Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1922-05-18
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
RH.LIVINGSTONE.
COPYRIGHT BY ELEANOR H. PORTER


there was something the matter with
them; that they acted queer and
stopped talking when / came up, and
faded away till there wasn't anybody
but me left.
Well, it's been getting worse and
worse. The girls have had parties,
and more and more often the girls
have stopped talking and have looked
queer when l came up. We got up
secret society and called it the "Tony
Ten" and l was going 70 be its presi-
dent Then all of sudden one day
l found there wasn't any Tony Ten
only Carrie Haywood and me. The
other eight had formed another soci-
ETY. and Stella Mayhem was their
president
/ told Carrie we wouldn't care; that
we'd just change it and call it the
TONY Two" and that two was Tot
more exclusive than ten, anyway. But
/ did care, and Carrie did. knew
she did. And l know it better now
because last night-she told me. You
see things have been getting simply
unbearable these last few days, and
going to have Carrie left. She began
to act queer and | accused her of it.
and told her if she didn't want to be-
long to the Tony Two she needn't.
That / didn't care; that I'd be a secret
society all by myself. But l cried
T Ixa,+ hoI, cha 1rr,n
I did-care. Then she began to cry;
and today, after school, we went to
walk up on the hill to the big rock;
and there-she told me. And it was
the divorce.
And it's all that Stella Mayhem
the new girl. Her mother found out
1 was divorced Il mean Mother was)
and she told Stella not to play With
me, nor speak to me, nor have thing
to do with me. And / said to Carrie
all right Who cared? / didn't. That
/ never had liked that Mayhem girl
anyway But Carrie said that wasn't
all. She said Stella had got to be
zeal popular before ] came; that her
folks had lots of money, and she al
ways had candy and could treat to
tce-cream and auto rides, and every
body with her was sure of a good time.
She had parties, too-lots Of them;
and of course, all the girls and boys
liked that.
Well, when l came everything was
ell right till Stella's mother found
500 obo,,+ +bo divoroa opd thon r,o11
then things were different. First
Stella contented herself with making
fun of me, Carrie said She laughed
at the serge dresses and big homely
shoes, and then she began on my
name, and said the idea ~of being
called Mary by Father and Marie by
Mother, and that twas just like DR..
Jekyll and mr. Hyde. (That's story,
Carrie says. I'm going to read it, If
Fathers got it. If there ever was
another Mary and Marie all In one in
the world / want to know what she
did) But Carrie says the poking fun
at me didn't make much difference
with the girls, so Stella tried some
thing else. She not only wouldn't
speak to me herself, or invite me, or
anything but she told all the girls
that they couldn't go with her and
me, too. That they might take their
choice. And Carrie said some of them
did choose and stayed with me but
they lost all the good times and ice
cream and parties and rides and ev-
nd ca NV
dropped me and went back to Stella,
and now there wasn't anybody left,
| only her, Carrie. And then she began
to cry,
| And when she stopped speaking and
/ knew all, and saw her crying there
before me- and thought of my dear
| blessed mother, l was so angry I
| could scarcely speak. l just shook
| with righteous indignation. And in
my most superb, naughty and disdain-
| full manner / told Carrie Haywood to
dry her tears; that she needn't trouble
herself any further, nor worry about
losing any more ice-cream nor parties.
| That / would hereto declare our
friendship null and void, and this day
set my hand and seal to never speak
to her again, if she liked, and consid-
cred that necessary to keeping the ac-
! quaintance o. the precious Stella.
But she cried all the more at that,
and flung herself upon me, and, of
course, | began to cry, too-and you
can't stay superb and naughty and
disdainful when you're all the time
| trying to hunt up handkerchief to
| wipe away the tears that are cours-
ing down your wan cheeks And of
course I didn't. We had a real good
cry together and vowed we loved
each other better than ever, and no.
body could come between us, not
even bringing chocolate-fudge-m
mallow college ice-which we both
adore But I told her that she would
be all right, just the same, for of
course / should never step my foot
inside of that schoolhouse again. That
\ T couldn't ont of roepprf m Mntb,a,