The Jasper news., 1922-09-07
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CHAPTER VIlI-Continued.


The train came then, and he put
me on board, and he kissed me again
but l was expecting 1t this time, OF
course. Then l whizzed or, and he
was left standing all alone on the
platform. And felt so sorry for him;
and all the way down to Boston l kept
thinking of him-what he said, and
how he looked, and how fine and splen-
did and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
him he was as he stood on the plat
form waving good-by.
And so l guess / was still thinking
Of him "a being sorry for him when
i got to Boston. That's why 1 couldn't
be so crazy and hilariously glad when
the folks met me, l suspect. Some
way, all of a sudden, l found myself
wishing he could be there, too.
OF course, know that that was
bad and wicked and unkind to Mother,
and she'd feel so grieved not to have
me satisfied with her. And l wouldn't
have told her of 1t for the world. so
tried Just as hard as l could to for
get hlm-On account Of Mother, so as
to be loyal to her. And l did most
forget MIN by the time I'd got home.
But 1t all came back again little later
when we were unpacking my trunk.
You see, Mother found the two new
white dresses, and the dear little
shoes. ! knew then, of course, that
she'd have to know ALL mean, how
she hadn't pleased Father, even after
all her pains trying to have me go as
Mary.
"Why, Marie, what in the world Is
this?" she demanded. holding up one
Of the new dresses.
could have cried.
h suppose she saw by my face how
awfully felt cause she'd found IL.
And, of course, she saw something
was the matter; and she thought II
was
Well, the first thing l knew she was
looking at me in her very sternest,
sOrriest way, and saying:
"Oh, Marie, how could your I'm
ashamed Of you'll Couldn't you wear
the Mary dresses one little three
months TO please your fatherT
did cry. then. After all I'd been
through, TO have her accuse ME Of get
ting those dresses Well, just
couldn't stand 1t. And / told her so
as well as l could, only was crying
so by now that l could hardly speak.
j told her how 1t was hard enough to
be Mary part of the time, and Marie
part of the time, when / knew what
they wanted me to be. But when she
tried to h"ve me Mary while he wanted
me Marie, and he tried to have me
Marie while she wanted me Mary
did not know what they wanted; and
] wished l had never been born unless
] could have been born a plain Susie
or Bessie, or Annabelle, and not a
Mary Marie that was all mixed up till
] didn't know what | was.
And then / cried some more.
Mother dropped the dress then, and
took me in her arms over ON the
couch, and she said, There, there,
and that / was tired and nervous, and
all wrought up, and to cry all | wanted
to. And by and by, when | was calm
er ! could tell Mother all about It.
And ] did.
told her how hard I tried to he
Mary all the way up to Andersonville
unu dlleT 1 gut lHeIe1 anu now IneI
] found out, all of sudden one day
that father had got ready for Marie
and he didn't want me to be Mary
and that was why he had got Cousin
Grace and the automobile and tht
geraniums In the window, and, oh
everything that made 1t nice and com
fy and honey. And then is when they
bought me the new white dresses anC
the little white shoes. And | tolC
Mother, of course, 1t was lovely to b,
Marie, and liked It, only | knew shC
would feel bad to think, after all he
pains to make me Mary, Father didn'
want me Mary at all.
II don't think you need to worry
about that" stammered Mother. But
tell me, why-why dld-your fathe
want you to be Marie and not Mary 2
And then told her how he said he,
remembered what I'd said to him fl
the parlor that day-how tired | go
being Mary, and how I'd put on Ma
Tie's things just to get little vacation
from her; and he said he'C never for
gotten. And so when 1t came nea
time for me to come again, he deter
mined TO tix It so | wouldn't have /,
be Mary at all. And so that was why
And | told Mother II was all right
and OF course | liked It; only II dil
Nay ElA w Rwfully, not knowing whicl