The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1916-08-24
rnan m mia part of ,o~n .Ire.Ax,

~
home with you"
'It's pretty beautiful for me-" said
Bibbs, with deep breath. "You'ii
never know what II was to hear your
laugh In the darkness--and then to-
to see you standing therel oh, II was
like--lt was like How can tell you
what II was llkeY" They had passed
beyond the crowd now. and a crossing
lamp shone upon them, which revealed
the fact that she was without her furs.
Here was a puzzle. However, allow
Ing II to stand, his sollcltude for her
took another turn. ~ think you ought
to have n car" he said, especially
when you want to be out after dark
You need one in winter, anyhow. Have
you ever asked your father for oneT'
mo" said Mary. 81 don't think I'd
care for one particularly"
"But my mother tried to insist on
sending one over here every after
noon for me. wouldn't let her. be-
cause | like TO walk. but girl"
"A girl likes to walk, too" said
Mary. LET me tell you where I've
been this afternoon and how | hap
pened TO be near enough to make you
take me home. I've been to see little
old man who makes pictures OF the
smoke. He has n sort OF warehouse
for n studio, and he lives there with
his mother and his wife and their
seven children, and he's gloriously
happy. I'd seen one OF his pictures at
an exhibition, and | wanted to see
more OF them, so he showed them to
me. He has almost everything he ever
painted; | don't suppose he's sold
more than four or five pictures In his
life. lie gives drawing lessons to keep
| alive"
How do you mean he paints the
smoker" Blbbs asked.
Literally. He paints from his stu
dlo window and from the street--any.
where. He just paints what's around
him-and It's beautiful"
''rhe smoker"
"Wonderfull He sees the sky through
It. somehow. He does the ugly roofs
OF cheap houses through haze OF
smoke, and he does smoky sunsets and
smoky sunrises, and he has other
things with the heavy. solid, slow col
umns OF smoke going far out and grow
ing more ethereal and mixing with the
hazy light in the distance; and he has
others with the broken skyline OF
downtown, all mlsted with the smoke
and with puffs and Jets of vapor that
have colors like an orchard In mid
April. I'm going to take you there
some Sunday afternoon. Bibbs."
You're showing me the town." he
said. IL didn't know what was in 1t
Mt ALL"
There are workers in beauty here"
she told him. gently. 'There are other
painters more prosperous than my
friend. There are all sorts of things"
II didn't know"
mo. Since the town began growing
so great that It called itself greater
one could live here all ones life and
know only the side of 1t that shows"
"The beauty workers seem buried
very Deep" said Bibbs. "And lmag-
Inc that your friend who makes the
smoke beautiful must be buried deep
est OF all. My father loves the smoke.
but l can't imagine his buying one OF
your friends pictures. He'd buy the
Bay OF Naples but he wouldn't get
one OF those. He'd think smoke In a
| picture was horrible-unless he could
use 1t for an advertisement"
YES" she said. thoughtfully. "And
really he's the town. They are buried
pretty deep. II seems. sometimes.
Bibbs."
"And yet it's all wonderful" he said
ITS wonderful to me-"
"You mean the town is wonderful
to you"
"Yes, because everything is, since
you called me your friend. The city
Is only rumble on the horizon for me.
1t can't come any closer than the hori-
zon so long as you let me see you
standing by my old zinc eater all day
long, helping me. Mary" He stopped
with a gasp. That's the FIRST time
I've called you Nary"
"Yes." She laughed, little trem-
ulously. Though | wanted you tor
II said It without thinking. II must
be because you came there to walk
home with me. That must be It,"
"Women like to have things said"
Mary Informed him, her tremulous
laughter continuing. Were you glad
1 came for your
"No-not glad I felt as If were
being carried straight up and up and
up-Over the clouds. feel like that
still. think I'm that way most OF
the time. ! wonder what | was ike
before knew you. The person | was
then seems to have been somebody
else, not Blbbs Sheridan at all IL
seems long. long ago. was gloomy
and sickly-somebody else-somebody
| don't understand now. a coward
afraid OF shadows-afrald OF things
that didn't exlst-afrald OF my old
zinc eater! And now I'm only afraid
Of what might change anything"
She was silent moment, and then