Аня з Авонлеї
XIV. A Danger Averted
“That’sjustwhatIsaidwhenIhearditfirst,don’tyouknow,”saidGertie,whowasenjoyingherselfhugely.“Isaiditcouldn’tbetrue...thatJudsonParkerwouldn’thavetheHEARTtodoit,don’tyouknow.ButfathermethimthisafternoonandaskedhimaboutitandhesaiditWAStrue.Justfancy!Hisfarmisside-ontotheNewbridgeroadandhowperfectlyawfulitwilllooktoseeadvertisementsofpillsandplastersallalongit,don’tyouknow?”
TheImproversDIDknow,alltoowell.Eventheleastimaginativeamongthemcouldpicturethegrotesqueeffectofhalfamileofboardfenceadornedwithsuchadvertisements.Allthoughtofchurchandschoolgroundsvanishedbeforethisnewdanger.Parliamentaryrulesandregulationswereforgotten,andAnne,indespair,gaveuptryingtokeepminutesatall.Everybodytalkedatonceandfearfulwasthehubbub.
“Oh,letuskeepcalm,”imploredAnne,whowasthemostexcitedofthemall,“andtrytothinkofsomewayofpreventinghim.”
“Idon’tknowhowyou’regoingtopreventhim,”exclaimedJanebitterly.“EverybodyknowswhatJudsonParkeris.He’ddoANYTHINGformoney.Hehasn’taSPARKofpublicspiritorANYsenseofthebeautiful.”
Theprospectlookedratherunpromising.JudsonParkerandhissisterweretheonlyParkersinAvonlea,sothatnoleveragecouldbeexertedbyfamilyconnections.MarthaParkerwasaladyofalltoocertainagewhodisapprovedofyoungpeopleingeneralandtheImproversinparticular.
