The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-24
IflF MELTING OF MOLLY
By MARIA THOMPSON
 DAYIESS
copyrieht. 1912. by che Bobbs-Merrnl
 Company

away like a puppy the first time your back was turned. Besides being your cousin, he's younger than you. What do you meanT'
 He's just a week younger, Mrs. Johnson, and wouldn't tie him for worlds, even if married him." said meekly. Somehow like Mrs. Johnson enough to be meek with her and it always brings her to a higher point of excitement.
 s~rie. nonsense; marrying is roping in with ball and chain, to my mind. And a week between a man and woman in their, cradles gets to be fif- feen years between them and their graves. I'm going to make you the subject of silent prayer at the next missionary meeting, and I must go home now to see that Sally cooks up a few of MT. Johnson's crotchets for supper" And she began to hurry away.
 .sI don't believe you'll be able to make it a silent session about me, Mrs. Johnson,' called after her, and she laughed back from her own front gate. Marriage is the only worm in the bud of Mrs Johnson's life, and her. laugh has a snap to it even if 1t is not very sugary sweet.
 When I told Judy about the dinner party and asked her to get the yellow barber to. come help her and her neph- ew waft on the table she grinned such a wide grin that was afraid of being swallowed. She understood that Aunt Adeline wouldn't be interested in it un- t1l had time to tell her all about it. Anyway, she will be going over to Springfield on pilgrimage to see thfr. Henderson's sister next week She doesn't know it yet, but do.
 After that spent all the rest of the evening in planning my dinner party, and [ had a most royal good time I always have had lots of company, but mostly the spend the day kind with relatives or more relatives to supper. That's what most entertaining in Hills boro is like; but as say, once in awhile the old slow pacer wakes up
 I'n never forget my first real dinner party, as the flower girl for Caroline. Evans wedding, when she married the Chicago millionaire, from which Hills boro has never yet recovered. I was sixteen, felt dreadfully naked without a tucker fn my dress and saw Alfred for the first time in evening clothes his first I can hardly stand thinking about how he looked even now. I haven't been to very many dinner par ties in my life. but from this time on I mean to indulge in them often. Can dle light, pretty women's shoulders. black coat sleeves, cut glass and flow CTS are good ingredients for a joy drink. and why not?
 But when got to planning about the gorgeous food wanted to give them all I got into owhat feel came near being a serious trouble. It was writ ing down the recipe for the nesselrode pudding they make in my family that undid me. Suddenly hunger rose up from nowhere and gripped me by the throat, gnawed me all over like a bone, then shook me until I was limp and un- resisting. must have astralfzed my self down to the pantry, for when I became conscious I found myself in company with loaf of bread, plate of butter and huge jar of jam
 I sat down by the long table by the window and slowly prepared to enjoy myself. cut of four slices and but tered them to an equal thickness and then more slowly put a long silver spoon into the jam I even paused to admire in Judy's mirror over timetable the effect of the cascade of lace that fell across my arm and lost itself in the blue simmer of old Reneas master piece of neglfgee, then deep down I buried the spoon in the purple sweet ness. I had just lifted it high in the afr when out of the lilac scented dark of the garden came laugh.
 eWhy, Molly, Molly, MolIy!'' drawled that miserable man doctor as he came and leaned on the sill right close to my elbow. The spoon crashed on the table, and I turned and crashed into words.
 ''You are cruel, cruel, John Moore, and I hate you worse than I ever did before, if that is possible. I'm hun gry, hungry to death, and now you've spoiled it all! Go away before wet this nice crisp bread and jam with tears into mush I'll have to eat with a spoon. You don't know what it is to want something sweet so bad you are willing to steal it-from yourse1fT' I fairly biazed my eyes down into his and moved. as far away from him as the table would let me.
 Don't I, Molly?" he asked softly after looking straight in my eyes for a long minute tha@> made me drop my head until the blue bow I had tied on the end of my long pIaft almost got 4Ato L1e ScdtbeIc0 Je1AA.s 1<NoA at SuCA a moment as that felt how glad old Rene would have been to have given such a nice man as the doctor treat like that blue silk chef d'oeuvre of hers. I was glad myself
 "Don't I, Peaehes?, he asked again bn a still softer voice. Again had that sensation of being against some thing warm and great and good like your own mothers breast, and don't know how controlled it enough not tO-to-
 "WeIl, have some jam then" man aged to say with a little laugh as turned away and picked up the silver sp@.
 '-rhank you, I will, all of it and the