Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1919-06-25
MAYTIME-THE WHOLE WORLD
THROBBING WITH LIFE.
CHAPTER III.

II was in May that first met
i Everett Graham. For several days
it had been unusually warm. The
leaves on the trees and shrubs had
stolen silently from their winter hid
ing places, and were bursting bril-
liantly green on their stalks and
branches. 1t seemed to me that the
whole world was TIN opbing with life,
was more keenly alive than ever it
had been before.
was just girl that wonderful
Maytime, with just girls visions,
her ideas, and ideals. The books l
had read were mostly light novels,
and romances which exaggerated
those ideas without doing me any
particular good or harm. Yet in
way / realize that they helped me
to overlook the difference in our
ages. Many of the heroines of the
novels l had read had married men
much older than they, and had been
happy ever after-according to the
narrator.
l had always liked my name, San
dra. Rose said it sounded as if l
was a writer and had taken it as
my nom de plume. Rose often said
such queer thirys. although she was
a perfect dear.tsf sRafter she said
that liked my name better than ever
-Sandra Courtney. When l said it
aloud, l was pleaseQ with the sound
and glad I hadn't been named Mary
or Margaret or Nellie. l liked my
own name so much better.
have told how Everett looked and
l expect people who read my story
would Iike to know something of how
l looked also.
l was tall-taller than most of
my friends. | was thin, almost
scrawny. Everett called it "willowy"
which sounded much nicer. My hair
was very dark auburn, deep red-gold
in some lights. l often used to wish
that whatever pigment had been
used-they say that's what causes
different colors in hair-had not
been used quite 50 iavishly. People
could see my hair before they saw
me. So Rose said. / had the brown
ish eyes, and the ligat skin that usu-
ally goes with such hair. And l also
had-freckles. | had tried to get rid
of them in every possible way since
| was ten, but although l had taken
off the skin many times, the freckles
persisted. They were lighter in
color now, and smaller. Mother said
that when l was older they would
probably disappear altogether. But
they were a great trial to me. My
two brothers made fun of me for
trying to get rid of them, so that
finally stopped. But I commenced
again that spring l met Everett
but with no success.
Sometimes l used to think that
having brothers was not an unal-
Logged joy. l was sure of it the day
they told Everett that l was putting
on stuff to get rid of the freckles be-
cause he came to see me.
"Sandra is putting stuff on her
face because of yoV," Toodles, his
right name was Harry, confided to
Everett. "She's done it before and
it didn't work WORTH, cent; but she
thinks you'll think she's prettier
without freckles. Girls is silly any
way Freckles don't hurt"
Buster, my other brother, his
right name was Charles, wasn't quite
so bad, yet he also often said fright
fully embarrassing things. Rose
Grandon hadn't any brothers, and
once I was so exaspsfateds l told her
she ought to be thankful she hadn't.
l used to urge mother to punish
them, but she said all boys who had
young lady sisters were just like
Toodles and Buster. l didn't wonder
sometimes when they had been
, worse than usual that boys were
Z said to be made of Scissors and
snails and puppy dogs tails" or some
thing equally horrid.
Of course they weren't like that
all the time. When they were good
was really fond of them. Toodles
was fourteen, and Buster was twelve.
guess those are rather bad ages
for boys. Neither hay nor grass"
father had said once when I begged
him to make them behave.
Everett seemed to like them, and
xyas ouita nice TO them. so thew didn't