The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1917-02-03
CURING SYLVIA
BY SHIELDS.

NChf nluA llulC uf dANuJ0
glad the men at the club like me well
enough to come to our house. Sylvia
enjoys them so much" Sylvia was
Just then climbing into a low racing
car with Robert Hewes, who had called
to see me, gripping the wheel.
MY dear" exclaimed my mother,
"do stop criticizing your sister. You
must realize they are so much younger
than you. Naturally Sylvia and Lu-
ellie are companionable on motor trips
and at Dances"
II don't mind ip the least" 1 re
serene. Robert had come to the house
for me, and he ended, as did all my
men friends who came, by taking one
of the younger girls out. oh, / didn't
care usually, but Robert Hewes vas
well, he was different. And 1 did
care.
When his siren horn sounded I
took down my sweater and hat, threw
them on the bed and few downstairs.
We had planned, perhaps vaguely, to
go up to Slayback's woods before the
trees were stark and bare. Sylvia, how
ever, was downstairs before me, and
an hour later she left the house for
a ride with him.
"My dear" from mother again,
please don't fiatten your nose against
the window pane in that undignifed
way. Sylvia is very pretty and anus
ing. They'll have a perfectly lovely
time together
Mother was fairly raging. That /,
Betty, with twenty-five years on my
shoulders, had no more maidenly mod
esty than to cling desperately for one
look from Robert Hewes, or any man
I'm perfectly willing to accept the po-
sition of Oldest, to take all the
drudgery, the bitterness and thankless-
ness from the needless younger men,
bers, but l want some of the sweetness,
too.
Lucille, fresh and well groomed and
just twenty, rushed into the room with
an explosive shrek. ibid you see
Sylvia? Who was the manf" / felt
like a screen heroine and that the
only proper thing for me to do was
to PROSTATE myself in utter abandon
and Shrek back, Mine"
Betty met him at the Friday night
dance" said mother and went into de-
tails. Hes evidently much taken
with Sylvia"
"Ohl" cried Lucille sympathet-
ically as she and mother exchanged
glances.
Later in the kitchen I worked stead
lily preparing supper for Robert and
Sylvia. In the kitchen, at least, l
could be alone. Mother hated the
place, and so did the girls. Never in
my life have l spent such a miserable
hour as / did when / baked the hot
biscuits, broiled ham and made the
coffee for their supper. l watched
through the window for a sight of the
long, gray car. For a moment / could
not see clearly through the window for
a mist had dimmed my eyes. 1t was
all SO hopelessly muddled and tire.
some, this charming, do-nothing fam
lily of ours. The next moment ]
broke panic-stricken for the door.
Robert Hewes had swung his car out
of the valley road, and, taking the
turn at so miles an hour, the car
smashed into a monster tree, skidded
across to the Standardized roadside. As
/ looked Sylvia and Robert shot into
the air.
In a moment we were bending over
them both. Sylvia sat up stunned
but unhurt and blinking bewildered.
Robert lay crushed and broken in the
roadway.
With assistance Sylvia got to her
feet and staggered to the house. / sat
in the roadway and held Roberts
head In my lap. He had tainted.
When his eyes opened he looked into
mine with utter amazement. He
smiled wanly as he assured me he
wasn't hurt, and his lean, brown hand
caught compellingly at mine, as II
he would never let me go.
Mother and girls stood in the hall
awed and weeping as we carried
him In.
Next day when Ii was all over, Rob-
ert bandaged and his broken ribs set,
l sat beside him. l tried to forget
that through the delirium of the night,
he had continuously called my name.
There was great excitement In the
family circle, n one had slept. They
had crouched about listening as my
name fell from his lips. But as Sylvia
said, of course he was d~elirious. In
his delirium he thought I was sitting
next him when the crash came. When
the pain stirred him from his semi
stupor, he murmured broken words
and phrases and before he opened his
eyes in consciousness, the entire fam
lily was In possession of his heart Sc
cret. During the long night he strug-
gled to keep me near hin. Ceaseless-
ly he cried out against letting Sylvia
run the car. She confessed shame
facedly that she had leased him into
permitting her to take the wheel, Just
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