The Yale expositor., 1918-11-28
BY MILDRED {. sWENsoN.
lght, 1918. by Mcclure Newspaper
Syndicate.)

Both glanced up from the fashion
paper she had been perusing 10 where
her mother sat sewing. She was max
ing a dress for Beth, of cOurse-but
with all due regard to style that
would last, for their dresses had TO
do them for a long time. Beth sighed.
Mother" she said, wouldn't you
be just tickled to / eces to wake up
some morning and find that you could
go out and get dress already made In
the latest fashion, without regard to
whether IL would wear well or notT'
"Yes, DEAR" she said, "but you know
that would be impossible now" Il
know IL, mother" said Beth, with a
sigh, "but, go dness me, do hope that
| it won't be like this forever! There,
mother, forget that; I'm little pig TO
care about it at all!' But her moth
er didn't forget. She knew how hard
it was for her daughter TO go without
the pretty things that she had been
accustomed to have.
You see Mr.. Marvin had heard his
cOuntry's call short time before and
had gone to join the colOrs, leaving his
wife and siXteen-year-Old daughter to
get along on the amount he had i'm the
bank, after many years of saving. 1T
was a small amount, too, but large
enough TO keep his wife and daughter
In comparative comfort until he should
return, but without the Injuries of
| life.
No one knew when the fight for
humanity would be ended, and until
Ii was, Mr.. Marvin, now Captain Mar
win, would stay in France. But the
| little family he had left were proud
of the husband and father who was
over the sea, fighting that they might
be free, and didn't really mind con-
serving a little, that he might have
the necessities.
At the luncheon table next noon
Beth outlined proposition. II
startled her mother and made her real
lie that her little girl was growing up
| fast. This was what Beth had sug-
gested: She was young and strong,
and they needed girls To do farm work
for the summer; so why couldn't she
| 90? May Jones was going to a farm
in Stonevile, and she wasn't half as
strong as Beth was, etc; but what
would Mrs. Marvin do with her only
daughter away from her for the sum-
mer? Beth had that all thought out,
too. Uncle jim, fathers brother, had
a farm upstate a ways and would be
sure to hire help for the summer. Why
couldn't Beth be one of that "helpT
Mother could go up for visit
Finally Mrs. Marvin decided to give
| Beth's plan chance, and wrote the
letter to Uncle jim. Then, few days
later, came an answer. Why, of
course, they could come, and he would
be more than glad to do what he could
for his brothers wife and child. So,
week later Mrs. Marvin and Beth
were on their way to the farm.
Early in the fall they came back
home after their long summer in the
country-Beth tanned and tired, but
happy, and Mrs. Marvin satisfied that
the summer had been spent to the
best advantage. And when she looked
into Beth's smiling face she was more
than glad that she had consented to
her plan to earn extra money, and she
thought how many pretty things that
same money would buy for her little
girl.
Therefore, she was greatly sur
prised one day a short time later,
when she suggested that they go down
town and do some shopping, with the
money Beth had earned, to have Beth
say, mo, mother, we won't do any
shopping, I'm afraid" and then rs her
mother looked at her in amaZement :
mo, mother, not now. IL hope You
won't mind, but, well, mother, I've
sent all that money to dad !" " Sent it
to dad!" cried Mrs. Marvin, ''why,
how could you, Beth? The money
that meant so much
"There, it's all right, mother" said
Beth. 81 just couldn't tell you, you
see. ] thought maybe you might OBJ
ject simply because little selfish me
thought she wanted pretty things, and
so / did il before you could know any
thing about it, and have time to stop
me. You remember that last letter
ave had from dad, where he spoke of
those boys in his company who had
no real homes or friends? And he
said, too, that they were lonesome
over there and that if they only had
something to cheer them up, phono-
graph, perhaps-a cheap one, of
course-it might help lot. But it
seemed almost impossible to raise the
money for 1t. Every one had Clipped
in and was looking forward to the
time when there would be enough, but
well, you know how long 1t would
take to get enough for that phono-
graph So knew that my little bit
would help enough Oh, I do hope it
did And you don't mind, do you,
mother? You see how 1t WASP"
Mind7 OF course, Mrs. Marvin
didn't mind. She simply gathered her
little daughter into her arms and
kissed her.