Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-02-28

just want to keep her from rustin or
frettin out. I'm goin to hand the ned
cine chest over to her. Drugs amt
rough to handle, air they?"
That was the beginning Of Liza's SUI
pervision Of the free plantation dispen-
sary. Eben had indicted her into office
with a liberal discretionary margin.
"There amt no p'isens in the chest,
honey, SO you can't go very fur wrong.
We don't handle nothin worse than
lod'num, and that got the c%rossbones
and the deaths head OH the label for
safety's sake. | always look to them,
because there's somethin outer keller
with the spellin Of that word, seems to
me. The sound don't just egzactly fit
into the letterin.
And Liza had accepted the malodor-
GUS chest as she was accepting all the
other inevitable conditions of her life,
with dumb repugnance and unf1inching
acquiescence.
By some inexplicable physiological
law all the ills that plantation flesh
was heir to either originated Or culmi-
mated Oh a Saturday. She applied to
Seth for an explanation Of this unpleas-
ant phenomenon. He regarded her per-
plexedly for a second. What a girl she
was to ask unanswerable questions!
IF it really is so, honey, it must be
because they've got more time to study
bout themselves Of Saturdays and make
up their grievances. / think a heap Of
grievances are made up that way"
Was Seth having his fling at her too?
She flushed under the suspicion, but
his next words dissipated it. "And
then, I reckon, Sunday is a good day to
lay over after takin DOCTORS stuff. That
must be it" with triumphant decision.
And here was Saturday rolled round
again, and with it would come the black
swarm of real and imaginary sufferers
old Lefty with her scent of mutton tai
low and her story of lumbago, old Dan
iel with his crutches and his crotchets,
Anarky with her mysterious inward
miseries that she traced directly to the
malign influence Of the ''hoodoo" bag
found in her pillow, and all the rest Of
them.
Burrowing in the pillows was not es-
cape. 1t was mere cowardly putting of
Of the evil hour. She wal Sinking.
Breakfast was over before she had con-
cluded her verbal self scourging. She
could hear the subdued jollity about
the open doors Of the big smokehouse.
The buzz Of ration giving and receiving
was already begun. The sight Of the
plenteous store revealed by the opening
Of the barnlike doors always had an ex.
hilarating effect on the ''hands."
Breakfasting alone was one Of her
Saturday privileges. One Of her com.
pensations, she called it. After awhile
her father and the boys would mount
their horses and ride into Sessumsport
with a sense Of freedom from all care
and responsibility for a whole day and
q halt. She could not discover that they
found anything more exciting to do in
Sessumsport than to sit on the store
galleries, whiting fresh notches into
the long enduring benches and to ex.
change crop items. But they always
came home with a holiday freshness
about them that was reflected pleasant
~ in the home atmosphere.
And after awhile again she and her
mother would tie big, blue check bib
aporns about their waists MANDY not
infrequently plumb forgot" hers) and
would go into the pantry to make the
soft gingerbread and the sweet potato
pies that the men looked for every Sun
day. Then a careful supervision Of
coarse socks and heavy shirts which
had a tendency always to make her
wish herself in 4 nunnery.
And SO they would go on. she sup
posed, forever and forever and forever.
She stood in the broad open hallway
after finishing her breakfast, thankful
that no halt nor lame constituent had
hurried her through with it. She could
re- tho smokehouse activities without
turning her head. How large and hand
: some and capable z \ her father