The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-12-17
JAN e
Chapter SO

Life resumed it's normal course.
After the wedding we settled down
to quiet and to comparative leisure.
The actual routine of work was hard
er, because there was one pair Of
hands less, but there was also less
work.
And Laura wasn't so much use
this last year." Esther summed it up
few days after the ceremony. First
she worried so as to whether she'd
get him or not that she did half the
jobs wrong. And then when she did
get him she was so busy over her
own sewing that she hadn't much
time for plain dishwashing and weed
ing"
Still, there was one room less to
clean and care for, one less to cook
for-though in our huge family that
made no appreciate difference. We
were simply not SO concerned with
Laura's eternal embroidering and the
making of her trousseau.
well, 1 got one of my children
safely married." Esther remarked with
deep satisfaction. She was cutting
UP four chickens for dinner that day,
standing by the kitchen table with a
SiCoNOl al OuO udAo anu q 1o4&S hAAhO
on the chopping board. The wind
through the open window blew the
loose ends of her hair about her face,
and whipped up a torn ruffle on her
working dress. She looked, curiously,
like a methodical Fury hewing up vic.
tins for the sacrifice.
Laura being the oldest, she ought
to 60 first" she went on. "Of course,
l always hoped I'd get you married
off before any of them-you ought to
a been married Is years ago with
growing children yourself by this time.
But l won't say anything about that
any more"
This was delivered with great en-
phasis while Esther removed another
section Of the chicken and laid it
aside.
II spose James will go next" she
went on. "Well, James wife has got
to live here and help me, for Violet'H
never be any good around farm
house. Besides, James is needed here
on the place." Her cleaver came down
on the poor carcass of the chicken as
she ended.
With one blow she settled the des-
tiny of the chicken, and her son. Again
the idea of Esther as sort of heart
less Fury came to my mind.
"Violet'll marry some fool, ! s'pose,
she went on, throwing the meat into
the pot of boiling water on the stove.
And you'll encourage her to do It,.
But it won't be that Pearsoll boy, I'll
see to that. l guess I'll make some
dumplings for this. These chickens
is pretty skinny"
went to the pantry to get her the
flour. After all, why answer her?
There are some women whose per-
sonalities are so dominant that they
actually stamp themselves upon ev-
eryone they touch. Esther was this
sort. She had moulded Laura into
replica of herself, James was her next
victim. l wondered whether the re-
bellion in Violet and myself would
carry US safely away from her.
l thought for a time that James
would escape. But this summer l hao
begun to see him gradually ceasing to
struggle against it. l saw it plainly
that very day.
Violet, hunting eggs from nest con-
cealed in the barn, called to me exclt'
eddy. l followed her to the haymow.--
and there, down under the hay, she
showed me James workshop.
81 just ran across it by accident, .
she said. "You see, there's six feet OF
ace between the sloping roof OF the
carriage house and the ceiling OF 1t
| think Father was going to store
things in it; that is why he had the
ceiling put on. James has sawed OFT
some boards where this joins the barn
at the haymow, and made hinges from
leather straps, so he can get through
and 70 one suspects it's door at
all. Besides. it is covered by hay most
of the time. l should think he'd sui
focate wading his way through"
James had allowed for that, how
ever. by placing boards over a sort OF
tunnel he had made through the nay
probably while they were putting 1t
in earlier in the summer. This kept
the weight of the hay from the little
space be had managed to leave be.
tween the big NOW and the wall OF
the barn. I remembered that James
had piled it up in the barn. while the
hired men threw it from the wagon
So he had plenty of opportunity TO
make this secret little passage.
followed Violet through. 1t was
suffocating, as she said, and hot, and
the curious choking dust came down
on us as we disturbed the hay pushing
our way past it. Violet opened the
d6or--two large boards so cleverly
fastened that only sharp-eyed per-
son could tell they were not part OF
the wooden wall.
We stepped into what the boy evil
IDENTIFY had as his work shop. He had
covered up every possible crack with
paper, b'/ there was lantern, with
a shade so the light would fall only on
one place
He works here at night, and the
hot iOhf
wouldn't get through" vi explained.
Il thought l heard him go out of the
house one night after we went to bed
But suppose he broke the lantern
he'd be trapped in here. He couldn't