The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-10-27
INCIDENT MRS. LESTER
BY OSBORN JONES.

Every one aSfeeu Inal pretty mfS.
Testers besetting sin was Incidence.
"Of course, any woman could have
pretty hands and well-manicured nails
if she didn't ever have to do anything"
said Mrs. Lands, the clearinghouse
keeper, to the old maid school teacher,
who replied promptly:
Yes, and any could seem
light-hearted if she didn't have a cart
or trouble in the world"
As a matter of fact. Mrs. Lester was
indolent. But she was not altogether
happy.
If any one had asked Mrs. Lester
why she boarded instead of keeping
house she would have said it was be-
cause her husband chose to live that
way. They had always done it in the
three years of their married life. The
boarding house was convenient to the
big factory where her husband worked
and houses were not plentiful. But
sometimes a single tear fingered in
those soft brown eyes of hers and
there was a fieeting note of sadness in
her voice,
Then came the time when Mrs. Ian
dis son had pneumonia at college. 1t
didn't prove to be a hard case, but it
was sufficiently alarming to make it
necessary for Mrs. Lands to pack her
wicker suitcase and betake her portly
person to the college town. She
stopped long enough to give the cook
directions for ordering and to commit
the care of the 80 boarders to her
keeping. Then she vent to Mrs. Les
ter's room and told her.
Il know | can't do much" said Mrs.
Lester, but it makes a lot of work for
poor Martha. Let me do the ordering
while you are gone"
This happened just after breakfast,
so that Mrs. Lester went marketing
that morning at nine and bought even
more economically than would Mrs.
Lands herself, and no one at the
boarding house knew the difference.
For Mrs. Lester, though she said moth
ing of it even to he'd husband, was
pleased with her achievement. Lester
returned to the factory Office that
night, and Mrs. Lester sat alone. 1t
was eleven when she first heard Mar
tha's call for help-poor, fat Martha,
whose age was beginning to tell in an
occasional heart attack.
Only Mrs. Lester heard the call for
help and went tiptoeing up to the gar
ret bedroom to be of assistance.
And then came the doctor, who as
sured Mrs. Lester that a few days of
rest would put Martha back on the
working list again.
By the time Mr.. Lester came back
from the factory Mrs. Lester was
tucked in among her pillows-as re
poseful as if she had lain there all the
evening.
In the morning she slipped from her
room at tive-blandly lying to her hus-
band that she was cold and had gone
to rest in a warmer room that had re-
Gently been vacated. And as Mrs.
Lester seldom took breakfast with her
husband, he never guessed that while
he vas eating she was working furi-
ously in the kitchen, nor dreamed that
the coffee and cereal, bacon, eggs and
mullins were all the result of his
stove.
After breakfast Mrs. Lester ordered
quickly and deftly over the phone, and
h came the ~stupendous undertaking
OF getting 20 l%uncheOns ready for the
men at the factory by IL 80.
Then came dinner, and though Mrs.
Testers arms ached from the unaccus-
toned labor, and though she was al
most dropping under the task, she was
supremacy happy. She had left a note
in her husbands room saying that she
had gone to spend the day with a
friend and would not be home till nine,
and at that hour she stole into Mrs.
Lands room long enough to put on
her big cloak and hat hat she had left
there for that purpose. Then, pinch
ing a little color into her tired face,
she tripped s1milingly into her hus-
bands room. 1t had been a wonderful
day of achievement. and she could
hardly wait till Mrs. Lands returned
she was due at ten that night-to
hear what she would say.
Such a wonderful day as l have
had - she said to her husband by way
Of explaining the happiness that she
knew must be shining from her face.
Wonderful days" Knocked her nus
band Eyes, and have been shaving at
the office. Grille, I'm getting tired of
this-just a little. I'd like to have a
little house of u own, but | don't
dare to suggest it. You're too much
of a doll. It's worrying over hat be-
sides worrying over the business that
keeps me so low-hearted."
"And you have wanted to keep house
and haven't told me-" she whispered.
"And for all these months and years
I've longed for something to do and
didn't dare ask YOU"
But that was all she had time to