Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-13
THE EVENING STORY.
Their Letters.
Copyright. 1918. by W. werner.)

But, mother Bartly began placat-
ingly, Il know he'll pay
The little snappy-eyed woman took a
pencil from her knob of tightly twisted
black hair-not gray thread in it-and
pointedly began to mark goods. Il guess
he WILL she said drily, before he gets
stuff from me. Trust jeff Gray for 50
worth of dry goods? Well. not while
I'm awake. That amt how your pa
made his money, trusting people. And
l amt going to risk what he worked
so hard to make" The black eyes
sparkled with determination. The black
head nodded She jerked her pointed
chin up and down for emphasis, and
continued marking the big case of no.
tons that the drayman had just left
Bartly Elliot flushed. Twice he opened
his mouth to speak. Twice he closed It,
But finally the words came out with a
rush Don't / have any say III TINS
store?' he demanded. jeff S my
friend: darn it, II lose the stuff sooner
than refuse him. Mother, he's in an
awful fix. His wifes cousin is coming
for a visit and they want to fix up
He'll have plenty of money in month
when he sells the apple crop
"He better wait till them, was the
reply. What do / care for the Splurge
he wants to make before his wife's folks.
As for your having sayso in this store
your pa left it to me. You amt got no
sayso but what l give you. When your
cd enough to have some gumption LII
let you run things, but l don't know
when that time'lI be-
Then III get out said Bartly. "And
so where l can pick out my own shoe
strings
''All right" agreed his mother equa-
bly,. Il think it would do you good to
have to depend on yourself for awhile.
And l can run things here just as well
without you as with YOU" Her black
eyes snapped.
''Bartly got his hat Half way between
the store and the depot he stopped be-
fore trim, vine-covered cottage A girl
not SO pretty she was fresh and whole
some, came out to meet him.
I'm going away he announced gloom
lily. Il can't stand it any longer. Here
1 am, nearly twenty-five, and without
a cent to call my own. And mother
thinks / ought to be glad Of my board:
1 can't stand it, being treated as a child.
He went on to tell about the credit re-
fused his friend.
Anne kavvon listened with a dismayed
pucker between her two frank blue eyes.
the girl. Your mother is old. You
know she can't get along without you:
You mustn't mind her; it's only her way.
But l can't" he explained, losing his
first explosive wrath and speaking with
the careful quiet of one who has thought
the matter out. II can't merely wait for
my mother to die And that's what it
means. If this dispute about jeff was
the first it would be different, but it's
every day. Yesterday l told her that
a certain shade of navy percale doesn't
sell. She Immediately ordered more. If
l decorate the windows one way she i'm
mediately orders me to change it to an
other"
Anne sighed. She knew, that he was
not telling all the truth. For old Mrs.
Elliot was the meanest, most grasping.
cantankerous old woman in the small
town. Every one had pitied Bartly
when his father died and left the four
farms and general store to his mother,
who would take care of it until Bartly
was experienced enough. An elastic
will. His mother stretched it with all