Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-06-14
That Summer
Home

"If," said the girl who likes to talk;
"you happen to own a two-Dy-twice
plot of ground outside of town with
anything standing on it in the way OF
a shack with a roof over 1t, your
friends who don't possess such piece
of property regard you reproachfully
as spring comes on. At inopportune
times they thrust at you remarks like
these: Well, / suppose you'll be leav-
ing soon for your place-lucky creat
| ture!' IF we only felt that we, too.
could idle in the country all summer!i
''You feel horribly apologize. You
know that your envious friends could
buy a hundred places such as yours
and dump them into the lake just to
hear the splash and never miss the
money, so it is surprise to find your
self regarded as a wretched plutocrat
when the overwhelming reason that
led you to flee from town was that the
bill collector doesn't come around so
often in the woods.
1.-TWO days before I am taking the
boat for Michigan always get invita-
tions to the opening dinner at the
country club, an automobile ride and a
theater party, all to take place the
week after l am gone. AS | wad It's
sue paper into the sleeves Of the new
gown l am packing and which won't
have chance to wear again all sum-
mer I remember what it cost and
seethe with anguish.
'Tt is dark when the boat pulls
away from Chicago and if it doesn't
rain soggily when l start / rest as
sured that it will be raining when I
arrive in Michigan. 1t has to rain at
one or the other of these times, be-
cause 1 am wearing my best flower
trimmed hat that is too huge to pack
and | have just had my suit pressed.
| There seem to be acres of my luggage
on the Michigan dock the next morn
ing-trunks, new porch rugs, a sew
ing machine and kitchen stove-and
besides I have to wade around town
in the sand, buying groceries and nails
and mops and matches, before plung-
ing into the calm country ten miles
from anywhere.
"The boatman who comes for me
does not seem exactly overwhelmed
with the joy l rather expected him to
show on seeing me again. HUH he
groans. Have you got lead in these
here trunks?
Some time l am going to make an
exhaustive study of the psychological
/ causes leading baggagemen invariably
to be overcome with surprise because
packed trunks cannot be waited about
on one finger. They always are so
righteously/ annoyed at this discoveryi
TT is raining as usual when ] am
shunted off at my own dock with my
luggage. This is particularly good for
the ironwork on sewing machines and
stoves and is fine for the contents of
trunks. The cottage seems oddly
yelled and investigation shows the
yelling to consist of unbroken spider
webs and sheddings from the beech
trees. 1t does not seem possible that
there are so many spiders in the
world.
"The strong-armed scrubwoman who
was to meet me is beautifully absent,
but the full tragedy of this grows
slowly as I raise window shades and
see the thick dust on every inch Of
everything There are more cobwebs
inside than outside and at the sight Of
the pantry I shed tears. Spiders rush
from everything | touch. In a sort of
desperation | open the box couch to
find work dress, whereupon a rattle
of beech nuts and cherry pits follows
the hauling forth of the top layer.
i
darts out and / sit down on the floor
and shrek. 1t was chipmunk routed
from his winter lodgings and he now
darts nervously and Indignantly un-
der a bookcase. / would just as soon
live in the same house with a man
eating tiger as with chipmunk!
"'No,' said the men who brought
up my soaked belongings from the
pier. Mary won't be here She moved
away. No, there amt nobody else
you can get to scrub. No, we don't
know any man you can get to clean
the yard and fix the pump-every-
body's busy planting the crops. No,
there amt no one in town who wants
job. No, you can't get no lettuce
nor berries nor garden truck-they
amt ripe yet. don't you know that?'
"This when people back in Chicago
are rioting in asparagus and straw
berries and head lettuce and cucum-
bers!
''Ther may be hundreds of birds
outside amid the lovely greenery of
June, but / don't know it, for / am
wrestling with unaccustomed back
breaking tasks inside the house. BY
z o'clock that night eat some stores
bread and butter and cheese and al
banana and tumble into bed more dead
than alive. There is dust in the air.
and it is pitch dark and outside thes
tree frogs are dolorously singing.