has never taken any too good careof its soldiers and they'll lack a lot of things besides knitted goodswhen they get to the front."
"Exactly," agreed Mary Louise. "Seems to me it's the girls' chief dutyto look after the boys, and a lot of the drafted ones are marching awayfrom Dorfield each day, looking pretty glum, even if loyally submittingto the inevitable. I tell you, girls, these young and green soldiersneed encouraging, so they'll become enthusiastic and make the best sortof fighters, and we ought to bend our efforts to cheering them up."
Irene laughed merrily.
"Good!" she cried; "you're like a flock of sheep: all you need is ahint to trail away in the very direction I wanted to lead you. Thereare a lot of things we can do to add to our soldiers' comfort. Theyneed chocolate--sweets are good for them--and 'comfort-kits' of thereal sort, not those useless, dowdy ones so many well-intentioned womenare wasting time and money to send them; and they'll be grateful forlots and lots of cigarettes, and--"
"Oh, Irene! Do you think that would be right?" from Edna Barlow.
"Of course it would. The government approves cigarettes and the Frenchgirls are supplying our boys across the pond with them even now. Surelywe can do as much for our own brave laddies who are still learning theart of war. Not all smoke, of course, and some prefer pipes andtobacco, which we can also send them. Another thing, nearly everysoldier needs a good pocket knife, and a razor, and they need games ofall sorts, such as dominoes and checkers and cribbage-boards; and goodhonest trench mirrors, and--"
"Goodness me, Irene," interrupted Jane Donovan, "how do you think wecould supply all those things? To equip a regiment with the articlesyou mention would cost a mint of money, and where's the money comingfrom, and how are we to get it?"
"There you go again, helping me out!" smiled Irene. "In your question,my dear, lies the crux of my suggestion. We Liberty Girls must raisethe money."
"How, Irene?"
"I object to begging."
"The people are tired of subscribing to all sorts of schemes."
"We certainly are not female Croesuses!"
"Perhaps you expect us to turn bandits and sandbag the good citizens ondark nights."
Irene's smile did not fade; she simply glowed with glee at thesecharacteristic protestations.
"I can't blame you, girls, for you haven't thought the thing out, and Ihave," she stated. "My scheme isn't entirely original, for I read theother day of a similar plan being tried in another city, with goodsuccess. A plan similar, in some ways, but quite different in others.Yet it gave me the idea."
"Shoot us the idea, then," said Jane, who was inclined to favor slang.
"In order to raise money," said Irene, slowly and more seriously thanshe had before spoken, "it is necessary for us to go into business. Theother day, when I was riding with Alora, I noticed that the storebetween the post-office and the Citizens' Bank is vacant, and a sign inthe window said 'Apply to Peter Conant, Agent.' Peter Conant being myuncle, I applied to him that evening after dinner, on behalf of theLiberty Girls. It's one of the best locations in town and right in theheart of the business district. The store has commanded a big rental,but in these times it is not in demand and it has been vacant for thelast six months, with no prospect of its being rented. Girls, PeterConant will allow us to use this store room without charge untilsomeone is willing to pay the proper rent for it, and so the first bigproblem is solved. Three cheers for Uncle Peter!"
They stared at her rather suspiciously, not yet understanding her idea.
"So far, so good, my dear," said Mary Louise. "We can trust dear oldPeter Conant to be generous and patriotic. But what good is a storewithout stock, and how are we going to get a stock to sell--and sell itat a profit that will allow us to do all the things we long to do forthe soldiers?"
"Explain that, and I'm with you," announced Alora.
"Explain that, and we're all with you!" declared Lucile Neal.
"All I need is the opportunity," protested Irene. "You're suchchatterboxes that you won't let me talk! Now--listen. I'm not much ofan executioner, girls, but I can plan and you can execute, and in thatway I get my finger in the pie. Now, I believe I've a practical ideathat will work out beautifully. Dorfield is an ancient city and hasbeen inhabited for generations. Almost every house contains a lot ofarticles that are not in use--are put aside and forgotten--or are notin any way necessary to the comfort and happiness of the owners, yetwould be highly prized by some other family which does not possess sucharticles. For instance, a baby-carriage or crib, stored away in someattic, could be sold at a bargain to some young woman needing such anarticle; or some old brass candlesticks, considered valueless by theirowner, would be eagerly bought by someone who did not possess suchthings and had a love for antiques.
"My proposition is simply this: that you visit all the substantialhomes in Dorfield and ask to be given whatever the folks care todispense with, such items to be sold at 'The Liberty Girls' Shop' andthe money applied to our War Fund to help the soldier boys. Lucile'sbrother, Joe Neal, will furnish us a truck to cart all the things fromthe houses to our store, and I'm sure we can get a whole lot of goodsthat will sell readily. The people will be glad to give all that theydon't want to so good a cause, and what one doesn't want, another issure to want. Whatever money we take in will be all to the good, andwith it we can supply the boys with many genuine comforts. Now, then,how does my idea strike you?"
Approval--even the dawn of enthusiasm--was written on everycountenance. They canvassed all the pros and cons of the proposition atlength, and the more they considered it the more practical it seemed.
"The only doubtful thing," said Mary Louise, finally, "is whether thepeople will donate the goods they don't need or care for, but that canbe easily determined by asking them. We ought to pair off, and eachcouple take a residence street and make a careful canvass, taking timeto explain our plan. One day will show us whether we're to besuccessful or not, and the whole idea hinges on the success of ourappeal."
"Not entirely," objected Alora. "We may secure the goods, but be unableto sell them."
"Nonsense," said little Laura Hilton; "nothing in the world sells soreadily as second-hand truck. Just think how the people flock toauctions and the like. And we girls should prove good 'salesladies,'too, for we can do a lot of coaxing and get better prices than anauctioneer. All we need do is appeal to the patriotism of theprospective buyers."
"Anyhow," asserted Edna, "it seems worth a trial, and we must admit theidea is attractive and unique--at least a novelty in Dorfield."
So they planned their method of canvassing and agreed to put in thenext day soliciting articles to sell at the Liberty Girls' Shop.
CHAPTER VIITHE LIBERTY SHOP
Mary Louise said to her grandfather that night, after explainingIrene's novel scheme to raise money: "We haven't been housekeeping manyyears in Dorfield and I'm not sure I can find among our householdpossessions anything to give the Liberty Shop. But I've some jewelryand knickknacks that I never wear and, if you don't mind, Gran'pa Jim,I'll donate that to our shop."
The Colonel was really enthusiastic over the plan and not only approvedhis granddaughter's proposition to give her surplus jewelry but wentover the house with her and selected quite an imposing lot of odds andends which were not in use and could readily be spared. Eager to assistthe girls, the old colonel next morning went to town and ordered a bigsign painted, to be placed over the store entrance, and he also inducedthe editors of the two newspapers to give the Liberty Girls' latestventure publicity in their columns, inviting the cooperation of thepublic.
Peter Conant turned over the keys of the big store to the girls and thefirst load of goods to be delivered was that from the Hathawayresidence.
The Liberty Girls were astonished at the success of theirsolicitations. From almost every house they visited they secureddonations of more or less value. It may have seemed "rubbish" to someof the donors, but the variety of goods that soon accumulated in thestore room presented an interesting collection and
the girls arrangedtheir wares enticingly and polished up the brass and copper ornamentsand utensils until they seemed of considerable value.
They did not open their doors to the public for ten days, and Joe Nealbegan to grumble because one of his trucks was kept constantly runningfrom house to house, gathering up the articles contributed to theLiberty Girls' Shop. But the girls induced other trucks to help Joe andthe enthusiasm kept growing. Curiosity was spurred by the big sign overthe closed doors, and every woman who donated was anxious to know whatothers had given to the