The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-03-15
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY
Something to Love.

-
n Lin BATES was baking cookies,
She enjoyed making cookies. The
- recipe Elinused had been hand.
e down 70 her through three genera.
lions and had never been known TO
tah when fntelligently followed. She
nad Just taken q pan Of cakes from
ne oven when she heard knock at
me door. That's MIS- Blaine she
Inought, and called: Come fnls
The door opened awkwardly and up
on the Threshold appeared a woman
carving two great baskets. One has.
ket was filed with small gaskets Of all
Sizes, which sent out d scent Of sweet.
grass; the contents OF the other were
carefully covered with white cloth.
The woman was small and old ana
rark: with a wide smile. About her
shoulders was O gray bordered shawl
ana she, ware a string of fancy beads.
intensely blue against her sinewy
neck. Buy basket. lady?" she in.
auired winningly.
No, Ellin answered. Ellin knew
nothing about gypsies, but tradition
aad taught her something like fear OF
hem. u
Al Ellin spoke a shade Of disappoint.
ment crossed the basket sellers face.
wynn compunction for her breyity OF
codrtsey, EIlin offered her cooky.
The woman accepted It and smiled
again. When she had eaten the cookie
she asked wistfn1ly. 4 ~
you like me tell your fortune, lady?
don't ask noding for it, As Helen
hcsitated, she added: .You give me
cake; ] give you fortune. Yes?"
Instantly the old basket seller
changed to the sibye, tense, solemn,
dramatic. She brooded over Ellin's
palms like a liwering fate. Her soft
voice became the toneless vehicle OF
the oracle. you are not happy. You
have big emptiness in here She
placed her hands over her bosom. "I
zee y grave-so long" She measured.
That grave holds what makes the
big emptinessg
Ellin drew her hands away. She
was pale. Il guess you'd better take
another cooky and go" she said brief
w. She did not look around as the
gypsy went away weighed down with
ner heavy baskets, her straight foreign
skirt Topping.
How quickly the woman had OWNED
ner sorrows though she tried SO hard
not TO carry It arount upon her face.
L was Toms sorrow, too. but for years
they had never mentioned 1t to each
otner. Even when they went TO the
little grave together, they kept silence.
TO them the boy would always be four
years old. And yet IL her had lived,
he would have been 1e.
My land. Ellin!2 What's burning?.
1t was Mrs. Blaine at last. Mrs. Blaine
opened the oven door, snatched,
cougned and lung a pan Of burnt
cookies upon tho table. what ails
yon this morning y. she grasped.
! don't know" Ellin said. That's
the second batch I've burned up. It's
"oh, did She come here?n Mrs
Blaine asked. She came to my house.
Say. did you know what She .bad n
that covered basket?p
''No, what did she hayege F,l,in,
asked absently ~
She had q baby-the cutest little
bright eyed thing you ever saw. And
EN-. She said 1t was her daughters
baby, and she was carrying Il sron,S
because she did not know what else
to do with It. made her take II ont
and feed It. And / gave her some
little things Agile left when She was
home this winter with her baby.S .
II noticed the basket EIIin said
but / never dreamed she had a bahy
In It. It must have been asleep. for l.
never stirred while she was hereo
Il presume It was asleep sair Mrs
Blaine. 1T was asleep when she
came TO my house. It's INV Rjs.ab,s
and she ID dead the Vanisl1er SAID
guess It don't make much difference
II woman Is brown, she has the sams
mother spirit we all have" =
The rest Of ElIin's cookies ware "a
success and Tom praised them at din.
ner time. 49, -.
Something funny happened inst
now as / was coming home" he said
III was coming across the street there
At Bows corner and eyerybody,s tear,
or auto was rushing two WAYS at once
10 get home to dinner, when a rvnsv
woman stepped off the curbinp ahead
Of me. She had two Big baskets and
there was something IN one she
seemed to be having mite OF troubIe
with. She never saw Bixby's bie
truck till yelled. It Just missed her
My heart stopped for minute.o
That was my gyphyI woman. ~ 11lin
SAID, and, Tom, she had baby In
one Of those baskets. -
"A babyl. exclaimed Tom. aWeyy.
by Gecrgeir s''
Then Ellin told him all about her.
Tom went back to his work and Elm
was alone in her house. All the time
she thought wistfuily. al wish had
bought basket OF that woman. I
would have, OF course, II I'd known
about the baby I've q great mind tn
go and look her up and bny. one OF her
yet. Probably I'll see her ON the
streets somewhere.p -
Elm dressed and went out into the
spring sunshine. She walked half the
length Of Main street before she saw
ahead Of her the gyphy woman fiop.
ping along with her large load of bas.
kets Suddenly the gypsy woman
sWerved and starter across the street.
toward the old Hay house, where Al
couple Of women were, at work clean.
Ing windows. Just as she started the
chemical engine tore round the corner
from the drahouaa rha 80 $3.50,