Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-03
THE EVENING STORY.
TWENTY POUNDS.
Downright. 1918. py ". Werner,


We're two silver-haired ladies, and
both were peacefully rowing down Tue
i last waters of life in an atmosphere
of placidity. Not many people IN the
growing big towp. thai once had been
! a small. stagnant town. remembered
that many years before Abby Wilson
and Carry LulSett had sat together IN
school, walked together hoUe from
school, got simultaneously punished at
!, school for note writing. and promised
faithfully to name their Oldest daush-
tiers q fter each other.
Still fewer remembered that shortly
after their weddings. which occurred
at nearly the same time. the two girls
had suddenly ceased TO speak; had
passed each other on the streets OF
the small town--theEe then were NOT
4 more than .hree streets in Rivervilie-
without speaking: had eyed each other
hostilely or with averted eyes II
had been long time back. Since tHeu
there had come children, trouble. JOY
death, the long wear and tear o1 long
years. to each. They had almost Tor
gotten themselves that they had ever
been dear friends. The first hostility
had died TO mere Indifference. RMS m
difference had helped to bury memory
Abby Holiday never thought OF Caro-
; line except casually until one day she
got :, letter from Jim, whom she had
NOT seen for fift- years. Jim had been
a waif whom her father. none 100
prosperous farmer, had given :; nome
He had struck out for himself "he.
he was half grown. ana 1t was an ei-
fort for Abby to recall his features
wnen he wrote reminding her or old
DAYS. He hadn't thought OF issf ne
said tor fifty years, but he mao nap
pened TO meet one Of the OLD ScfS'oi-
| boys. Memory was prodded. He was
going through the town III the near
future and would stop Off To see her.
Mrs. Abby Holiday wiped her spec
tacles and read the letter again Dear,
went back over them. over births and
deaths. struggles and strain. i'ef
randchildren Were now OF an age 70
marry. Yet somehow the fifty years
slipped away though they were
fifty seconds and she was getting ready
for her own marriage. So was Garry
Lukett What breathless. happy time
i, had been. Mrs Holidays silver gray
head, dropping usually. held ltseii
perkily. as brown haired ABBY ii s,,a
laughed softly to herself. some 1or-
tunes, among them hers and Garry 8,
had grown with the town. hut IN taose
days money had been scarce.
She remembered how hadr it had
been for herself and for Carry TO
furnish those first tiny cottages. 70.
gether they had mourned their scant
cash Together they had tried to con-
trive wonderful artistic effects with
. inartistic stuH-mostly calico ana pine
: boxes Together they had joyed over
their few wedding presents.
She remembered suddenly among the
many trivial incidents one which was
not trivial The reminiscent smile left
her face. She remembered when she
: and Carry quarreled. And even after
|: fifty years. during many of which this
!: quarrel had lain buried by forgetfulness,
i, now stood out with all its old hurt.
Her husband. dead now for a long
time, had killed three pigs She and
months. and were just beginning to
. realize the pressure that one small
cent can give when you haven't got
: it. Money was not tight 1t was an
absent quantity.
She remembered Carry sent word
: over that she and her husband. now
: dead for long time. would like to
buy half of one. Pork was not high
price. She had counted every cent of
that pig money. and had it spent even
before the dying squeal was fastened
80 pounds. That was $3.50. and the
couple. Her young husband had
laughed and told her she might spend
bered all she had promised herself
lowered dimity for the parlor cur
: tains and little longcloth for the
best pilloweases. Her supply Of
iatingly small. Then she had counted
on bit of linen for doilies. She had
!: wondered IL she could manage the
dye for rags already sewed for hall
rug. Oh, she laughed now. but not
very merrily, over the extreme cru
city with which one helpless little
: dollar was stretched and squeezed and
CHARTERED and sliced and mistreated in
those Young. Door DAYS,
And then Carry had sent over curt
!: word that the pig weighed less by
twenty pounds than was claimed. It
happened that Abby was in the hunaor
to be offended by the curt statement.
: TT isn't so,' she sent hasty word back
before she knew what she was saying
The go-between, a half-grown boy,
: with mind more intent on fishing than
: errands. perhaps. delivered the retort
with more emphasis than she intend
ed. Carry paid the additional go cents,
but she paid 1t haughtiIy.
oh. If you feel that way" said Alb
!: by, pettishly, don't pay 1t. But my
scales are correct. I'm sure I have no
. desire to cheat any one"
Il don't care to bubble over 60
cents" airily quoth Garry. who had
even less pennies than Abby. And
died. Abby and her young husband
tested their scales. Carry sent naughty
word that she and her husband would
give proof OF the correctness OF theirs.
The little town wagged It's many
tongues.
Then the little town grew SO big
that 1t had less time for tongue-wag-
ging and needed all it's energy for
growing. Abbys husband prospered.
So did Carry's The two families
never made up. The two girls did
not name their babies after either:
They did not even compare babies, but
We're coldly civil when they met, and
that was all. The broken friendship
was buried deep by the passing OF
months and years, and all that those
years brought
Dear me-" sighed silvef-haired Mrs.
Holiday fifty years after. but know
my scales were right And, dear mo,
that long-legged. freckled Jim 10 sixty
four years old, II I remember right
an old man." She couldn't Imagine
Jim old. why. he must be about the
same as her youngest grandson. Sure
ly he was
But he wasn't. He came to town
three weeks later-a stately. brainy,
broadcloth-clad old gentleman. who
had lost every sign of waifdom and
every freclsle. He limped. He had q
polished way of talking. And he
looked queerly at Mrs. Holiday. He
seemed to have thought that she still
had brown hair and wore Bingham
aprons
They went back to old days, while
the uninterested children and the
in their "reminiscences
And do you know" he Rurgled near
the close OF his visit, there was one
thing of which I was ashamed.