Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-04-12
SOWING SEEDS IN DANNY
BY NELLIE l.. McCLUNG
,, of "The Next Of Kin" Threc Times and Out" ETC.
NELLIE l.. McCLUNC

corner, and light matches IL we are
short.
"It's working now." Edith called
from the parlor, burning beautifully
mother drew her hand over It,"
Soon the. company began to arrive.
Bashful, self conscious girls, some Of
them were, old before their time with
the marks of toll. heavy and unremit !,
ting, upon them, hard handed, stoop-
shouldered dull l-cyed and awkward.
These were the daughters Of rich
farmers. Good girls they were, too,
conscientious, careful, unselfsh, think
ing II virtue to stif1e every ambition,
smother every craving for pleasure.
When they felt tired, they called IL
laziness and felt disgraced, and thus
they had spent their days, working,
working from the gray dawn until the
darkness came again, and all for
what? When in after years these girls,
broken in health and in spirits, slipped
away to premature graves. or, worse
still, settled into chronic invalidism Of
what avail was the memory Of the cows
they milked. the mats they hooked, the
number of pounds of butter they made.
Not all the girls were like these.
Maud Murray was there. Maud Murray
with the milkmaid cheeks and curly
black hair, the typical country girl Of
bounding life and spirits, the type SO
often seen upon the stage and SO seldom
elsewhere.
Mrs. Motherwell had warned Tom
against Maud Murray, as well as Nellie
Slater. She had once seen Maud
churningS and she had had newspaper
pinned to the wall in front of her and
was reading it as she worked, and
Mrs. Motherwell knew that girl who
would do that would come to no good.
Martha Perkins was the one girl of
whom Mrs. Motherwell approved.
Martha's record on butter and quilts
and mats stood high. Martha was a
nice quiet girl. Mrs. Motherwell often
said mice, quiet, unappearing girl:'
Martha certainly was quiet. Her con-
versational attainments did not run
high. Things is what they are, and
what's the good of saying anything"
Martha had once said in defense of her
silent ways. h'
She was small and sallow skinned
and was dressed in an anemic gray
her thin hay -colored hair was combed
straight back from a rather fine fore
head. She stopped q little when she
walked. and even when not employed
her hands picked nervously at each
other. Martha's shyness, the '"unap-
pearing" quality. was another of her
virtues in the eyes of Toms mother.
Martha rarely left home. even to 60 to
Milford. Martha did not 60 to the ag-
ricultural fair when her mats and quilts
and butter and darning and buttonholes
on cotton got their red tickets. Martha
stayed at home aud dug potatoes-a
nice, quiet, unappearing girl.
When they played games at the Sla-
ters that evening Martha would not
play. She never cared for games. she
said--they tired person so. She would
just watch the others, and she wished
again that she had her knitting.
Then the kitchen floor was cleared
table. chairs and lounge were set aside
to make room for the dancing, and when
the violins rang out with the "Arkan-
saw Traveller" and big John Kennedy
nounced. Select your partners, every
person felt that the real business Of
the evening had begun.
Tom had learned to dance, though
his parents would have been surprised
had they known it. Out in the granary
on rainy days hired men had obligingly
instructed him in the mysteries of the
two step and waltz. He sat in q cor
ner and watched the first dance. When
Jim Russell came into the hall. after
receiving warm welcome from Mr..
and Mrs. Slater, who stood at the door.
he was conscious of sudden thrill of
pleasure. 1t was the vision Of Camilla,
Mt the farther end Of the dining room,
as she helped the Slater girls to receive
their guests. Camilla wore n red dress
that brought out the blue black of her
eyes, and it seemed to Jim as he watch
ed her graceful movements that he had
never seen any one so beautiful. She
was plotting a bevy of bashful girls to
the stairway, and as she passed him
she gave him n little nod and smile that
set his heart dancing.
He heard the caller. of calling for
partners for quadrille. The fiddlers
had already tuned their instruments.
From where he stood he could see
the figures forming, but Jim watched
.he stairway. At last she came, with
I company of other girls, none of whom |
le saw, and he asked her for the first |
lance. Jim was not conccitcd young |
nan, but he felt that she would not |
'efusc him. Nor did she.
Camilla danced well, and so did Jim.
md many an eye followed them as they
wound in and out through the other
|anccrs. When the dance was over he
ed her to seat and sat beside her.
they had much to talk Of. Camilla was
nxious to hear of Pearl, and it seemed
il at once that they had become very
ood friends indeed.
CONTINUED TOMORROW