The Palatka news and advertiser., 1916-01-14
Tradition Upset
Continued from page 3.)

-dIItI, HoW VIC oub Wio Ae' ou
what do / want of a wash-womal
when I've been one mesilf? So iver,
dollar you thought went to Kitty Col
last year, went into me own shtockin.
instid. l know ye are hard pressed
bein' election year, but here's this al
put by"
Jimmy choked bit and patted he
arm. "Take it and have your owl
vacation, mother. 'Tis a mortal no
July. I'd not thought of it, I've beel
so busy. l can scrape up enough tt
send you both somewhere to live lik'
ladies for a while"
"What do l want of goin'? TAX,
this now and mind what l say!"
But he shook his head and put he
by. He went on out to the tiny por
tico where Mary Ella sat, her heac
leaned against a pillar. In the moon
light she looked pale and small. Witt
the ache in his throat still trouble.
some, he sat down beside her. He
put his arm around her and Mary
Elias cheek delicately touched his
own. 1.-THE ould mother had warm
jacket laid up for me, for not seeing
how the heat was wearing you away.
You see, I'm so used to it. | never
notice, and I'm pretty busy, Mary
Ella, you know that"
"Yes," she said listlessly, her cheek
dropped now against his shoulder.
$50 the thing for you is to pack
and get out from here before another
heat wave comes on.
"Are you going too?"
'Lord. no! Why, honey, | can hard
ly spare time to sleep"
Her fingers twisted a button of his
coat. "Then l am not going either"
His heart palpitated Queerly.
'It's nearly August, and then we
have cool nights. The mother can
60"
"She wouldn't. She's a regular
salamander like her son Shamus. But
if you were to get i'll or-or any
thing, here. But I'd miss you lot,
he added irrelevantly.
81 am not going, Shamus," she said
with fiat fnality. 81 am going to
stay right here, and am not going
to be i'll, either"
August turned out well, cool, and
damp with daily breeze up from the
river that tempered the long days Of
sunshine Mary Ella began to win
back the roses to her cheeks. Sep
tember came and vanished; October
bronzed the leaves along the squares
and sent them scurrying to the side
walks. Jimmy, coming home tagged
and late, often had wistful expec-
fancy that Mary Ella would some
night be waiting for him at the gate;
or that the hall door would be half
open and she would run to him out
of the shadow for the touch of his
lips on hers, or his arm intimately I
about her waist. He was worn out .
with speech-making and the arduous
labors of the campaign, and his iron .
nerves were shaken. He had cast all .
his hopes into this melting-pot of am
bition. He wanted the nomination
more than he had ever wanted any,
thing in life-except Mary Ella, and
now Mary Ella was his own, and he
wanted, as he phrased it, "to make
good" for her.
Mary Ella, placidly sitting by his
heartstone, and lifting cool, sweet
cheek for his kiss, seemed to have
little guess at what went on under
the fame-colored hair.
On this October evening they sat
with few blazing Goals making
languid heat in the room. Mary Ell {
la had bit of work in her fingers;
her low chair creaked industriously. !
Jimmy smoked intermittently; the ci- S
gar smoothed down his ruffed spirits.
I'm up against it good and heavy" '
he said moodily. "The Old Guards e
against me. You can't blame EN-"
He grinned and glanced at his wife's t
wedding ring. "And Connelly's too v
mum to be out of devilment. He'll /
swing the shop vote against me, I'm Q
afraid. They don't love him, but it's
case of bread and butter, and prin- I
ciple has to go hang. So Pm be- L
tween old Harry and the brimy deep"
He sighed and relighted the cigar q
that had gone out.
"Oh, you'll be electedw Mary Ella h
said, comfortably threading her nee
die. y
He stared at her over his cigar.
1--WE got to be-" he said grimly. 'T've /
got to be. Do you think I'm going a
to have you cooped up here in this
bird-cage forever? Honey, l want c
you to have house and things in it. d
Not like these"-he grinned, a bit il
tenderly, though, and swept the pic T
lures, the curtains, the chairs. in one S
inclusive gesture-"but big rooms with v
polished fioors-and-you know the f
rest"
"Yes," she said, and locked hard h
at her seam. "But Shamus. haven't &
we been-reasonably happy-here
He leaned over and took her hand c
and kissed the ring. Honey" he G
said. Speech failed him. Something h
at his tongue-tip remained unspoken. {
Mary Ella felt the insistent regard Fl
of his eyes upon her when, the next
morning, she took the early car with a
him down town. These little iaunt- o
lngs were holidays for both. At the a
corner by the courthouse he left her
with a wave of his hand and that @
wistful backward glance that brought
sudden color to her face. k
Mary Ella leisurely inspected the ii
all millinery, and surveyed the shop
decked for Halloween. But el
Ter morning shopping was summar- 81
zed in various small and dainty bun
lies she CARED in her arms. The CT