pain. Then Mrs. O'Shaughnessy showed him the gree