The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1919-07-10
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY
The Ostrichette.
RY WILL 8 AMEs

er saw outside OF vaudeville Z"
She's all of that Name. All the buds
she's got on, counting the things on
her feet, wouldn't bring a plugged
dime in q rummage sale. Wonder
where Benson dug her up. Bet he
found her living in tree somewhere. ;"
Heard Harris call her an ugly duck
hing. Don't hit her at all. Sizes an
ostriche.to."
The two girls behind thu soda fcaa.
tain at renson's had given much OF
their fist Monday morning half hour
To u critical inspection OF the new
waitress for the ice cream parlor, who
was also to help at the fountain.
Bet you Benson hired her to break
her in on Jeff's Job" And the girls
eiegled joyously. Jeff was the drug
store roustsbout, a negro, who washed
the cream cans, changed the fountain
tanks and carried an advertising sand
wich afternoons.
Name and Edie weren't the only
persons In the store who wondered, be
fore the week was out why Benson
had hired Julia Weeks.
The reason was that long ago, be-
fore old John Weeks went to keeping
Fog Island lighthouse, he and Benson
had been friends, and when old John,
In his last hours, wrote a note to Ben
son asking him TO give his daughter
job, he insured for the girl more
than ordinary chance to make good.
But Benson didn't usually explain
things like that to his employees. The
girl told nothing about herself. So it
was only known that Julia Weeks was
fK. HI az. hnrs oh n,,k oh no
big brown eyed Ralph Matthew's, the
chief dispenser said, IAN awful mess"
Julia was grotesquely i'll dressed.
her clothes might have been thrown
70 her out of somebody's second story
window. She knew nothing at all of
dong her taffy- colored hair. Her eyes
were a pallid blue and her eyebrows
scant. Apparently she had never heard
Of such thing as powder puff. Her
color and skin showed the marks of
the weather and too much frying pan
s diet.
Worse still she was reaching up to-
ward feet 8, walked with the stumb.-
ling gait of plowman and dropped
at least one dish out of every six she
handled, She couldn't remember ov-
er one order at time and frequently
got that one wrong.
She spoke PumpkitlINlle English,
and Name Kennedy declared she did
not know there had been a war. But
withal there was queer declsiveness
about her.
Matthews first assistant, who stood
. the opposite trick as head dispenser in
RaIph's off hours, was fresh slangy
little fellow named Bartuso.
III From Ralph, Julia accepted admoni-
tons rebukes, satire, actual seedlings
with a submissiveness that was pa
thetic; from the girls she took the
thoughtless cruelties of their kind
with bovine indifference; from Bartu-
50 she would stand nothing at all.
on the fourth day the assistant dis.
penser, finding Julia alone in the ice
cream parlor, made some unkindly
bantering remark. By way OF retoinder
Julia punched him on the nose and
wiped him five times across the face
with the table swab. After that she
was let rather severely alone.
Slowly Julia lost much OF her clum-
einess, but It was nearly three months
before she began to show that she
possessed the primary feminine attri-
butte. Then one day Ralph noticed her
standing before one OF the cream room
mirrors trying to fluff out her hair
over her ears with her fingers. Within
the week Eide exclaimed under her
breath to Mamie: For Gawd sake, see
what's got on silk socks and Louie
Ounce heels.'
II was even so. The evolution of
julia had begun. In another month
tho very ugly duckling had become, II
not q swan, at least as nifty and pert
looking as chicken as adorned any
soda fountain In town.
Nobody in that store, except Miss
Robbins Of the toilet articles knew
any more about eyebrow pencils and
lip sticks and brick colored rouge and
snch matters; while her taffy colored
hair had been converted into crown
Ing glory OF startling design. Julia
had most successfully standardized
herself.
Whats the lady Giants game,
Manner" Eide WONDERFULLY remark
ed. She's dolltng something fierce.
But when 1t comes to the men she's
something trapped and put away in
the cocler-wouldn' give one Of them
glad look on bet"
ANOe$ANAA- AARSl th4QH0s tQ6pDG, SHE'S
got the movie bug. Some Of 'em are
HE that
Now Ralph Matthews was not only
big but he was fresh colored and
good looking and cool headed and ca,
pable ana had Q winning smile, A
/. head dispenser like that, with a bunch
cf girls on the counter with him, is
most unlikely 70 escape being the OBJ
ject Of rivalry.
Name Kennedy, however acknowl-
edged no rival. She claimed Ralph
Tor her own. And. with all her fem,
inins perspdcaidty she never even
thcuEht Of Julia as sharing aspiration,
for Julia mover talked to Ralph except
on business. Yet st was for Ralph,
IND Ralph only, that the sawKy wait
ross was putting herself through the
painful PROCESS OF transformation in.
20 9 butterfly. She dumbly, utterly
ndored the big dispenser.
y was Just after, the opening hour.
JEFF hadn't showed up and two OF the
soda tanksStn the basement needed to
be replaced. +Ralph had gone down to
do It himself.
Tbs girls were furnishing I'm ftfe
fountains counter and tables. Sudden.
" the building trem0led, ATendinE.
metallio roar came fromtbelow.
49, -