The Dolores star., 1909-06-25


tempt.
Helen and her well-dressed dolIba-
bies permeated the house with an air
Of well-ordered little girlhood that was
very gratifying to ones sense of the
fitness OF things. Come, Patsy" she
said. as she sat upon the drawing
room floor dressing her dolls one
morning shortly after her advent into
Patsy's life, get your dolls and we'll
play"
Patsy shook her head. Il haven't
any" she said.
mo dolls!" exclaimed Helen Don't
you play with dolls?"
NO" said Patsy
Then I s'pose you play with Bobby
Bennett. like Josephine is" suggest
ed Helen.
mo. l don't play with Bobby:
don't like Bobby every day." said
Patsy.
And don't like dolls. either?"
asked Helen.
Now. Patsy was little lady, and
she did not wish to say no In the very
face OF two such nice dolls as were
Helen's. especially strange dolls, SO
she said only: Il think yours are very
nice"
Yes. they are" acquiesced Helen,
as she took them both into her anx-
ious arms. But l couldn't lend you
one of them, Patsy. These are my
newest ones, and am afraid you
might break them. Josephine does.
She breaks them dreadful
"Oh. no." said Patsy. 81 don't want
them. have my own children"
But you Just said you hadn't, Pat
sy," said Helen. slowly putting her
dolls back on the soft-cushion again.
II will go and get them" said Pat
sy. and she went.
Presently she came back and put n
red carpet footstool down beside Hell
en- and went away again. She had
been gone long while. when she
came back quite out of breath, drag
ging the lid Of a sewing machine in
one hand and yellow table-drawer In
the other.
Helen laughed. Il thought you were
never coming" she said. Couldn't
you find them?"
"Yes," said Patsy. these are my
children This is my boy and this is
| Susie. and this"
Patsy stopped speaking and turned
| to look for her baby Helen's dolls
we're leaning against a red carpet
footstool. Patsy moved them gently
away. Il think" she said. your 1T
ue girls are too old to play with my
baby. They look about Susie's age.
Helen looked at the strange children
and said nothing. Then she put her
head down on Patsy s boy and laughed
She looked up at Patsy, but Patsy did
not even smile.
Il don't think, Patsy, that can low
my little girls to play with such funny
children as yours" said Helen. az she
gathered up her dolls and stood mp.
There followed a long, solemn mo
ment, during which nobody said any
thing. Then Patsy put her head down
lovingly on her baby, and two hot
tears rolled down her cheeks and were
dried by the baby. Helen was sorry
for her She screwed herself back in
to big chair and tried to explain.
You see. could not possibly. Patsy
They couldn't come to my tea par
ties, cause they haven't any mouths
to eat with. and they couldn't go out
to walk with my little girls. cause
they couldn't take hold of their hands
| And they couldn't be undressed and
| put to bed. cause they don't wear
clothes. I'm very sorry for you. Patsy,
but you see they aren't any kind OF
| children at all. They're just boxes and
drawers and Stools
The more lucid Helen made her ex-
plantations, the faster the tears rolled
down Patsy's cheeks, and when Helen
said they weren't children. Patsy
screamed. It was very bitter mo
ment. when all the world seemed ar
rayed against her and her children.
Bobby had never before seen Patsy
cry. OF course, he knew that little
| girls did cry sometimes, but he could
not think that any had ever cried In
| the dreadful way In which Patsy was
crying now. It frightened him, and
when he again leaned out the window,
he somehow dropped quite all the way
| out.
Josephine, to whom the situation
| was not novel, and in whose expe
rience the antidote for tears had been
laughter, now sat down on Patsy's
little boy and laughed at Patsy. Patsy
sat up and stopped crying. though her
eyes were still blinded with tears, and
her voice trembled ms she tried to
| speak.
You don't know anything about
my children-you don't! No. you
don't. They have got mouths! Don't
l know? I've fed them myself And
they have got hands-real hands that
feel to me; and they do SO wear
clothes-yes, they do-and you get
OF my little boy this mint"
fear Patsy shrieked this conclud-
ing admonition in very loud voice