The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-09-29
The Troubles
Of Polly

Polly had not stirred from the pantry,
where she had been sobbing for .
quarter of an hour.
Its that odious Mrs. Barton. who
came over when the flower box fell"
she breathed to herself. That wo-
man always does come when some
horrible thing happens like this. I
won't let her In"
So saying, Polly, reused at last.
drew out huge pail and filled It with
steaming suds, contributing to the
flood now and then teardrop. She
got down the dustpan and broom and
enveloped herself in a pink and white
checked apron.
Then the back doorbell rang-twe
short rings and three long ones.
Its SUSIE" she cried, throwing the
dustpan into the pail and then fiHging
open the door with a chatter.
"You darling!" she .sobbed. pushing
her friend into the green wicker chair
that adorned the porch. you can't
go in there, almost didn't let you in
at all. didn't hear you ring at the
front door and just knew It was Mrs.
Barton.
"She's q regular bloodhound for
trouble, you know" explained Polly.
"She sympathizes and patronizes till
you want to scream. And I know she
had heard the noise and was trying
to get in to gloat alphabetically over
my trouble.
"Only yesterday she told me that
she had bought two dozen cans OF
plum preserves for only 10 cents a
pint! She is forever doing something
like that. And 1 know they were left
over stock and horrid. Nobody. not
even a factory, can make preserves
and sell them so cheap. Why. sugar
is 6 cents pound, and 1t takes such
oceans for preserves"
Polly began to cry again and Susie
began to ask questions, which went
unanswered for some minutes.
"Hamless?" she exclaimed at last
when breath had come again. THAT
woman's not harmlessi Why, she can
cause more trouble In five minutes by
existing than you or I could In Q life
time of active anarchy.
when we screened our porch she
came out and told US that they had
never screened theirs because 1t faces
west, like ours, and there were never
any western breezes, and they always
went away for the summer anyway.
Then we hung the flower box and she
told us that she had never had sue
cess with flowers In boxes. as they
never did well in shallow earth. Then
the box fell down and she came out to
say. Did 1t fall? That Is too bad. but
those chains did seem fragile to me
from the first
ooh. that woman!" stormed Polly.
zone day when our yard was full Of
clothes she watched for me to say that
she had noticed how my lavender
linen had faded. She was sorry now.
she said, that she hadn't told me to
have the laundress put salt in the wa
ter and hang the dress In the shade.
She said 1t would have been all right
If those precautions had been taken.
When / brought home the cherries
Here Polly wept again. while Susie
took a bottle of ice water from the re-
frigerator and tried to cool her with
glassful.
Something has happened to the
fruit. I know" said Susie. softly.
"Please don't cry. You can always
buy fruit"
sThats what she has told me all
summer" Polly walled. "But I didt
want to buy 1t. have always wanted
TO make preserves-all my life-and II
was fun. But she told me that she
didn't believe in putting up fruit ones
self when she saw me stagger up the
stairs with those cherries. ] had
bought them downtown because had
heard could get them at Wholesale
there. And she met me with the news
that at the grocery on our cross street
they were selling cherries at 10 cents
a crate less than had paid for mine!
She was so sorry for me, she said.
She had tried putting up fruit the first
year Of her married life. TOO, she 70
marked, and smiled at me. but now
she thought it by far the better plan
to buy canned fruit.
"That evening she came over and
talked with Dick and he was furious
because had carried the cherries
home from downtown, just because
he had said he liked cherry pies In
the winter. I couldn't make him think
that it wasn't nearly 30 much what
he liked as that wanted tcmake lots
of preserves"
Polly wept again.
"Well?" said Susie. as the storm
died.
"Oh, the crash was horrible! You
a Fr<l :