Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1899-06-09
I he South Door
By Margaret h Eckerson-

ing, surveying II from all points OF
view, he could not restrain his oft-re-
peated encomiums: Admirable! Adj
mirable! Fine! None better in the
country" Then, as he espied Esther, his
| wife, looking for early apples in the or
| chard below, he called in his soft, slow
voice: Come up here, Esther"
The call troubled her. She had no
| time to spare, as this was very busy
morning, crowded with work, and the
girls, Ria and Ella, were engrossed with
preparations for a picnic at Point
Crooks, on the lake, that afternoon
As for the barn, how thoroughly she
knew it, from the shining COW that
served as weather vane to the founda-
tions. 1t had been the staple of Giles
conversation for months, and she could
| not tell how many times she had meek
~ followed in his wake to survey its
| conveniences.
Esther, do you hear me?" The soft
voice was distinctly peremptory. Giles
Hewitt always expected his women
folks to come at his bidding.
She put down her basket filed with
red astrachans and went reluctantly up
| the hill.
II want you to see how well these
doors work now" said Giles, leading
the way to the rear of the building.
! What a grand view these doors
framed! 1t always struck her with
| sense of loneliness quite inexpressibIe
in words. She drew long signing
| breath as she looked on wood and
meadow, dimpled dells and swelling
| hills, church spires rising whitley from
| bowery hamlets and a river winding
afar like a silvery ribbon. Northward
blue lake glittered like a jewel in an
| emerald setting, and in the west cir
clet of hills vanished deicately like a
dream into the softly tinted sky.
How beautiful" she said. 1T rests
me just to look. l could sit here and
look, just look for hoursI Oh, Giles, if
| the house only stood here on the hill,
| and l could only see all this from the
| kitchen door!"
1.-The house is in the best place,
Esther, sheltered from the north winds.
don't understand why you are always
| saying that"
She sighed. Yes, know, but such
view is food and rest. Oh, L know you
think me silly. Yes. 1 am truly glad
you have such a big, convenient barn,
| it; it must be good to have things as
| you want them;" she began to plat her
| apron hem nervously. Il was thinking
| that now the barn is finished and all the
crops so promising and the hay crop is
so large, that you will be willing to let
me have the door cus through the south
side of the kitchen. You know how
| long I have waited to have it done"
She looked so wistfully meek, stand
ing there with a timid, deprecatory
smile on her lips. She had never been
| self-assertiye woman-no one knew
that better than Giles. Nevertheless,
! he felt annoyed and angered. He had
not called her up here to discuss her
whims.
| 'You know she went on, Il just
| want a common door with a glass sash,
and then I'd like little stoop running
| to the end of the house. 1 could do the
| churning out there, and lots. of little
| chores-the kitchen is so small and hot
and it won't cost much. Johnson cal
culated he could do all I wanted for
| $40"
| "Johnson!" his tone was distinctly
angry.
"You see, Giles" she plated the apron
Overland over, quite frustrated at his per-
ceptible annoyance; sit was when he
| came down to the house one day for
drink of buttermilk- you know
what hand he is to joke-he said:
| This is a sort of unhandy kitchen, Mrs.
| Hewitt; you'd better move up to your
Husbands barn and have it airier and
handler Then I told him how l want
ed door cut through on the south and
we talked it over and he figured it up
| and"
"Good heavens, Esther!" cried Giles,
too vexed to listen further, 81 never
knew such gadhy as you are. You get
an idea in your head and harp on it
eternally. 'Doori Doori Doori' You
can't think or talk anything else; and
now, after all the barn has cost and the
necessity for economy, one would think
| you would have some common sense.
But, you are Royal"
He sneered as if thus branding her
signiffed that her people had been ex-
| travagant and wasteful. Then, noting
the quivering of her lips and the tears
yelling beneath her lids, he was more
| angered than ever and went on irately:
For 80 years my mother used that
kitchen and 1 never heard her complain.
but some women want the world, and
having that would cry for the moon.
Don't you say door to me again."
She turned away without word and
| went down the hill to the orchard bars.
She wiped her eyes before she took up
the apples and trudged back to the
house The girls must not see the
| tears.
Mother is long time picking APP
pies" said Ella Hewitt, as she frosted
a tempting cake just baked for the
picnic