Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-04-08
rIMEs.REpUB11uAN 1IARsFIAI1nowrz IOWA. APRIL

Betty Mercer went with him. She had
been at his heels all evening. and
called him "Tom' on every possible
occasion. Indeed, she made no secret
Of It: she said that she was mad about
him, and that she would love to live
In South America, and have an Indian
squaw for a lady's maid. and ait out
on the veranda in the evenings and
watch the Southern Cross shooting
across the sky. and eating tropical
food from the quaint Indian pottery.
She was not even daunted when Dial
told her the Southern Cross did NOT
shoot, and that the food was probably
canned corn on tin dishes.
So Betty went with him. She wore
4 pale yellow dinner gown, with just
and thore. and cut modestly square
IN the neck. Her shoulders are
scrawny. And after they were gone
not her shoulders; Mr.. HARRISON and
she-Aunt Selma announced that the
next day was Monday. that she had
only a weeks supply Of clothing
with her. and that no policeman who
ever swung q mace should wash her
undergarments for her.
She paused moment, but nobody
offered to do it. Anne was reading
De Maupassant under cover Of
table, and the rest pretended not to
hear. After a pause. Aunt Selma got
up heavily and went upstairs. coming
down soon after with bundle COW
cred with green shawl. and with
white balbriggan stocking trailing
from an opening in 1t. She paused at
the library door, surveyed the IN
mates, caught my unlucky eye and
beckoned to me with a relentless fore.
finger.
I'VE can put them to soak tonight"
she confided to me, "and tomorrow
they will be quite simple to do. There
is no lace to speak of"-Dal raised his
eyebrows-"and very little flouncing."
Aunt Selma and went to the laun.
dry. It never occurred to any one
that Bella should have gone: she had
stepped into all my privileges-such
as they were-and assumed none OF
my obligations. Aunt Selma and l
went to the laundry.
It is strange what big things de-
yelop from little ones. In this case it
was a bar of soap. And If Flanagan
had used as much soap as he should
have instead of washing up the kitch-
On floor with cold dish water. It
would have developed sooner. Tho
whole quarantine occurred that night
at the same time, one on the roof and
one in the cellar. The cellar ono, al
though curious, was not SO serious as
the other, SO it comes first
Aunt Selma put her clothes in tub
in the laundry and proceeded to dress
them like q vegetable. She threw in
a handful of salt, some kerosene oil
and a little ammonia. The result was
snuffed it-she said it needed bar
Of soap cut up to give 1t strength-or
favor-and went into the stors-room
for It.
The laundry soap was in = box
took in a silver fork, for hated to
touch the stun, and jabbed bar sue
cessfully in the semi-darkness. Then
l carried it back to the laundry and
dropped 1t on the table. Aunt Selma
looked at the fork with disgust. then
We both looked at the soap. One side
of it was covered with round holes
that curved around on each other like
. coiled snake.
ran back to the store-room, and
there, little bit sticky and smelling
terribly of rosin, lay Anne's pearl
necklace!
was so excited that seized Aunt
Selma by the hands and danced her
all over the place. Then left her.