December, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



779 



ANNE LESTER AND DADDY LOWE, BEEKEEPERS 



By Grace Allen — Chapter XI 



IT was nearly Christmas. Long ago Anne 

 had sent off her package for Eobert 

 ("But why don't I hear from him?" 

 she kept worrying). Then her busy fingers 

 had made countless bright friendly things 

 for hospitals; and now she was wrapping 

 gifts for some little city children to whose 

 chimney-tops she had been guiding old 

 Santa for years. 



The telephone rang. Some lady, visiting 

 a neighboring farm, wanted to talk to Mr. 

 Lowe. He wasn 't there, Anne explained. 

 * ' I wanted to ask him about starting with 

 bees," the voice regretted . 



"Can I help you any?" Anne asked. "I 

 am Anne Lester, and Mr. Lowe is kind 

 enough to speak of me as his assistant. ' ' 

 The lady was delighted. Question followed 

 question and more of them, while Anne 

 answered and explained and advised. 

 ' ' No, ' ' she was patiently repeating at the 

 last, "I really can't advise your buying 

 the bees and moving them to your home at 

 this season. As I said before, early spring 

 is the best time." 



' * But I hate to wait, ' ' sighed the lady. 

 "I'm so enthusiastic now." 



"Why not spend the winter studying?" 

 suggested Anne wisely. "You can subscribe 

 to a bee journal and get a book or two and 

 some government bulletins, and by spring 

 you'll know much better how to go about 

 it." 



' ' Oh I 'd much rather someone would tell 

 me," the lady confided, while Anne wearily 

 changed the receiver to the other hand. 

 " I '11 be out visiting my cousins again in 

 the spring, and I'll run over there some day. 

 if you don 't mind, ai\d let you tell me all 

 about how you manage." 



As Anne finally hung up. Jack entered, 

 coming home from an interview with a cer- 

 tain superior officer. "Do let me speak 

 first, ' ' she implored. ' ' I beg to announce 

 that some day I am going to write a book 

 — about beginning with bees — and every 

 other sentence is going to say that the peo- 

 ple who won't knuckle down to read and 

 study — ' ' 



"Deserve to be stung," finished Jack. 

 "Be comforted; they quite likely will be." 



Anne smiled. Then the face and eyes of 

 her turned all to a question. "Tell me, 

 Jack," she said gently, as he laid off coat 

 and 'gloves. 



" It 's bitterness and joy mixed, ' ' he an- 

 swered gravely. His young face almost hard 

 with suppressed feelings, he walked to a 

 window and looked out across the winter 

 earth, seeing nothing there. ' ' No more 

 overseas for me, Anne," he said shortly. 

 And Anne looked out of another window 

 and saw nothing there. Such a tragic world 

 to be young in! 



" I 'm sorry, ' ' was all she said, in that 



strangely moving voice of hers, at once so 

 low and so vibrant. 



"It's the other fellows," Jack said al- 

 most harshly, "the fellows over there meet- 

 ing it all, that get me so. Like Eobert. No 

 letter yet, I suppose?" 



She shook her head with the look of dread 

 that was beginning to show so often. 



"Oh, well, it'll come soon," he reassured 

 her. Then coming hopefully back to him- 

 self, he added quickly, "There's a good 

 chance they'll put me on instruction work 

 at camp, tho, Anne." 



He told her more about his interview, 

 then asked, "Where's Dad and Mother?" 



"Gone to town to buy something. They'll 

 be back soon. Let's go out to the shop. 

 Jack. Your father 's arm is so lame he 

 can 't work much, and we can easily nail up 

 frames while we talk. ' ' 



They left a conspicuous note on the table, 

 announcing, "We, too, have gone to shop." 

 And soon they were at work. 



Rap tap tap went their hammers. "Am 

 I seeing right?" Jack exploded presently. 

 "Are you beating me at this job?" 



"Oh surely not," deliciously humbly. 



"Oh surely so!" rebelliously. 



She laughed. "You're out of practice. 

 I've learned how to pick up the different 

 pieces and hold them so as to work to the 

 best advantage. Like this — watch. Of 

 course, your father showed me. ' ' 



"But why all the haste anyhow?" 



' ' Well it 's fun for one thing. As Daddy 

 Lowe says, there 's a real satisfaction in 

 seeing how quickly and skillfully you can 

 do things. ' ' 



"He's right, of course. I've often heard 

 him announce on New Year 's Day that he 

 was all ready for spring." 



"Now isn't that wise? He keeps me 

 l)usy admiring him. Why, this fall, as soon 

 as the bees were ready for winter, he start- 

 ed planning for next season. So much in- 

 crease, so much foundation, so much this 

 and that — a few new covers, and so on. 

 Then he took a careful inventory. Counted 

 up everything he had and ordered everything 

 he didn 't have. ' ' 



' ' No early spring ever yet sneaked in on 

 Dad and found him hollering for supplies. ' ' 



' ' Yet things happen to him, same as to 

 the people that tell their troubles to the 

 bee journals and explain just what happened 

 to keep them from having their new hives 

 ready when swarming time came. He 's got 

 this lame arm now. But he starts so early 

 he keeps ahead of any ordinary setbacks 

 or interruptions." 



Rap tap tap the hammers kept on, and 

 one by one the rapidly nailed frames were 

 hung in the supers. 



"Anne," said Jack finally, "there's 

 something I want to talk about. ' ' 



