Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-12
A SWEETHEART AT THIRTY
The Story ola Woman's TrsusIormat3oa
BY MARION RUBINCAM.
Protsr tel by 0eor.s lat thew Adams
WE ARRIVE.
WE ARRIVE.
SYNOPSIS ov PRECEDING cHArrYRs.

SYNOPSIS Or PRECEDING CHAPTERS.
Enid HAines u the old maid nunt-of-
all-work in tho Haincs family. Sho lives
with her brother jim, farmer; his wife,
Esther; the son, James; and two dauEh-
tcrs-LAura, in love with young farmer
nearby, and Ends favorite Of the family,
Violet, not yet l8.
Violet insists on going to college iu
tho city, and Aunt Enid gives her her small
inheritance and decides to 20 along ia
take care Of her. Tho villagers gossip
about this, since Ends onc-time beau,
Mark Upjohn, is back in tho villAer, look
ing for wife. Enid, being IS and hooking
so, is considered almost hopehmly Old
and on the shelf. Mark proposes and Enid
refuses him, to 70 to the city with Vioict.
CHAPTER XIV.
The rest OF that summer was rather
painful. We were a house divided-Violet
and against the Others, with only James,
perhaps, neutral. But then, no one ever
paid any attention to James. He caIne
and went silently; he ate almost without
speaking throughout the meal, and in the
evenings he lay on his face on the lawn,
tired from tho field work. Esther, of
course, worried over his catching cold and
the consequent expense Of doctors, and
Violet worried for fear he might catch
cold and bc seriously H. and miserable.
The work increased as harvesting
grew nearer. The weather was un-
usually hot and unusually damp
that summer, and even Laura felt il was
affecting Esthcr's health. At least l gave
her that exc,ise for her constant ill-humor.
So | did more than my share Of work,
to relieve her as much AZ possible, and
| managed to do many OF Laura's tasks,
too, 80 as to allow her more time for her
new passon OF embroIdcring. Vi had 10
he excused from most of the work, for
our High School WAS not Of the best and
she entered college with conditions.
These she was 10 remove by taking es-
aminations in the fall, and she was work
ing hard at her books over the vacation.
I'm glad it's almost time TO go, she
said 10 me one sultry afternoon. / was
coming back from the garden, my arms
full of vegetables, and had dropped down
TO rest moment under the tree where she
was sitting.
IL feel like a criminal Mother vocs
around disapproving of everything you
do, now you We turned down that Up
john, and Laura's mad at me because
I'm going TO the city and she isn't.
we II ask her To visit us I'm the winter,
when the work is not so hard here" |
suggested.
"She wouldn't do it," vi answered.
''She's afraid to leave here 4 week, for
fear Charlie Dwyer will find new girl
while she's gone. I'll bet she's ticklcd
to death the Dwyers live on the right
hand side Of our house and the village
is on the left.
"Why2"
Then every time he ha. TO come in
town, he has To pass our house first,
and she can grab him. She Just sits
on the porch all day to grab him, just
like spiderf"
VII | protested, that's not nice,
TO talk about your sister ~"
No. 1T isn't. Her tones were con-
trite st once. Then she laughed, shak-
irs back her gold hair. but she docs
remind me of spider wouldn't be
nasty, only they are all SO nasty to us
because were going away"
The air Of dlsapproval grew as the
time drew nearer for us To leave. II was
in some subtle way from
Esther to her friends. II was said on all
Sidcs that Enid Hsines wants to be young
and giddy again.
There are people, usually OF middle
Ige. who consider youth sin, and who