The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1920-11-11
Aunt Amanda
By JANE OSBORN
,@ isao. by Mcclur. Nswspapsr synsIss,.', :,

were sitting out on verandas In the
company OF their rustic sweethearts
on summer evenings, Laura Perkins
was sitting indoors beside the living.
room lamp, intent on getting her mend
ing done for oil those little PerkInses
10 whom she played the role of big
sister and mother combined. II was
not that Farmer Perkins was any less
prosperous than the other farmers.
out IL would have gone against the
grain to pay out money to have this
work done when Laura could do II lust
MS well. In the meantime Laura didn't
get ANY young company" In fact,
she never did get any and II was not
until at the age OF twenty-five. when
Farmer Perkins decided TO ask Widow
Rollins, down the road. to share his
fireside and Widow Rollins accept
ed, that Laura ever had any chance
Tor the pleasure and Irritation that she
mad missed In her girlhood.
But she had for too long been tied
to the duties OF the kitchen and the
mending basket to take very grace
fully to the art OF finding suitor
then--for obviously the only thing left
for Laura 20 do now was to marry and
get home OF her own. "Of course,
! want to have-a n place where con
do my own cooking and ALL" Laura
would explain "but I don't know MS
i want to get man just to make
crullers for him." But the truth was
that there was man that Laura
would have been quite willing TO cook
and mend for for the rest OF her life
had he been disposed to ask her to
accept his hand. This was Widow
Rollins son. who. when that lady came
to marry Farmer Perkins naturally
was squeezed into the Perkins farm
house to live.
"Shes n real nice girl" the moth
er had remarked to her son I'm conf
dence. "But she's got such lot of
notions. Did you hear her carrying
on about that Aunt Amanda cruller
set2 You know some OF the women
around here got the outfit. Laura was
one OF them. II has the cutter and
special rolling pin and the kettle and
the basket for the crulers while they
are In the hot fat. Well. there are
one or two things about II that Laura
didn't like. The basket doesn't slip
into the kettle just the way she wants
1t to. SO she gets to looking at the
picture of Aunt Amanda on the pack
age, and she makes up her mind she
has got to see her. II never occurs to
her that maybe there isn't any Aunt
Amanda. that maybe It Is just a pic
ture on the box cover"
Edward Rollins had listened with
out any great interest. His mother
always changed the subject in that
way. He had wanted to talk Of Laura,
but his mother apparently preferred to
talk about cruller sets. He had want
ed to sound his mother on a subject
that lay near his heart. He was twen-
ty-six, just starting out for himself
In the hardware business, with all that
he owned In the world Invested in
stocks OF hammers and nails and cary
ing knives and wash boilers-an end
less variety Of equipment for the farm
er and his wife. II was quite out of
the question now to ask Laura TO mar
ry him. II that involved making a
home for her. What Edward had
hoped was that for the present his
mother and Laura's father might let
them board In the old Perkins farm
house. But Edward, always somewhat
in awe Of his mother. never got to the
point Of asking. and not having asked
and received her consent he never got
to that further point of asking Laura
to be his wife.
Laura was twenty-five that autumn
after her fathers marriage. when she
went Off to the city to make her own
living. And Laura herself seemed to
be the only one In the community who
didn't realize that, with no special ed
ucation or training save that of a
housewife and no special talent or
aptitude save considerable good sense,
the future was not very promising for
her,
"Seems as II the only thing she can
do IL to be somebody's hired girl"
quoth the new Mrs. Perkins for the |
benefit Of her son and her husband, |
both of whom WINGED under this re
mark.
Then old father Perkins died and |
Laure came home TO the funeral; was
gone back to the city and no one was
the wiser concerning her mode of max
ing living. II truth must be told a
rift came In the Perklns-ItollIns house,
hold, in part due no doubt to the set
tlement of Mr.. Perkins estate. At all
events those Of the Perkins brood who
kept In touch with Laura did not en-
Joy Mrs. Rollins good will. They
moved away and Laura was no more
heard Of
In five years the hardware business
as carried on by Edward Rollins had
to the point where he was
In position TO settle down In life on
bis own, and as his mother, the pres
ent Widow Perkins, had now under
an alliance with old Dea-
non Rradshaw n uninn of which her |