The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1919-06-20
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY
CLANS
1y DORA NOLAN.
Copyright, 1919, by the Mcclure


Newspaper Syndicate.)
egDY gollyn suddenly exclaimed
Doris from where she stood by
the window, "if that job
doesn't end soon there won't be clam
left in the covel"
''Dorisl' came the reproving voice
of her mother, please don't use such
unladylike words"
Find me one as expressive and l
wont" responded the frrepressible
Doris. I'm dying for some clans and
those iaborers laying the new. gas
pipes are Just digging them all up be.
fore get a look-in." =
But they are busy putting in the
pipes, aren't they, dear?' mildly quer-
led Doris mother. How can they dig
CLAIMS at the same timer"
oh, they're just stalling on the job,
mother, waiting for some more pipe.
The little foreman told me so yester-
day. Meanwhile they're just digging
up all the clans"
Doris" the mother again started to
demonstrate with her lively young
daughter. but as often happened, that
same daughter took the words from
her mouth. II know, mother, what
you're going to say-'Please don't go
around talking to that strange young
man. You needn't worry. I've only
seen one worth speaking to since we
came-and he was claiming, too.
Came from over across the cove some
where. Got lot, too. II he'd had
any decency he'd have offered me
some. Goodness knows limited broad.
ly enough"
The little mother remarked in re-
signed tone, HE thought you were a
child, probably, with your bobbed
hair and that short, red skirt"
II should worry what he thought;
hes some country clam himself" Doris
replied, laughingly. "All the same, I
wish my boots would arrive. 1t was
SO stupid of us to forget them" Then
specuatiyely, THAT waters too cold
TO go into barelegged."
u should say So" the mother made
haste to reply. Doris, don't you think
Of such thing"
No, mother, I won't" dutifully
spoke the daughter, busily scheming
in her impatient young head some way
of getting over on those clam flats,
where at the moment several Italians
VSAS AAhaobAAOaoty dib6ihB.
Now, Mrs. Dart, Doris mother, had
purposely omitted packing those boots.
She had a rather guilty feeling all day,
as Doris watched for the parcels post.
This clever, up-to-date young daughter
was rather teyond the old fashioned
mother.
She was proud OF her, of course, for
didn't that same cleverness enable
Doris to. "hold up the government at
the rate Of thirtyfiye per. with a
month vacation as Doris herself ex-
"And didn't that weekly thirty-ffve
make possible the yearly vacation at
the shore, even IL sometimes they had
to come at an unheard of early date?
But oh deari IL the child would only
care about clothes like other girls and
not insist on bobbing her hair with
the ridiculous excuse that 1t saved
time.
And then those awful knickers-and
4 boets-that she insisted on wearing
out fishing and claiming! But Mrs.
Dart preferred not to think about
them.
Doris was a wizard at finding way
out OF dilemma. Probably that was
why she succeeded so well in bust
ness. The only way out Of her pres
emit one, she decided, was over a
bridge farther up the cove.
This bridge had been started with
flourish by some bunko amusement
company and finished in fizle. It
lacked five feet of reaching the fiat
ground in the center OF the cove. But
on that island were clams-that could
be gotten at without the aid OF boots.
So on the following day, no boots
having arrived and low tide coinciding
with her mothers rest hour, Doris got
into the obnoxious Knockers and, arm
ed with short-handled hoe and a bag,
walked over the unfinished bridge,
took flying downward leap-and
there she wasi
The clans were plentiful. This was
place the laborers had not hit upon.
Doris dug and dug, and the tide crept
up and up. Clam digging is time-con-
Stunning work; so when the bag was
nearly filled the strenuous young lady
was relieved to find by glance at
her watch that 1t was not quite time
for her mothers nap to be over. But
ct the bridge she found, somewhat to
her disl-a., ten feet of water, shallow,
to be s. but growing deeper every
nioment between the low shore and
the much higher end of the bridge.
Time and tide quoted Doris, rue
fuliysas she started brayely through It,
The water was knee deep when she
managed to throw the bag up onto the
bridge; but getting herself up was
quite another proposition. The sand
was soft and her feet sank into It,
Doris didn't give up easily. once she
started to do a thing, but when her
feet grew numb she accepted the fu-
tility of further effort and waded back
to the island.
Noone was in sight. Even the labor
ers had gone home - loud 'Hellol"
brought the tlemother running from
the cottage and out onto the bridge,
but she was'powerless to help.
In the tower window of a large
house situated some distance across
the cove young man, with the aid of
binoculars, was watching the maneu-
verg of a 6eauIana ouk .nny4hathay IL