and cowboys, and ponies, and every thing.” His uncle laughed. “Well, I’m sure sorry to disappoint you. What I’ve got is an avocado ranch— about ten acres of the finest in the country . . . you know what they are, don’t you?” “Yes, Sir, kind of pears . , . . Mamma puts them in salad. Don’t you have any horses at all?” “Oh, sure, we have two of the most beautiful Palamino riding horses you ever saw — are always in the New Year’s parade.” Jimmy put in a word, “ I’ll teach you how to ride, Kip, if you don’t know how.” This made things a lot better. Meantime Lollie was describing her white cat to Alice. “We have a new litter of Dalmatian puppies,” replied Alice, “ Did you ever see any?” “ No,” admitted Lollie, “what kind of a dog is that?” “ They are white with black spots,” said Alice, “just beautiful. Some people call them coach dogs. They used to ride up in front of the coaches years ago. We have dozens and dozens of big yellow chickens too.” A ll of these things sounded interesting but did not quite make up for the dream they had had of a big Texas-type ranch. But already they liked their cousins and the huge white frame house with its yard full of flowers was not a disappointment either. Lollie and Kippy fitted into the Graham home life as if they had al ways lived there. Remembering what their mother had said about making themselves useful, they volunteered for service and were given chores to do. “ I’m learning a lot about chickens I never knew,” said Lollie. “They sure take a lot of work.” “ Same way with those pups they turned over to me. They are lots of fun but plenty of trouble to keep track of,” sighed Kippy. “ I guess everything that is worth-while is hard,” was Lollie’s wise conclusion. In the evenings Uncle Jack drove them all over the area. The children were wide-eyed at the wonders of the Golden State. “ I love the ocean best of all,” said Lollie, but Kippy pre ferred the mountains. “ It will seem so flat when I get back,” he said. Soon Saturday night came and as they sat about the dinner table, Uncle Jack really dropped a bomb. “Well, tomorrow’s Sunday and I have the whole day off so we’ll start out early, see Knott’s Berry Farm, have dinner there, and then spend the rest of the day and evening at Disneyland. I know you kids have been looking forward to that. There are even some new things Alice and Jim haven’t seen yet.” Lollie and Kippy were so taken by surprise they did not know what to answer. Their uncle and aunt had
JR . KINGS BUSINESS
-W
The
California
-if
Adventure
by Betty Bruechert
SYNOPSIS
Eleven-year-old Lollie and nine- year-old Kippy Rogers, whose mother, a widow, worked in an office to sup port them, had a wonderful surprise in the gift from an uncle who lived in California. He sent the round-trip fare for the children to travel to his California ranch-home for a month, to which their mother happily agreed. She suggested that they learn the traveller’ s Psalm — the 121st — on the train; and that they witness faith fully by word and deed to these gen erous relatives who were not Chris tians. So the children had a mission to perform, as well as fun and ad venture to look forward to. It was hard for them to part with their pets, Lollie’s cat Snow-White and Kippy’s dog Prince, and even harder, when the time actually came, to say “ good bye ” to their mother from whom they had never been parted before. They surprised her by repeating the 121st Psalm even before they got on the train. They went to the station late in the evening and after a few words with the conductor, and fond admoni tions to her children, Mrs. Rogers walked with them down the dark ened aisle of the Pullman to their double berth, already made up by the porter, kissed them, and returned to
her lonely little house where the dog and cat greeted her with licks and purrs. As she prayed for the safety of her children, she asked the Lord to use them for His glory. Lollie and Kippy enjoyed their first night in the Pullman and their break fast in the dining car; then in the afternoon they made friends with a lady and her little children and were able to witness to them before they had to separate when Mrs. James got off at Cheyenne. The friendly conductor told the children that the waiter in the din ing-room had been so pleased with the Gospel tract they had left on the table that he showed it to the other waiters and they all wanted one. The children were happy to give a supply to the steward to distribute to them. At dinner they got acquainted with red-haired, freckle-faced twin boys, aged 12, named Tim and Tom W il son, with whom they played Scrabble till bedtime. The twins gave them the address of their Sunday school and church in Los Angeles and asked Lollie and Kippy to attend which they agreed to do. In the station Uncle Jack and Aunt Rose were wait ing for them.
CHAPTER FIVE
A fter L ollie and Kippy had eaten the biggest and most delicious hamburgers they ever tasted in their lives, Kippy asked Uncle Jack: “How many cattle are there on the ranch?” His uncle looked puzzled. “ Cattle?
Why, there’s just old Bessie, but she gives plenty of milk for us.” By the look on Kippy’s face, Uncle Jack knew something was wrong. “ Did you think I had a cattle ranch?” he asked. “Yes,” answered Kippy, “ with cattle,
THE KING'S BUSINESS
4«
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter