The Little River news., 1921-09-07

Late that evening she walked home rather weariy. Two of the younger girl boarde-s were already through dinner and were sitting on the front steps waiting for their friends to come to take them out for the eve ming. The fresh young faces under the carefully waved hair and the pret- ty slim feet in their hign-heeled pumps made Edith feel rather elderly, for she saved part of her salary each week toward little home in the fu- ture.
 T am raising the board a. dollar a week." announced her landlady as she gave Edith her pudding. "The cost of food is soaring and so greatly that I may have to raise again before long, too," she added as the girls eyes gazed back at her in dismay.
 Edith had just removed her flow CTS. intending to put them in her tooth brush mug to keep fresh for the next day, when there was a tap on her door.
 "A man to see you, Miss Jones. Lands sake, you never had man call on you before, but then l suppose he's an insurance agent" Mrs. Miller's sharp eyes dwelt upon the tired face before her as she speculated. "He wouldn't give his name."
 Thank you, Mrs. Miller" Edith's tone was colorless, but once again the thrill of spring seized her.
 From the house next door came languorous love song, the rather dingy lace curtains stirred in breeze spicy sweetness that even the flight across the city had not lessened. From the tiny flowers in the common china mug nodded a call of the woods-of glossy green leaves against the finger ing patches of snow in cool hollows.
 She rearranged her hair slowly, dallying with the pleasure of anticipa- ton. It might be most any one wait ing in that stiff, garishly furnished front parlor with its heavy OdorS of long-eaten meals-with the grim at- mosphere of loveless lives that had 
 red to, perhaps, a worse environment. It probably was an insurance agent, as Mrs. Miller had unkindly surmised, but if so he could wait.
 Edith smiled back at her shadowy reflection in the pale mirror. She would pretend that she WI dressing for an eScort-One who would bring a beribboned box of candy and who would masterfully assist her down the steps as she had seen the trim-belted young fellows do when they went laughingly down with the girls who now waited on the steps. &
 Tucking the flowers back in their silken nest, she turned slowly away and went sedately downstairs. No one must guess at the joyous riot of spring that had suddenly pervaded her drab evening. She was a young woman go- ing down to her company in the front parlor and the gay smile still fingered on her face, lending a new expression to the rosy mouth as she erteerd the door and looked at her caller.
 Hello, Edith! Thought maybe you'd go to the movies with me tonight"
 There was a tiny gasp as the incred- ible words fell upon the ears under the soft loops of black hair. Ed was smil- ing back at her under the crude light of the yellow gas whose globe had long since been broken.
 1T wanted to tell you my good news," he began as they went out into the shadowy street and joined the pro- cession of young people who loitered dreamily in the sweet dusk of the spring night. "The township high school is finished now and I'm to be the principal at an Che paused and looked down meaningly into her face) adequate salary"
 "Adequate?" murmured the girl, for his salary as principal of the grammar school had seemed almost Opulent to her.
 "Yes, at last, adequate" he said, with lit of joy breaking through the grave notes of his deep voice. "I shall have enough to keep up really good little home, and want to know if you will come?"
 The fragrance of the first spring flowers drifted up and Edith knew at last why she had resented the calm appropriation of Emma. She had not known she cared for Ed in that way. But the gold and pink of other spring days that had begun so happily and ended in the fatigue of a hard day among the garish colors of railway literature were as nothing to the press ent.
 She lifted her head and listened for he had gone on talking excitedly, his reticence of the past forgotten.
 q couldn't speak sooner, for the life was too hard, but now, Edith, 1 thought of the new. soft, green bunga- low on the street south of the high school. We are going to have li- hcoru in if op1 tbinl- of +bo pIooe,,ro