Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1916-05-26
T CHAPTER V-Continued.


"well. then, you'll be goin' to Sta
cey's once in while, and I'll be there
every day, dom up bundles won
der IL you would come and see me just
minute, once In a while. You-you
been awful nice toto Charlie
. Thomas. I never knew boy just like
you-the boys In our neighborhood are
nasty"
"Oh, Mary Alice" said Francis, feel
ing the red creep into his face. He be-
came suddenly very awkward. He
lost all his swagger all his compla-
cence. "Oh, Mary Alice" he said,
''you quit! never did anythin'. Don't
you go maxim fun of me now. II you
don't stop glying me, won't come to
see you at the store.'
They had turned into Mrs. Trayers'
side yard. Francis Willett suddenly
remembered that he might be late to
supper. He dropped the wagon tongue
and dashed hurriedly out of the gate
and disappeared in the heavy shadows
cast by the street arcs. Mary Alice cor
lected her dollar and seventy-five cents
and started down Clipper Hill with
her empty, rattling wagon.
Goods goin' to make me WELL"
Charlie Thomas had said. Suppose
no, 1t couldn't happen. But Charlie
was sure Of 1t. Better be like Charlie
and believe that, somehow, the thing
that you wanted to happen must hap
pen.
81 guess she thought, Goods all
right when he-when he gets around to
you"
Mary Alice did not know that a
great many people who are always
making excuses for God, always trying
to explain away the apparent discrep-
ancies or contradictions in Gods pro-
cedure, would have been deeply
shocked to hear her "guess that God
was all right" and would, no more
than Mary Alice herself, have realized
that she was perfectly reverent and
entirely prayerful.
Staceys paid Mary Alice four dol
lars week and set her up in sort of
lookout box back of the glove counter,
where she inserted the purchases of GUS
toners in envelopes and manipulated
one end of pneumatic tube which
completed the analogy between her
perch and a small armed turret.
The girls pay and Mrs. Browns
earnings from her few laundry custom
ers made the little family more com
Portable than it had been for many
months. Sam Thomas came to Shelf
field two or three times week and
frequently went out Of his way to see
Mrs. Brown and little Dick. If thrifty,
Sam was no plutocrat, yet he hardly
ever called without bringing some
small gift. Half barrel of assorted
vegetables, little butter, some eggs;
once Martha sent three pairs of knit
ted mittens, large, medium and small.
1.-THE Thomases deserve luck Mary
Alice" said Mrs. Brown. They're al
ways and forever th,nkin' up somethin'
to do for someone. l guess maybe the
reason we're so poor is because we're
selfish. Did you bring home the shin
bOne?"
"M-hm. 1t cost ten cents a pound.
1t used to be eight"
'I'll put it right on to stew. When
it's done you can take a bowl of it in
to Mrs. Bloomer. She's kind of ailin'."
Mary Alice had not told anybody
about Francis Willett's doctor uncle.
She dared not, for fear Of disappoint--
ment. Francis said Uncle Billy Jack
son was away In Europe and wouldn't
be back until midwinter. He didn't
know whether his father had told Sam
Thomas about Doctor Jackson; he
rather thought not.
Francis developed an extraordinary
fancy for gloves. Mrs. Willett mar
veled and Mr.. Willett chuckIed. He
had seen Mary Alice Brown. She was
q nice little girl; she had saved his